Subject: ☀️ August News from MCMA 🎶

Studio Updates

August 2026

What a summer of music it has been! We welcomed dozens of new students excited to try something new, hosted four summer camp experiences, cheered our campers on as they performed at the North Atlantic Blues Festival, Maine Lobster Festival and Rockport Harbor, supported live local music throughout the midcoast, and mapped out an amazing fall semester.

Read on to learn about fall lesson and ensemble options, our upcoming Music Together^®session, an important student performance, an amazing fall fundraiser concert and more!

None of the work we do would be possible without the support of our donors. As a nonprofit community music school, we strive to keep instruction affordable and pay our teaching artists a living wage for their phenomenal work.

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FALL REGISTRATION

private lessons

If you haven't already registered for fall, now is the time! Our new semester begins Monday, August 31st. We offer private lessons for bass (electric, upright or double), banjo, clarinet, composition, electronic music & production, drum kit, fiddle, flute, guitar, hand drums, mandolin, percussion, piano, saxophone, songwriting, trombone, trumpet, tuba, ukulele, violin, voice and more.

ensembles and classes

We offer a wide selection of group learning experiences for all ages, schedules and skill levels. Our fall ensembles include:

Songwriting Lab

Girls Rock Ensemble

Ear Training Class

Adult Jam

Adult Guitar Group

Hand Drumming

Youth Choir

Strings Attached (all ages)

Teen Rock

Violin All Stars (ages 5-7)

Jazz Ensemble

Adult Rock

The right fit is important! Click the button below for more information and to set up an introductory lesson or visit a class.

FALL LESSONS & ENSEMBLES

MUSIC TOGETHER^®FALL CLASSES

Registration is open for the fall session of mixed-age classes with Music Together® at MCMA!

Join instructors Alyssa Kelly and Amelia Watson (new name, same beloved teacher) for the Bongos collection this fall. Mixed-Age classes are for children from birth through age 5 and the grownups who love them. All classes are active music-making and movement experiences, designed to teach the way children learn: through play with the grownups they love.

Choose between classes at Waterfall Arts in Belfast on Tuesdays or Thursdays, or right here at Midcoast Music Academy in Rockport.

Click the button below for details, full schedules and to register.

MUSIC TOGETHER

STUDENT PERFORMANCE

Amplify at CamFest!

We're proud to announce that our Girls Rock band, Amplify, will be kicking off CamFest on Saturday, September 5th at 1:00pm at the Thomaston Town Office Stage!

CamFest is the Cameron Frisone Cancer Foundation's inaugural fundraiser to further their mission of supporting families dealing with childhood cancer, while providing engaging community events. Come enjoy live music by local musicians from 1-9pm, food vendors, lawn games and information booths. CamFest is free, with donations gratefully accepted. The Cameron Frisone Cancer Foundation was established in memory of Cameron Michael Frisone who lost his battle against childhood cancer February 28, 2025.

Come support CFCF and Amplify - and keep an eye out for a bonus song performed by our own Zachary Bence, Jen Feldman and Cyrus Huff at the end of their set! Click the poster image below for more information.

FUNDRAISER CONCERT!

save the date

Get ready for a night of great music with good friends!

We're thrilled to announce our fall fundraiser concert. Join us on Saturday, October 24 at Watts Hall in Thomaston for a fundraiser concert featuring The Speed of Sound and MKTrio. Both bands feature artists with deep ties to MCMA, and we can't wait to get them together in the same room for an incredible night of live music!

Come hang with us on October 24 from 7-10pm: enjoy the show, win great raffle prizes, eat & drink, and don't miss the chance to spend an evening with some of the best humans around - all while supporting a great cause.

Advance tickets go on sale September 1! Mark your calendar, tell your friends, and come celebrate this awesome community.

FACULTY UPDATE

Wednesday, August 26th marks the final show in MCMA instructor Kate Fiano's residency at Uproot Pie & Co's Carriage House. They're ending the series with a bang - oysters, a visit from the Kinetic Bookshop, Poetryscopes by Katherine Ferrier, AND a chance to support MCMA's tuition assistance program by entering a raffle to win Kate Fiano and Uproot Pie merch. Come to Thomaston and join other MCMA friends to celebrate the end of an awesome season!

IMPORTANT DATES

August 24-August 28: MCMA closed for lessons
August 31: fall semester begins
September 5: CamFest (student performance by Amplify at 1:00pm)
September 7: Labor Day (MCMA closed)
October 24: Fundraiser Concert with The Speed of Sound and MKTrio at Watts Hall, 7-10pm