Dr. Melissa Ryan appointed Assistant Professor of Education
The UNM Dept. of Music is excited to announce the appointment of Dr. Melissa Ryan as Assistant Professor of Music Education and the Head of the Music Education Area.
Dr. Ryan had the following to say about her new position, “The UNM Department of Music is a truly special place, and I am beyond thrilled to join this welcoming and thriving community. Upon arriving, I felt energized and inspired by the carefully crafted community fostered by music students, faculty, and staff. I am excited to find my place within UNM and contribute to its legacy of music-making, teaching, and learning both within the region and beyond.”
“We are so excited to have Dr. Ryan join us at UNM. She will be a tremendous asset to our team. I know that the music educators across the state are eager to welcome her,” says. Dr. Michael Hix, Chair of the Dept. of Music.
Dr. Ryan comes to UNM from the University of New Hampshire. She is dedicated to advancing the musical engagement, pedagogical learning, and social awareness of future and current music students and teachers. She has taught music in Hawaii, China, Nashville (TN), and Miami (FL) in elementary and secondary classroom settings. Additionally, Dr. Ryan has facilitated students’ musical learning by partnering with inclusive community music programs in under-resourced communities across the U.S. Dr. Ryan’s passions include creating actively inclusive musical experiences for all students and fostering agency and personhood through liberatory teaching practices.
As a practitioner, Dr. Ryan provides professional development opportunities for teachers at a local and state level. Utilizing her Orff, Modern Band, and World Music Pedagogy training, she facilitates workshops for current and future music teachers on classroom topics such as creativity, composition, movement, inclusivity, and world music curriculum.
Dr. Ryan earned her Ph.D. (2020) and M.M. (2017) from the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music. She regularly presents her research at state, national, and international conferences. Some of these include the International Society for Music Education conference, National Association for Music Education conferences, Mountain Lake Colloquium, and the Desert Skies International Symposium on Research in Music Learning and Teaching. Her work has been published in peer-reviewed journals, such as Update: Applications of Research in Music Education and The Orff Echo. Her research interests include teachers’ perceptions of social justice in music teacher education, restorative justice teaching practices, and music teachers’ pedagogical creativity.
People on the Move: UNM Theatre and Dance Faculty Dominika Laster Presents New Documentary on EU Border Crisis
The UNM Department of Theatre and Dance, Drzewo Productions, and Performance in the Peripheries announced today the pre-release screening of People on the Move a documentary short about the Polish-Belarusian border crisis. The screening will take place on 23 November...
New scholarship for UNM Music, The Franklin Garber Endowed Scholarship in Music
UNM Assistant Professor of Cello, Christoph Wagner and freshman Sofia Martin, who received the first award from the new Franklin Garber Endowed Scholarship in Music.The UNM Department of Music is delighted to announce the first award from the new Franklin Garber...
Blown away by groundbreaking for new fine arts building CCAT
Albuquerque, NM – On the evening of Tuesday, October 15, 2024, The UNM College of Fine Arts faculty, staff, students, and honored guests gathered at the site of the future fine arts building, the Center for Collaborative Arts & Technology, also known as CCAT, to...