Photo / Courtesy Natalie Conn, Salt '07
Sam Monaco, right, hosts an open studio workshop at Maine College of Art & Design.
Updated: May 30, 2025
Maine College of Art & Design partners with Falmouth recording studio
Photo / Courtesy Natalie Conn, Salt '07
Steve Drown, an assistant professor of music and coordinator of the Bob Crewe Program of Art & Music, helps a student with studio production as part of the nonprofit Equal Measure Arts.
Late last year, Monaco Studios in Falmouth launched a nonprofit, Equal Measure Arts, to make professional studio recording accessible to students and under-resourced musicians in southern Maine.
Now Equal Measure Arts is broadening its reach through a partnership with the Maine College of Art & Design, located in Portland's Arts District.
The college will provide access to its music production studio.
"When we founded Equal Measure Arts, our vision was to grow beyond Monaco Studios in Falmouth and serve a wider community of emerging artists," said Sam Monaco, Equal Measure Arts’s founder and president. "Thanks to our friends at the Maine College of Art & Design, we're realizing that vision —providing more musicians with access to the tools, space and mentorship they need to grow."
Next-gen artists
Monaco grew up in Portland and helped develop music programming at the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine. He spent a decade in New York City playing percussion in rock bands and off-Broadway musicals, then returned to Maine in 2020, when he built a solar-powered music studio in an old farmhouse in Falmouth. Clients include students and emerging artists. The studio provides student discounts and internships and has hosted live performances.
Monaco has said the idea of starting the nonprofit was born from his desire to support the next generation of artists.
The collaboration with the college will allow Equal Measure Arts to use the school’s studio, which features an Avid S6 Mixing Console, one of the first in New England, according to a news release. The studio is part of the college’s Bob Crewe Program in Art and Music, established in 2015 with a gift from the Crewe Foundation and focusing on fine arts, music, youth and LGBTQ+ communities.
Fundraiser
The initiative is supported by Steve Drown, coordinator and professor of music at the Maine College of Art & Design, and Hunter Coleman, an alumnus with a minor in music who is now a producer/engineer and drummer in the local indie band Oodelally.
Together, they are aligning the studio's use with Equal Measure Arts' mission to empower young and under-resourced musicians across the region.
"It's something I've wanted to be part of for years — making recording accessible to more people," Drown said.
The goal of a fundraiser launched earlier this year is to reach $50,000 for an initial financial aid fund, said Monaco.
The partnership builds on Equal Measure Arts' relationships with Portland organizations, including Portland Arts & Technology High School, the Maine Academy of Modern Music, Mayo Street Arts and WMPG. Monaco said the nonprofit is engaging with other mission-aligned community groups to connect students and emerging artists with professional studio experiences.
"We’re excited to open doors for students and musicians in downtown Portland — especially those who rely on public transportation," he said. "Being based in the city center helps us reach communities long excluded from the recording industry due to geography, cost or lack of opportunity."
Subsidized time
Equal Measure Arts will host weekly open studio workshops, facilitated by Coleman, at the college’s music studio. The hands-on educational sessions are intended for aspiring audio engineers and music producers, with sign-ups available on the Equal Measure Arts website. Program fees operate on a sliding scale. Aspiring recording artists may apply for subsidized studio time through the nonprofit’s website.
The nonprofit is fully donor-funded and relies on community support to keep the opportunities accessible. Tax-deductible gifts can be made online. A fundraiser concert was held May 29 at Blue Portland Maine, co-sponsored with WMPG.
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