Cohen, M. L., & Duncan, S. P. (2022). Music-making in U.S. prisons: Listening to Incarcerated Voices. Wilfrid Laurier University Press.

Articles

Harry, A. G., Cohen, M. L., & Hollingworth, L. (2023). An evaluation of a musical learning exchange: A case study in a U.S. prison. International Journal of Music Education, 41(3), 398-412.

Rhodd, A.R., & Cohen, M. L. (2022). Finding mountains with music: Growth and spiritual transcendence in a U.S. prison. Religions, 13(11), 1012. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13111012

Cohen, M. L. (2019). Choral singing in prisons: Evidence-based activities to support returning citizens. The Prison Journal, 99(4), 106-117 https://doi.org/10.1177/0032885519861082

Cohen, M. L., & Wilson, C. (2017). Inside the fences: The processes and purposes of songwriting in an adult male U.S. prison. International Journal of Music Education, 35(4), 543-551.

Cohen, M. L., & Palidofsky, M. (2013). Changing lives: Incarcerated female youth create and perform with the Storycatchers Theatre and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. American Music, 31(3), 163-182.

Cohen, M. L. (2012b). Writing between rehearsals: A tool for assessment and building camaraderie. Music Educators Journal, 98(3), 43-48. doi: 10.1177/0027432111432524.

Cohen, M. L. (2010). Christopher Small: A biographical profile of his life. Journal of Historical Research in Music Education, 31(2), 132-150.

Cohen, M. L. (2010b). Risk taker extraordinaire: An interview with Elvera Voth. International Journal of Community Music, 3(1), 151-156.

Cohen, M. L. (2009b). Choral singing and prison inmates: Influences of singing in a prison choir. Journal of Correctional Education, 60(1), 52-65.

Cohen, M. L. (2009c). Conductors’ perspectives of Kansas prison choirs. International Journal of Community Music, 1(3), 319-333.

Cohen, M. L. (2008b). “Mother Theresa, how can I help you?” The story of Elvera Voth, Robert Shaw, and the Bethel College Benefit Sing-Along for Arts in Prison, Inc. International Journal of Research in Choral Singing, 3(1), 4-22.

Cohen, M. L. (2008a, Summer/Autumn). People on the ground make music in the air: Community connections through choral singing. Music in the Air, 24-28.

Cohen, M. L. (2007a). Explorations of inmate and volunteer choral experiences in a prison-based choir. Australian Journal of Music Education, 1, 61-72.

Cohen, M. L. (November 2007b). Prison choirs: Studying a unique phenomenon. Choral Journal. 47-50.

Book Chapters

Cohen, M. L., & Winemiller, R. (in press). Opening Minds, Hearts, and Visions: Interactions among Choir Volunteers and Incarcerated Individuals. In F. McNeill, M. Cocoran, & B. Weaver. Introducing Generative Justice.

Cohen, M. L., Davis, N., Blackwell, M., & Rhodd, A. (forthcoming). Mercy sown, mercy reaped: Traveling over under prison wires to build solidarity through collaborative songwriting (pp. 93-112). In A. Mangaoang, L. Froden, & K. Herrity (Eds.). Sound and detention: Towards critical listening, sonic citizenship and social justice.

Cohen, M. L. (forthcoming). Navigating Grief and Stepping into Collective Power at the Closure of a Prison Choir. In J. Boyce-Tillman, P. Jerling, L. Orlandi, & L. van der Merwe. (Eds.) Autoethnographies in music, spirituality, and well-being.

Cohen, M. L. (2024). Collaboration as a tool for transformative justice: Writing, songwriting, and communal singing (pp. 105-121). In L. Caufield & M. Gardner (Eds.). Arts in Criminal Justice and Corrections: International Perspectives on Methods, Journeys, and Challenges.

Swanson, R., D., & Cohen, M. L. (2023). Music-making in prisons and schools: Dismantling carceral logics. In K. Hendricks (Ed.). Oxford handbook of care in music education (pp. 517-530). Oxford University Press.

Cohen, M. L. (2021). “Love Lives On: Eine Fallstudie uber den Oakdale Prison Community Choir. German Publication about Music Education in Prisons. In A. de Banffy-Hall, D. M. Eberhard, & A. Ziegenmeyer (Eds.). Musik im strafvollzug: Perspektiven aus forschung und praxis (pp. 111-120). Munster: Waxmann 2021.

