UNM Fine Arts

Welcome to our new Assistant Professor of Oboe, Dr. Jillian Kouzel!

An advocate for new music, Dr. Kozuel has commissioned and premiered numerous works, most recently Quiet Triumph by Karalyn Schubring, which she will perform at the IDRS conference this summer. She is an active freelance musician and previously held the position of utility oboe and English horn with the Lima Symphony Orchestra. Kouzel frequently performs with the Illinois, Heartland Festival, and Peoria Symphonies, and has appeared as a soloist across the U.S. and internationally. Her recordings include The Wind Ensemble Music of Arnold Rosner and Fernande Decruck Concertante Works. She performed in internationally recognized festivals such as the New York String Orchestra Seminar and National Repertory Orchestra. Kouzel previously served as Assistant Professor of Oboe at Illinois State University. She holds a DMA and dual MM degrees from the University of Michigan, and a BM from the University of Texas at Austin.

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Welcome to our new Director of UNM Symphony Orchestra and Assistant Professor of Orchestral Studies, Dr. Kǎrin Hendrickson!

Dr. Hendrickson joins the University of New Mexico with a distinguished career in orchestral conducting, opera, and training young musicians.

She has performed with prestigious orchestras, including the Belgian National Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, London Symphony Orchestra, and all of the BBC orchestras, among others. Dr. Hendrickson also has significant experience in opera, having served as Music Director for various opera performances, as well as Chorus Master for both professional adult and children’s opera choruses.

An accomplished orchestra and opera training pedagogue, Dr. Hendrickson has trained and performed with over 35 pre-professional ensembles across four continents. Highlights of her teaching career include collaborations with the Concertgebouworkest Young and the Royal Conservatoire Ghent (opera). She was a 3-year guest artist at the North Carolina School of the Arts, which featured performances of Bernstein’s MASS and a PBS-televised adaptation of The Nutcracker Ballet as well as multiple appointees with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. She has also prepared young musicians for esteemed conductors such as Marin Alsop, Michael Tilson-Thomas and Gustavo Dudamel.

Dr. Hendrickson has taught masterclasses or seminars at world-class institutions, including die MUK in Austria, the Southbank Centre (London), and Concertgebouworkest Young. Additionally, she served on competition panels for the Royal Northern Sinfonia (England) Composition Competition and the University of Iowa Concerto Competition.

Her conducting training began at George Mason University under Professor Anthony Maiello, continued with Gustav Meier at the Peabody Conservatory, and culminated in a degree with Distinction from the Royal Academy of Music in London under Colin Metters. She has an undergraduate degree in Music from Grove City College, and was awarded their Jack Kennedy Distinguished Alumni award in 2024.

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Congratulations class of 2025!