December 2025 Newsletter: A Look at Our Partnership with Worcester County Jail and House of Correction

Students and Teaching Artists with Sheriff Evangelidis in Spring 2024

Welcome to the December 2025 edition of our monthly newsletter!

Each month, our newsletter takes a moment to step back and share key updates from across our work - major programs, community partnerships, company news, and how it all ties into our mission.

As the year comes to a close, we are highlighting voices from our community partners at the Worcester County House of Correction. Conversations with Lisa Gobi, Director of Education; Abagail Rotti, Director of Substance Abuse; and Sergeant Matthew Lindell give insight into the impact of music education within the facility.

In addition, our CEO & Founder/Director of Higher Ed Partnerships, Melissa Martiros, sat down with Sheriff Lew Evangelidis for the second episode of our new podcast, inTUNE: Stories of Connection through Music. In conjunction with these perspectives from the Sheriff's Office, we're also sharing our new blog post and reviewing the recent showcase at the jail.

First, we're publishing our 2025 Annual Report and announcing another board member...

As 2025 wraps up, we want to take a moment to reflect on everything we accomplished this year. 2025 has been a year of expansion for us with new grants, partnerships, and programs. We invite you to take a look at our Annual Report for a summary of what 2025 looked like at OpporTUNEity. Thank you to our community partners, supporters, board members, and wonderful staff for making 2025 a year full of transformative music education! 

New Board Member

Isabelle Jenkins

Isabelle is the director of the Donelan Office of Community-Based Learning, Teaching, and Engaged Scholarship at the College of Holy Cross. Isabelle offers courses on engaged teaching and learning and anti-racist community research for Holy Cross faculty. She also creates connections with community organizations by overseeing opportunities such as community-based learning courses and research for the Scholarship in Action Program. 

Isabelle received her bachelor's degree in religious studies from Holy Cross and her Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School. Most recently, she received her doctorate in higher education from UMass Boston. 

We are excited to bring Isabelle onto our board as we look to expand our connections to higher education institutions, as fostering pipelines between our music courses and higher ed is a core pillar of our mission.

inTUNE: Rehabilitation, Music & Humanity

On the second episode of our InTUNE: Stories of Connection through Music podcast, Melissa Martiros has a conversation with the Worcester County Sheriff, Lew Evangelidis. They discuss using music as a tool for emotional expression, fostering camaraderie and cultural change, and treating incarcerated individuals with dignity and respect. Sheriff Evangelidis shares why “if the inmate wins, we all win.”

Listeners will have the opportunity to listen to original music by our students at the Worcester County House of Correction, written through our Beat Making and Production and Songwriting Fundamentals courses.

"The essence of music is love."

Have any questions for Melissa? Each episode, Melissa will answer questions about music education, inclusion, and more on a segment called “The Pulse.” We want to hear from parents, students, musicians, community leaders, and educators.

Click the button below to submit a question for Melissa to answer on inTUNE!

Conversations with Community Partners at the Worcester County House of Correction

Our Research and Communications Coordinator, Maggie Frederick, spoke with three key community partners at the Worcester County House of Correction this December: Lisa Gobi, Abagail Rotti, and Matthew Lindell. Each facilitate our music classes at the jail and have unique perspectives on our programming according to their area of expertise. Thank you, Lisa, Abagail, and Matt, for your continued support and insight into why music education is so powerful...

Lisa Gobi

Director of Education at the Worcester County Sheriff's Office

Maggie: What are the major goals of the education programming at the jail? How does OpporTUNEity fit into that?

Lisa: Our job is to give students classes that will help them when they [are released]. So we focus on high school equivalency classes and getting them their credentials. I try to put in some vocational classes, we have classes with Quinsigamond for reading and writing to boost those skills, not only in the workplace upon release but if they want to go on to school. And we work closely with some other community partners for that reason, to make a nice, smooth transition back into the community. When we first started the OpporTUNEity program, it was a class designed for students to have an outlet for whatever they wanted. With the songwriting piece and the showcase piece, we didn’t really restrict them that much, so they kind of had free reign to write what they wanted, kind of as a therapeutic measure for the class. And we built in a piece with that for contact with their family at the end for the showcase. Actually that helped – and that was one of the first programs we did that with – with student attendance, class participation, and things like that, because they really wanted that meeting. You know, it’s evolved since we first started it. Melissa has been great about putting it in the community, where students can continue to work on their writing skills and song skills in the community. With the [Beat Making and Production] class that we started, hoping that can flow into a career… So we’re always looking for courses that will help them on the way out.