Cohen, M. L., Kana, J., & Winemiller, R. (2021). Life within these walls: Community music-making as a bridge of healing and transformation in prison contexts. In L. Willingham (Ed.), Community Music at the Boundaries (pp. 383-401). Waterloo, Ontario, Canada: Wilfrid Laurier University Press.

Sullivan, B., Cohen, M., & Seybert, K. (2020). Liminal spaces: Making music in correctional contexts. In K. Vu & A. Quadros (Eds.), My Body Was Left on the Street: Music Education and Displacement (pp. 71-83). Boston, MA: Brille Sense.

Cohen, M. L. (2019). Performing arts activities with hopes to build positive self-identity, heal harms, and broaden U.S. public’s perceptions of people inside prisons. In M. Balfour, B. Bartleet, L. Davey, J. Rynne, & H. Schippers. Performing arts in prisons: Creative perspectives. Bristol: Intellect.

Cohen, M. (2019). As far as the ear can hear: Choral singing in prisons grows a community of caring. In S. J. Pradarelli (Ed.), As far as the eye can see: The promises and perils of research and scholarship in the 21st century (pp. 141-148). University of Iowa Press.

Cohen, M. L., Silber, L. Sangiorgio, A., & Iadeluca, V. (2018). Music-making as a means to promote positive relationships. In G. Welch & G. McPherson (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of music education, Second edition. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Cohen, M. L., & Henley, J. (2018). Music-making behind bars: The many dimensions of community music in prisons. In B. Bartleet & L. Higgins (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of community music (pp. 153-171). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Miller, P., & Cohen, M. L. (2017). “Dear Younger Me”: Writing, songwriting, and choral singing while incarcerated as a means to build identities and bridge communities. M. Reason & N. Lowe (Eds.). Applied practice: Evidence and impact in theatre, music and art (pp. 195-201). London, UK: Bloomsbury Methuen Drama.

Cohen, M. L., & Duncan, S. P. (2015). Restorative and transformative justice and its relationship to music education within and beyond prison contexts. In C. Benedict, P. Schmidt, G. Spruce, & P. Woodford (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Social Justice in Music Education (pp. 554-566). NY: Oxford University Press.

Henley, J., Cohen, M., & Mota, G. (2013). Musical development and positive identity change within criminal justice settings. In G. C. Beyens, M. A. M. Ramos, E. Zipane, & T. Ophuijsen (Eds.), Rethinking education: Empowering individuals with the appropriate educational tools, skills, and competencies for their active cultural, political and economic participation in society in Europe and beyond (pp. 120-149). Brussels: Access to Culture Platform.

Cohen, M. L., & Silverman, M. (2013). Personal growth through music-making: The Oakdale Prison Community Choir and homeless men in a therapeutic program in New York City. In K.K. Veblen, S.J. Messenger, M. Silverman, & D. Elliott (Eds.), Community music today (pp. 199-216). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Cohen, M. L. (2012a). Safe havens: The formation and practice of prison choirs in the US. In L. Cheliotis (Ed.), The arts of imprisonment: Control, resistance, and empowerment (pp. 227-234). Aldershot, UK: Ashgate Publishers.

Cohen, M. L., & Hickey, M. H. (2012). Function-based music education: A framework for facilitating musical learning and developing human relationships through analyses of two prison case studies. In L.K. Thompson & M.R. Campbell (Eds.), Situating inquiry: Expanded venues for music education research.Advances in music education book series (pp. 99-118). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

Cohen, M. L., Silber, L. Sangiorgio, A., & Iadeluca, V. (2012). At-risk youth: Music-making as a means to promote positive relationships. In G. Welch & G. McPherson (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of music education (Vol. 2, pp. 185-202). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Gromko, J. E., & Cohen, M. L. (2011). Choir in prison: The relationship of psychological needs to perceptions of meaning in music. In P. Madura (Ed.), Advances in social psychology and music education research (pp. 107-114). London, UK: SEMPRE: Society for Education, Music, and Psychology Research.

Cohen, M. L., & Roudabush, C. (2010). Music tech, adaptive music, and rock band 101: Engaging middle school-age students in general music class. In A. Clements (Ed.), Alternative approaches in music education: Case studies from the field (pp. 67-82). Lanham, MD: MENC in conjunction with Rowman and Littlefield Publication.

