By Melissa Ríos, UNM Musicology Graduate Student & Musicology Research Assistant
April 2025
April 17th marked the celebration of a decade of musicology at UNM. To celebrate the occasion, Dr. Heidi Jensen, who was the first graduate of the revamped program in 2015, was invited to present her research at the final colloquium of the academic year. Her lecture titled, “‘That’ll Learn Ya!’ Pirates, Pauses, and Parergon: Nine Simone and the Sublime Lehrstück” was a testament to the level of scholarship that is fostered in the musicology program at UNM.
UNM Music Department Chair Dr. Michael Hix, who also holds a Master’s in Musicology, delivered the opening remarks congratulating Dr. Ana R. Alonso-Minutti, head of the Musicology area, on her unwavering dedication and work that continues to grow the program. In attendance were UNM Musicology alumni Renata Yazzie, Amy Gillespie, and Roberto de León as well as current graduate students Tyician C. Knight and Melissa Ríos, among music department professors and community members who still remember Dr. Jensen and wanted to show their support and congratulate her on her recent position of Assistant Professor of Musicology at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.
A reception followed Dr. Jensen’s presentation in which a continuation of the dialogue took place in a convivial atmosphere that speaks to the openness of communication encouraged by the scholars in attendance. An alumni newsletter was also created to include those that could not be in attendance. The celebration included a heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Alonso-Minutti and the UNM Musicology Department on ten years of championing research that highlights the academic aspects of musical performance!
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
STUDY WITH Dr. Alonso-Minutti during Fall 2025, by registering for “Mexican Music Beyond Borders,” MUS 447/547 which will be offered Tuesdays and Thursdays 12:30-1:45pm
LEARN MORE ABOUT MUSICOLOGY, an area of study within The UNM Department of Music, by visiting https://music.unm.edu/areas/musicology/
FOR SPECIFIC QUESTIONS, please contact Dr. Alonso-Minutti at aralonso@unm.edu
READ THE FULL Musicology Newsletter
Southwest Contemporary Vol. 12: Obsession features some incredible work from several of the amazing people who comprise the Art Department. Current second-year MFA students Luka Berkley and Justine Kablack, recent MFA graduate Taylor Engel, and instructor Jessamyn Lovell all have work featured in this most recent issue of Southwest Contemporary.
Art History Professor Ray Hernández-Durán was recently featured in two articles and interviewed by the Latin American and Iberian Institute. UNM News published “UNM Professors Create Exhibition, First-Ever Scholarship of Local Chicano Artists’ Work” by Anna Padilla, highlighting an exhibition curated by Hernández-Durán and Dr. Irene Vásquez. The show, now on view at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, features six talented New Mexican Chicano artists whose work has been historically underrepresented in academic scholarship.
Distinguished Professor Jim Stone is an exhibiting artist who uses photography. His photographs have been published in three monographs and exhibited internationally; they are represented in the permanent collections of over 30 major museums and public archives.
