department of music
Our Mission
The University of New Mexico Department of Music aims to provide the highest quality musical education, in order to make a substantial contribution to the cultural life of its region and the world by reinforcing the integral value of music in society.
We strive to give each student a first-rate musical education under the guidance of our dynamic artist faculty, and a well-balanced program among the disciplines of performance, music education, theory and composition, jazz studies, string pedagogy, conducting and musicology.
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Auditions & Scholarships
The University of New Mexico Department of Music has many generous scholarship and assistantship opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students interested in a music education at UNM.
Performances & Events
Our students and faculty regularly perform music in the Center for the Arts’ Keller Hall.
For more information about performances, tickets, etc.,
please contact Keller Hall at (505) 277-2131 or email keller@unm.edu.
Stories from the HeART of Music in New Mexico
UNM Faculty Take Music and Collaboration to Europe
UNM faculty members Aaron Jacobs and Tatiana Shustova traveled to the Netherlands and Finland for a week of international performances, presentations, and collaboration, including sessions at the European String Teachers Association conference in Helsinki and a chamber music performance with Finnish musicians.
Christian M. Newman Published a New Music History and Music Appreciation eBook
Christian M. Newman, a lifelong New Mexican composer, historian, and college course designer, has published the eBook, Music Essentials from the Western Classical Tradition: Middle Ages to the Present (First Edition) with Cognella Academic Publications, ©2027. Newman developed and authored this work as a music lecturer with the University of New Mexico’s department of music, and department of theatre & dance between 2016 and 2026.
UNM strings faculty sign historic agreement with Chinese Conservatory
University of New Mexico string faculty members Carmelo de los Santos, professor of violin and Christoph Wagner, assistant professor of cello and head of strings, traveled to China recently to formalize a landmark international partnership between the UNM College of Fine Arts and the Zhejiang Conservatory of Music (ZJCM), one of China’s leading institutions for higher music education.
From the Chair
“Welcome to the Department of Music at UNM! The Department of Music combines a comprehensive faculty of highly regarded performers, scholars, and educators with a talented and energetic student body to create an environment of artistic discovery and expression. Our wide range of concentrations and course offerings provides students with a dynamic educational environment and many opportunities to explore and expand their artistic horizons.
Whether your career goals are to compose, teach, study, or perform music professionally, or if you want to keep music as an integral part of your life as you pursue your other studies, there is a place for you in the University of New Mexico Department of Music.”
—Michael Hix, Chair, Department of Music
Department of Music
MSC04 2570
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001
Phone: (505)277-2126
Email: music@unm.edu
Contact Music
National Association of Schools of Music
11250 Roger Bacon Drive, Suite 21
Reston, VA 20190-5248
(703) 437-0700 Phone
(703) 437-6312 Fax