Dr. Maxine Thévenot, Instructor of Organ, here at the UNM Department of Music, was one of 14 women organists selected to participate in the Jeanne Demessieux Centennial Tribute. To commemorate the virtuoso French organist, Jeanne Demissieux.
Dr. Thévenot was selected by the women who organized the event, Susan Jane Matthews, Joy-Leilani Garbutt, and Janet Yieh, a collaboration between Boulanger Initiative and the Amplify Female Composers. Dr. Thévenot was an easy choice, having played Jeanne Demessieux music before. Dr. Thévenot is among the foremost artists of her generation, hailed across North America and Europe for her skillful musical playing and inventive programming.
“It was an honor to be chosen among several female organists.” Said Dr. Thévenot. “It was empowering to see all these women paying tribute to Jeanne Demessieux. I was delighted to watch all these women playing different musical instruments, and it was lovely to share the New Mexico music scene.”
There are several places to watch the tribute:
Christ the King – a virtual organist, “Demessieux Te Deum, Opus 11“, featuring Katelyn Emerson, Kimberly Marshall, Joy, Susan, and Janet Yieh, coordinated by Susan Jane Matthews. On the Boulanger Initiative YouTube Channel.
A new documentary video “Sacred Spaces and Inspirations,” also on the Boulanger Initiative YouTube Channel, featuring 9 minutes of interviews and footage from St. Esprit, Paris with Hampus Lindwall and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, NYC with Raymond Nagem, coordinated by Joy-Leilani Garbutt.
St. Cecilia’s Day – the 12 Choral Preludes on Gregorian Chant Themes, Opus 8, on the Amplify Female Composers YouTube Channel
- Rorate caeli (Choral orné) – Sarah Simko
- Adeste fideles (Musette) – Renée Anne Louprette
- Attende Domine (Choral paraphrase) – Jennifer Pascual
- Stabat Mater (Cantabile) – Linda Buzard
- Vexilla Regis (Prélude) – Janet Yieh
- Hosanna Filio David (Choral fugue) – Joy-Leilani Garbutt
- O filii et filiae (Variations) – Carolyn Craig
- Veni Creator (Toccata) – Nicole Marane
- Ubi caritas (Ricercare) – Crista Miller
- In manus tuas (Litanie) – Maxine Thévenot
- Tu es Petrus (Marcia) – Susan Jane Matthews
- Domine Jesu (Berceuse) – Catherine Rodland
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.