PORTLAND – A Falmouth nonprofit is teaming up with a Portland arts college to expand studio access for up-and-coming musical artists.

Equal Measure Arts, the nonprofit Sam Monaco started last fall out of the music studio in his Falmouth home, began a partnership this month with the Maine College of Art & Design.

“We always wanted it to grow beyond the walls of my studio,” Monaco said.

The nonprofit’s goal was to pay for studio time and access to young musicians who otherwise couldn’t afford it.  

The college, located on Congress Street in Portland, has been operating a professional music studio for 10 years now as part of the school’s Bob Crewe Program in Art and Music. Steve Drown, the program’s coordinator, said he was excited at the idea of involving the college’s studio with the nonprofit.

“I’ve thought about it for years, and just never have taken action,” he said. “I wanted to be a part of a community to give access to people who normally wouldn’t have access to a professional audio studio.”

Right now, Monaco said about a dozen students have worked under the nonprofit at his studio. According to Drown, anywhere from 55 to 75 students use the college’s studio every year. Involving the college’s studio, Monaco and Drown said, will allow students to have a second, possibly more convenient studio available in downtown Portland.

“Recording studios can be expensive, they always have been,” Drown said. “People can independently record their own music, which I encourage them to do but I’d like them to have the experience of being in a professional studio to know how good they can sound.” 

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