Maggie: I know you mentioned that a lot of your programming is with community partners, so upon release there’s that connection to support within the community. How do you build your programming, whether it’s with OpporTUNEity or other organizations, to emphasize to students that support is there for them once they leave?

Lisa: A lot of those programs are already inside, teaching inside the facility… OpporTUNEity, also, where Melissa has expanded to Open Sky and Everyday Miracles, and at the Worcester Sheriff’s reentry program downtown. These guys like consistency and a familiar face, and they’re more apt to participate in programs on the outside if that person has been inside [the jail], so it’s not a stranger to them if they walk through the door. So that’s what we try to do, we also work with the Reentry Department, we’re all very close here, and with Substance Abuse where [OpporTUNEity] is also running… So the more that the outside people are inside, making connections, it’s an easier transition to the outside.

Maggie: I would love to hear of any specific anecdotes or memories from your time working alongside OpporTUNEity – learning moments, powerful songs, etc.

Lisa: We’ve had some students that write some really great songs and they’ve put a lot of thought into them, some of them about their addiction, about not being a good dad, things like that… And like I said, we don’t really limit them in what they can talk about… This is their story, it’s their music, and their writing. 

Abagail Rotti

Director of Substance Abuse at the Worcester County Sheriff's Office

Maggie: ​​Could you briefly explain what your job entails and how programming with OpporTUNEity fits in?

Abagail: I am the Director of Substance Abuse here at Worcester County Jail, and I oversee State of Mind Counselors, who provide the education and direct treatment with the inmates, so just talking about how addiction has impacted them and how it’s led them to prison or jail… Us collaborating with the reentry department and the educational department is so important because we all have the same goal, and it’s just trying to rehabilitate these guys and make sure that when they get out they have a lot of opportunities and they’re open-minded about different future goals. Maybe they’ve never been introduced to music as a child – obviously from a treatment aspect, we believe that it’s very important to connect with the arts. They can be very therapeutic for people, whether it’s just listening to music or learning how to play instruments and writing lyrics. That can be very beneficial for someone that’s early on in recovery, to kind of motivate them and have them express themselves in a healthy way, and they can use it for a very positive outlet. So I’m a huge believer in this program, and I think it’s been really great to have it up here [in the Annex].

Maggie: How has the OpporTUNEity program influenced culture within the Annex?

Abagail: When I’ve seen the guys put on their concert at the end and reflect on when they first started the class – maybe they’re nervous to participate, maybe they feel like there’s no way they could do that – and then see them get up on the stage and work together and come out of their shell a little bit and try something new. They have a lot of fun and it builds a lot of comradery between them. To have their family members come in and watch them and be proud, that’s been a really nice thing to see

Maggie: Could you speak more on how substance abuse recovery and the arts are connected?

Abagail: I just think that a lot of the time emotions can be difficult, especially if you’re used to masking anxiety and depression with substances and you’re trying to find a way to cope and kind of get through that. Music and the arts is a great way to do that, because you’re putting that into something. There’s a positive outcome that comes from it. And maybe the therapeutic aspect is just getting it out on paper, but also sharing your story and sharing your message with other people in a different way, making that connection with other people, is really a huge part of recovery.

Maggie: Would love to hear of any specific anecdotes or memories from your time working alongside OpporTUNEity – learning moments, powerful songs, etc.

Abagail: A couple of things specifically that stand out to me are we’ve had one or two individuals that were already very interested in music and were making music in the community, but when they came here this provided them with a really safe and supportive space to kind of expand upon that. So hearing them share something good about themselves with everyone else and get that support from the OpporTUNEity staff, to really showcase their talent I think is awesome. A lot of the times these guys have been told their whole life that they’re nothing, that they’re not going to do anything positive, that they’re horrible, and they don’t think very highly of themselves. So I think that when you have staff that believe in them and give them the resources and support, it’s really nice to see them feel that. And then, to see guys that you never thought could sing, you would have never thought that they’d be able to carry a tune or write something, and to see them get up on stage and be wonderful – it’s been a very pleasant surprise for a lot of us as staff to see.

Sergeant Matthew Lindell

Correctional Officer at the Worcester County House of Correction

Maggie: When you’re supplying security for the classes, is there anything that sticks out to you about watching the learning process for the students in class?

