On March 23rd and 24th, UNM Music Professors Kristina Jacobsen (Ethnomusicology; former President, Society for Ethnomusicology, Southwest Chapter) and David Bashwiner (Music Theory; outgoing President, Rocky Mountain Society for Music Theory) traveled with Musicology and Music Theory graduate students Regan Homeyer, Renata Yazzie and Matthew Stanley to present their original research at the regional Rocky Mountain Scholars’ Conference in Tucson, Arizona, hosted by the University of Arizona’s Department of Music. The very successful student papers given were:
Matthew Stanley (Music Theory), “Toward Metric Stability: The Interplay of Hemiola, Syncopation, and Meter in Brahms’ Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Major, Op. 78”
Regan Homeyer (Musicology), “Sounding the Nile: Hamza El Din as ‘Ethnographic Ear’”
Renata Yazzie (Musicology/Piano Performance), “Indigenizing Art Music: An Analysis of Connor Chee’s Navajo Vocables for Piano
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.
UNM’s Abe Franck String Quartet completes first residency at China’s Zhejiang Conservatory
A new exchange program has been solidified that opens doors for all College of Fine Arts students