Prison Electronic Music Program

“[Although] it may not be the same as being in person, I am grateful to still be a part of this great program that brings the opportunity to learn how music is made and brings people together.” That’s how one participant described his experience with our pandemic-altered distance learning model. While changing up our work flow posed some challenges, the creativity carried on.

Although the pandemic posed a difficult challenge for our regularly scheduled in-person meetings, we aimed to persevere. The pandemic had especially devastating impacts on prisons and their inhabitants, and our program aimed to aid mental health challenges that have been on the rise. We knew music could be more useful than ever in helping folks cope with these issues.

Thanks to the support of the California Arts Council, we redesigned our curriculum into a distanced model. In order to do this, we provided homework correspondence packets and submitted curriculum-related videos to all 36 California state prisons, covering topics in electronic music history, music equipment and technical skills, and music industry brand development training.

But now we’re back IRL! After utilizing this altered curriculum for a year and a half, in August 2021 we finally returned to in-person sessions at California City Correctional. From day-1 our participants were excited to return and develop a unique camaraderie with each other through music. Of course, being back in person only amplifies participant skill development, relationship-building amongst instructors and participants, and music’s ability to heal others. We are all so grateful and excited to be back!