News

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BMI Foundation Announces Recipients of New Music Grants

July 1, 2026
Musicambia is honored to receive multi-year support from the BMI Foundation.

The Midnight Special featured in The New York Times

June 30, 2026
The Midnight Special, Colin Asher’s history of prison music, was reviewed in The New York Times. Asher visited Musicambia’s program at Sing Sing Correctional Facility, and interviewed several current and former Musicambia students for the book’s final chapter.

Illustration of a man in green prison shirt and pants writing music on a bed with a thought bubble being showing a keyboard, woman singing, man playing violin, a radio, a man listening to music on headphones, and music notation on a 5-line staff.

How I Became an Opera Composer in a Maximum Security Prison

April 18, 2025
Musicambia Alumnus Joseph Wilson’s Marshall Project essay on learning to write music while a student in Musicambia and Carnegie Hall’s programs at Sing Sing Correctional Facility.

A quartet of string players performs in front of a piano in an ornate church, in front of an altar draped with purple cloth and gold candlesticks.

The Cup of Gethsemane: A Concert Featuring the Works of P. Cortez

April 1, 2025
Presented by Thrive For Life in collaboration with the chamber ensemble Decoda, an affiliate ensemble of Carnegie Hall, this concert featured the world premiere of The Cup of Gethsemane—a chamber work by P. Cortez, a participant in Musicambia’s Flagship Program at Sing Sing Correctional Facility.

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Musicambia Receives Cultural Development Grant from NYC Department of Cultural Affairs

February 18, 2025
Musicambia is one of nearly 1,100 cultural organizations across New York City to receiving support as part of the City's largest-ever $59.3 million Cultural Development Fund.

This CDF grant will support the The Cambia Collective—Musicambia’s ensemble of Teaching Artists and (formerly incarcerated) Alumni. The Cambia Collective will give a series of concerts in Spring 2025. This project will raise awareness about the musical creativity of currently and formerly incarcerated people, in an effort to shift public perception around incarcerated people and their potential for rehabilitation and positive contributions to their communities.

Blue border with New Music USA logo and text that says "Organization Fund 2024 Awardee." Picture shows woman with cello holding music for 2 incarcerated students to look at and discuss.

2024 New Music USA Organization Fund

August 20, 2024
Musicambia is thrilled to share that we’ve been chosen as a recipient of the 2024 New Music USA Organization Fund! We're using this grant to support our incarcerated composers at Sing Sing, through Imani Winds' residency and through additional Teaching Artists for this summer's Songwriting Workshop. #WeAreNewMusic

An image of a man in a dark shirt playing guitar. He is in front of a semicircle of musicians playing piano, violin, flute, bass, cello, and bassoon.

NOVUS NY and Musicambia Teaching Artists

October 15, 2023
Presented by NOVUS NY, this Renewal series concert at Trinity Church Wall Street included world premieres and music written by current and formerly incarcerated composers from Sing Sing Correctional Facility, as well as Olivier Messiaen's “Louange à l'Éternité de Jésus” from Quartet for the End of Time. The pre-concert conversation featured Musicambia Teaching Artists Kenyatta Emmanuel & Brad Balliett.

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Musicambia on NPR’s Fresh Air

August 17, 2023
Fresh Air host Tonya Mosley speaks with Maurice Chammah about how art and music programs help us understand "there's more to say about [a prisoner] than their crime." Chammah is the author of Let the Lord Sort Them.

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New York Times, Kenyatta Emmanuel, and Musicambia

August 3, 2023
Our friend at The Marshall Project, Maurice Chammah wrote an article for the New York Times, featuring the work and story of our Musicambia Alumnus and Teaching Artist, Kenyatta Emmanuel

A man in a white shirt sings into a microphone. Next to him is a woman in a red shirt playing guitar, a man in a grey shirt playing bass, a woman in a purple shirt standing and playing cello, and a man in a dark shirt playing violin.

Musicambia at Lansing Correctional Facility

May 24, 2023
A  profile video that the Kansas Department of Corrections made of our April 2023 songwriting workshop at Lansing Correctional Facility.

A large group of people stand and sit to pose for a photo. You can see a guitar, saxophone, trumpet and trombone among the instruments. Most people are wearing light blue shirts and dark pants.

Musicambia Songwriting Workshops Culminate in Powerful Concert

April 28, 2023
San Quentin News profiles our January 2023 workshop at San Quentin.

A man in a brown shirt stands behind a keyboard in a gymnasium. A group of men standing and sitting in seats watch. There are basketball nets in the background.

UMKC Today: Measures and Bars

November 29, 2022
UMKC Today profiles Musicambia’s partnership with UMKC for our songwriting workshops at Lansing Correctional Facility.

A group of people stand around a room surrounded by a bassoon, drums, guitar, and violin, as well as microphones and music stands.

Musicambia featured on Ear Hustle

November 16, 2022
Ear Hustle featured Musicambia’s 3-day songwriting workshop at San Quentin and teaching artist Judith Hill in their newest episode.

Three people stand behind a microphone. Two of them are wearing dark pants and light blue shirts, the woman in the middle is in all black. Behind them are two people playing drums and guitar. They are all wearing masks.

Musicambia songwriting workshop returns to San Quentin chapel

October 6, 2022
San Quentin News profiles Musicambia’s August workshop at San Quentin.

Two men wearing masks and light blue shirts stand across from one another playing violin.

Musicambia at San Quentin: San Francisco Chronicle

August 12, 2022
Our 3-day songwriting workshop at San Quentin in August 2022 was featured in the SF Chronicle.

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Innovation Showcase features Musicambia

February 15, 2022
Founder/Artistic Director Nathan Schram and Executive Director Jessie Kilguss were interviewed by Jay Sugarman on his show, Innovation Showcase, for New TV. This piece provides good insight into the history and current work of Musicambia.

A still from a news report with a white and red text banner at the bottom. A man's silhouette shows him paying bassoon. He is standing in front of barred windows with a blue sky in the background.

Musicambia at Rikers Island Correctional Facility

February 18, 2022
Our 3-day songwriting program with women incarcerated at Rikers Island was featured on News 12.

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The Ensemble

January 5, 2022
Founder/Artistic Director Nathan Schram wrote this article about Musicambia for The Ensemble.

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Nathan Schram and Jessie Kilguss on Talking To Strangers Podcast

January 24, 2019
Thank you Stephanie Thompson for interviewing Nathan Schram and Jessie Kilguss on your podcast Talking To Strangers the other day. Listen to the conversation here!

Thank you also to Stephanie for writing this engaging piece in the Brooklyn Paper about hosting a friendraiser for Musicambia back in January.

A man in a green shirt and facial hair plays violin, behind him a man in a light shirt plays guitar.

NY1 Feature about Musicambia

September 10, 2018
NY1's Spotlight with Stephanie Simon's segment on Musicambia.

Strings Magazine: “New York State Prison Program Musicambia Unlocks the Power of Music”

June 1, 2015
In-depth profile of Musicambia’s Flagship program at Sing Sing Correctional Facility.