Publications in Proceedings

Cohen, M. L. (2025). Close a prison door, open new windows: Issues of access, creating, and sustaining partnerships. In C. Birch (Ed.) CMA Proceedings 2024

***Henley, J., & Cohen, M. (2014). Constructing personal narratives around key musical events: Redefining identities and attitudes within and outside of prison music. In M. Cohen (Ed.), Listening to the world: Experiencing and connecting to the knowledge from community music. Proceedings from the 14th Community Music Activity Commission (pp. 115-123). Salvador, Brazil: International Society of Music Education.

*Cohen, M. L., Duncan, S., & Anderson, K. (2013). Who needs music? Toward an overview of music programs in U.S. juvenile facilities. In D. Coffman (Ed.), Proceedings from the International Society of Music Education (ISME) 2012 Seminar of the Commission for Community Music Activity (pp. 73-79). International Society for Music Education.

Cohen, M. L. (2010c). Select music programs and restorative practices in prisons across the US and the UK. In D. Coffman (Ed.), Harmonizing the diversity that is community music activity: Proceedings from the International Society of Music Education (ISME) 2010 Seminar of the Commission for Community Music Activity (pp. 81-86). International Society for Music Education.

*Cohen, M. L., & Smith, E. (2009a). A case study of the process of an adult female learning to sing in a senior chorus. In T. Reynish (Ed.). Sharing the voices: The phenomenon of singing VII (pp. 34-43). St. John’s, NL: Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Edited Proceedings and Editorial

Cohen, M. L. (Ed.). (2016). Innovation and change in community music. Proceedings of the XV International Seminar of the ISME Commission on Community Music Activity. Edinburgh, Scotland: International Society for Music Education.

Cohen, M. L (Ed.). (2014). Listening to the world: Experiencing and connecting the knowledge from community music. Proceedings from the 14th Community Music Activity Commission. Salvador, Brazil: International Society for Music Education.

Cohen, M. L. (2010a). Editorial. Special issue of the International Journal of Community Music on Criminal Justice and Music, 3(1), 3-6.

International Media Presentations

Cohen, M. L. “Choral Singing in Prisons: Opportunities for Personal and Social Growth: A Conversation with Mary Cohen,” Interview with Alicia de Banffy-Hall in Deutsches Musikinformations Zentrum, Knowledge of Musical Life, May 2023: https://miz.org/de

Cohen, M. L. Interview with Sara Mohr-Pietsch for BBC3 Music Matters Radio Show, December 3, 2022, available streaming from the United Kingdom: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001fnty

Cohen, M. L., Duncan, S. P., & Willingham, L. “Looking at Community Music: A Fluid Definition,” The Authority File Podcast, Episode 232, December 8, 2021. https://www.choice360.org/podcasts/episode-232/

Cohen, M. L., Duncan, S. P., & Willingham, L. “Looking at Community Music: Music-Making in Prisons,” The Authority File Podcast, Episode 234, December 15, 2021. https://www.choice360.org/podcasts/episode-234/

Cohen, M. L., Duncan, S. P., & Willingham, L. “Looking at Community Music: Activism, Resources, and Current Movements,” The Authority File Podcast, Episode 236, December 22, 2021. https://www.choice360.org/podcasts/epsiode-236/

Cohen, M. L., Duncan, S. P., & Willingham, L. “Looking at Community Music: Can It Thrive within Higher Education,” The Authority File Podcast, Episode 238, December 29, 2021. https://www.choice360.org/podcasts/episode-238/

Cohen, M. L. Interview with Lukas Pairon on the Social Impact of Making Music Podcast #3, January 17, 2021. https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8xNDI0MjkzLnJzcw/episode/QnV6enNwcm91dC03MzMwODEz?hl=en&ved=2ahUKEwjQiZGHt6juAhUVac0KHWkCD54QjrkEegQICRAL&ep=6

Cohen, M. L. Community Music von allen, für alle, Deutschlandfunk Jultur, August 2019 (in German). https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/musik-und-inklusion-community-music-von-allen-fuer-alle-100.html

Cohen, M. L. Interview on Songwriting and Creativity in Music for a short film created by David Gould for the 12th Annual Middle School Leaders’ Conference in Tokyo, Japan and the 2nd MS Teachers’ Conference in Tokyo, Japan, March 2015.