Matt: You can see that in some of the classes, there’s already some artists in there that kind of know what they’re doing, and you see that evolution a little easier from a guy that [says] ‘hey I’ve played guitar six years ago, I like to do it, but I’d like to pick it up again.’ And he sits with one of the teachers, and now [plays guitar] the whole concert himself. Or singing-wise, like ‘hey this is what you need to practice one and this is what we’re going to focus on.’ So seeing that transition of these guys coming in here maybe not with good charges or they’ve been relapsed for a while, they’ve been using drugs and now they’re here doing a music concert, and they get their family in there, and that’s always a good thing to see.

Maggie: How do you feel like seeing students sing or perform their original music has changed your understanding of them or relationship to them?

Matt: I’m a security officer, compared to a teacher that’s in the class, so I think everybody has a different viewpoint of everything… You know, you see these guys, deal with them, I see the same faces every day, 40 hours a week, coming to programs and learning stuff. So, to see them sing and perform and kind of come out of that shell, it definitely is like, ‘oh yeah, like hopefully this guy when he leaves here he can continue doing this or do something else,’ and just take what he learned here and move it into something else. It may not be music, but ‘hey I was able to perform in front of 35 people, I can talk in front of a group of people, I can do an interview, I can do this,’ you know?

Maggie: That’s interesting what you’re saying about some of those skills, like carrying yourself in front of a crowd, how that can apply to future employment or interviews.

Matt: Like obviously it’s a music program, but they’re trying to teach these guys skills and tools that they can use. Like I said earlier, not many people can go in front of 35 staff members in a jail and sing a song, but hopefully they take that elsewhere and they continue it.

Tony Parlapiano and popMATICS Campfire students performing

"One Man Can Change the World."

On December 9, we celebrated a semester of hard work and musical growth at the Worcester County Jail and House of Correction (WCHoC). 6 students enrolled in our Songwriting Fundamentals course, taught by Dan DeCristofaro and Harman Kaler, and in popMATICS, taught by Tony Parlapiano, performed for family members and jail staff. 

These 6 students shared 4 original songs written through our Songwriting Fundamentals course, one of which was written to an original beat made by our spring 2025 Beat Making and Production course. In addition to an original Christmas song entitled “When I Think of Christmas," our students led the audience in singing classic Christmas carols like “Deck the Halls” and “Silent Night.” 

We worked with Tony Parlapiano of popMATICS to introduce his Campfire experience, an improvisation method centered around storytelling, to our slate of courses at WCHoC. Our students covered “Lean on Me” and “One Man Can Change the World,” accompanying Tony with keyboard elements, shakers, and tambourines. After only 4 piano lessons, one student led the piano section and rapped for “One Man Can Change the World.” He chose the song because its message was important to him, and it was clear that the audience connected to his performance. 

Dan DeCristofaro and Harman Kaler also shared 10 tracks made by students from our Beat Making and Production course. These tracks spanned from EDM to R&B and reflected the unique perspectives of each student. Dan and Harman also performed original songs written through our Songwriters Circles. This was an exciting moment for us to showcase songwriting from the community within WCHoC, especially as we expand our reentry programming with a new Songwriters Circle at the Community Justice Center of the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office. 

The showcase can now be found on our YouTube channel:

Looking ahead to spring 2026, we will continue to evolve our course offerings within the jail. Following our trial of Songwriting Fundamentals students writing to a Beat Making and Production track, we are offering a new songwriting course in the main jail. The class will focus on writing lyrics over beats made during the past two semesters of Beat Making and Production. This course, entitled From Beats to Anthems: the Art of Toplining in the Music Industry, will give students experience that is directly applicable to the music industry. In the Annex, WCHoC’s substance abuse treatment facility, we will offer popMATICS with Tony Parlapiano and Beat Making and Production with Harman Kaler. Building on our expanded course selection from 2025, spring 2026 will bring exciting collaborations between past student beats and current songwriting students! 

This month, we published a new blog post that dives into the lyrics and performance from our fall 2021 semester at the Worcester County House of Correction. This semester, students took on greater ownership of their original music by playing instruments at the showcase. We love looking back at the growth of our program at the jail, especially as we expand our course offerings to piano and beat making today!

Read the blog to discover the themes, lyrics, and relationships built in the fall 2021 semester at OpporTUNEity:

Whether you're an experienced musician or exploring songwriting for the first time, we welcome you to take part in this unique, community-driven experience.

Join us at one of our upcoming weekly sessions:



• Wednesdays at Community Compass at Open Sky Community Services

288 Grove Street, Worcester, MA 01605



• Wednesdays at the Community Justice Support Center

365 Main Street, Worcester, MA 01608

If you are interested in learning more about our program offerings, please use the sign-up button below or email opportuneitymusic@gmail.com.

We look forward to welcoming you!

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