About

Friends of Music, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation, established in December of 1969 with the purpose to develop and cultivate a wider public interest in and financial support for musical education and appreciation by creating and supporting music students at the University of New Mexico through scholarship and performance opportunities.

Friends of Music was established by music supporters in Albuquerque at the request of music professors at the University of New Mexico, who saw a need for scholarship support of their students. Early members of Friends of Music included Kurt Kubie, Max Linn, Ulrich Luft, John Randall, Joe Eckert Huber, and Rudolf Dreyer, along with UNM Music Professor Dr. Morton Schoenfeld and Chair of Music Walter B. Keller. Their purpose was twofold: to promote general public interest in music, and to assist the UNM Music Department in expanding their program. $1,000 was pledged the first year with $200 as their top award. The first Friends of Music musicale was held in June 1970 in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Rufus G. Poole, with members of the UNM Music faculty performing.

The Friends of Music has presented a variety of musicales and other events and performances, and has provided support and hospitality for UNM music student recipients of the Friends of Music Scholarships. Hundreds of students in the UNM Department of Music have received support from Friends of Music scholarships.

A conservative estimate of the contributions to the UNM Department of Music to support scholarships during their first fifty years is $500,000. In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Friends of Music, the board established an endowment in the amount of $500,000 at UNM, bringing the total contributions of the group supporting music students at UNM to $1,000,000.