National Media Presentations

Cohen, M. L. “The Change” and Interview. Episode 150 of A Breath of Song Podcast, June 2024. https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/150-the-change-with-guest-mary-cohen#/

Cohen, M. L. “May My Tears Water a Sapling.” Episode 149 of A Breath of Song Podcast, June 2024. https://www.abreathofsong.com/episodes--show-notes/149-may-my-tears-water-a-sapling#/

Cohen, M. L. “Practices and Potentials of Music-Making in Prisons.” Sage Video Resource, March 2024.https://sk.sagepub.com/video/skpromo/kbYWbz/practices-and-potentials-of-music-making-in-prisons

Cohen, M. L., & Roma, C. Podcast interview with McKenna Stenson and Kyra Stahr, Conduct(her) Podcast. Part 1: https://open.spotify.com/episode/06bZkTHyI4kbTWa3ElGw2E?si=d513d6eace0e42ff&nd=1&dlsi=aa008e14aa8945ea March 20, 2024; Part 2: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1iEZ6PJ6aK1E0htL4qepBt?si=3a8848fa423740dd&nd=1&dlsi=30b4519e51e34dd4March 27, 2024.

Cohen, M. L. “Giving Inmates a Second Chance at Life.” Interview with Sheila White on the Gifted with Sheila White podcast, Season 2, Episode 27, March 4, 2024. https://road2eternity.net/media/976070-4095596-34793408/giving-inmates-a-second-chance-at-life-s-2-episode-37-mary-l-cohen

Cohen, M. L. Interview on The Lightning Strike on the WCPT 802 AM radio. February 4, 2024. Available at this link. https://tlschicago.com/

Joseph, Deanna Lynn. Choral Journal Panel Interview, summer 2023.

Cohen, M. L. Music Ed Insights Podcast Interview, June 29, 2023.

Cohen, M. L., Frierson, S., & White, K. Singing in Prisons, Part 2. The Choral Commons, February 24, 2021. https://www.buzzsprout.com/1047100/8026419-gather-singing-in-prisons-part-2-mary-cohen-simone-frierson-karletta-white

Cohen, M. L. Hearing Incarcerated Voices, Podcast interview with William Cleveland on Change the Story Change the World, Episode 19, February 17, 2021. https://change-the-story-chan.captivate.fm/episode/episode-19-mary-cohen-freeing-silenced-voices

Cohen, M. L. Interview with Lukas Pairon, Social Impact of Making Music #3, January 17, 2021. https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8xNDI0MjkzLnJzcw/episode/QnV6enNwcm91dC03MzMwODEz?hl=en&ved=2ahUKEwjQiZGHt6juAhUVac0KHWkCD54QjrkEegQICRAL&ep=6

Cohen, M. L. Radio OPAC: Ohio Prison Arts Connection Virtual Interview, December 2, 2020. https://www.kaltura.com/index.php/extwidget/preview/partner_id/1004581/uiconf_id/36005261/entry_id/1_7njx5m1w/embed/dynamic

Interview with Dr. Kevin Shorner-Johnson for Podcast “Singing Connected Relationships in Prison Contexts,” August 2019. https://www.musicpeacebuilding.com/singinginprisoncontexts

Cohen, M. L., & Huyser-Honig, J. Mary L. Cohen on Community Choirs in Prisons. Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, August 12, 2019. https://worship.calvin.edu/resources/resource-library/mary-l-cohen-on-community-choirs-in-prisons

Huyser-Honig, J., & Cohen, M. L. Mary L. Cohen on Prison Choirs that Churches Can Start. Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, August 12, 2019. https://worship.calvin.edu/resources/resource-library/mary-l-cohen-on-prison-choirs-that-churches-can-start

Cohen, M. L. Interviewed by Samantha Max for Nashville Public Radio Story, “At the Nashville Jail, Inmates and Songwriters Come Together for a Day of Music-Filled Healing,” August 9, 2019. https://wpln.org/post/at-the-nashville-jail-inmates-and-songwriters-come-together-for-a-day-of-music-filled-healing/

Cohen, M. L. Interviewed by Omar Etman, PBS News hour about Canadian Music in Prisons Program, August 27, 2017. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/prison-capital-canada-group-musicians-recorded-album-behind-bars

Kana, J. (2017). Iowa Prison Choir models social healing, Inside Journal (September, October. November, pp. 1-2).

Hill, S. (2016). Profile: Educator sounds note of welcome in prison choir, Kansas Alumni, 5.

Kasparie, J. (2015, December 10). Inside prison: Inmates and volunteers create musical performance. [KCRG TV News Story]. Cedar Rapids, Iowa. https://www.kcrg.com/content/news/Inside-Prison-Inmates--Volunteers-Create-Musical-Performance-361521981.html

Lee, D. (2014). Finding freedom through song, Chorus America, April 4, 2014. https://chorusamerica.org/conducting-performing/finding-freedom-through-song