The following organizations have been awarded Music in the Community grants for 2026-2027.
505 Suzuki Collective: Throughout the 2026-2027 school year, the 505 Suzuki Collective will partner with Albuquerque public libraries to host free, monthly string concerts for young children, complete with an interactive "instrument petting zoo" that allows families to experience live music and explore string instruments up close.
The Children's Collection: The Children's Collection is an Albuquerque-based nonprofit that preserves and exhibits creative work made by children — books, inventions, music, board games, and art. We understand that children are capable of more than we grown-ups understand, and we are creating a space where children can learn from and inspire each other.
Jemez Mountains Community Chorus: The Jemez Mountains Community Chorus is expanding its musical outreach in FY27 with two major performances: a Fall/Winter Holiday concert and a Spring/Summer Pops concert. The dual-season schedule will allow JMCC to continue to bring choral music to rural northern New Mexico for both singers and concertgoers.
KURU: KURU Community Radio's "Live from the Green Room" concert series showcases local and regional singers, songwriters, and bands in an intimate setting. Concerts and interviews with the artists are broadcast on KURU 89.1 FM and video archived on our YouTube channel.
Lightning Boy Foundation: The Lightning Boy Foundation will present live Indigenous drum group performances as a central musical component of the Youth Hoop Dance Championship in Santa Fe, New Mexico on August 1 & 2, 2026. This project will feature two established Native drum groups—Northern Drum group Thunder Boy Singers; together, these groups bring decades of experience, representing both Northern and Southern drum traditions within Indigenous music.
Manzano Mountain Art Council: The Mountainair Sunflower Festival, presented by the Manzano Mountain Art Council (MMAC) and the Town of Mountainair, is a free, family-friendly celebration of art and music, featuring more than 50 artist vendors and over a dozen musicians. Drawing visitors from throughout New Mexico, the festival has become a beloved annual tradition and a major economic driver for local businesses, reflecting MMAC's mission to bring accessible arts, music, and cultural experiences to rural communities.
Music from Angel Fire: Music from Angel Fire is a 2 week chamber music festival held from mid-to-late August. It features 20-25 professional, world-class musicians playing a varied repertoire ranging from classical to contemporary music. The small venues provide a unique, intimate experience. Come join us for an exceptional mountain experience.
New Mexico Tech: New Mexico Tech Performing Arts Series will utilize their New Mexico Music Commission Award to support SocorroFest, an annual free community arts event in the Historic Plaza, presented in collaboration with the City of Socorro, on Friday, October 9 and Saturday, October 10. SocorroFest showcases more than 20 bands from Socorro County, New Mexico and the Southwest on three stages--Plaza Gazebo, Capitol Bar and Brewery, Box Canyon Brewing Company--reflecting the musical interests of our unique community, in addition to showcasing a wide variety of arts, food and brewing vendors, plus activities for families.
Quintessence: Voices Within enacts both the belief that every young person deserves creative enrichment and the validity of research that demonstrating that arts programming in correctional settings increases a sense of purpose, builds community, develops focus and discipline, and offers participants a meaningful, positive experience they can carry forward.
Santa Fe Pro Musica: Santa Fe Pro Musica (SFPM) introduces students of Northern New Mexico to the living traditions of classical music by annually presenting a set of five, free one-hour youth concerts. SFPM covers all program costs to ensure every student has access regardless of location or budget.
Now in their 32nd year, these Guided Listening Tours feature the SFPM Orchestra and explore musical forms, instruments, and building blocks, concluding with an interactive Q&A session between the students and the musicians on stage.
Songs, Seeds: "Songs, Seeds, and Acequias" brings the folk ensemble Las Peonías into elementary classrooms across northern New Mexico, sharing original music, acequia wisdom, and a little peace, love, and joy with the next generation of planetary stewards.
Stella's Café: The goal of the project is to increase access to live music performances for community members who have limited opportunities to attend professional musical events. Las Vegas is a rural community with relatively few small venues dedicated to attentive listening.
The following organizations from all over New Mexico have been awarded Music in the Community grants for 2025-5056.
Southwest Roots Music activities -- which are free to the public -- include live outreach with African drumming ensemble Agalu and other NM-based artists, as well as virtual performances by indigenous performers singing in their Native tongues.
Horizons of Albuquerque will use grant funds to expand our summer guitar program into a year-round initiative that offers guitar lessons to Horizons students in 4th-12th grades. This program will provide students opportunities to perform at community events. The funding will cover teacher salaries and the purchase of additional guitars and strings.
As part of the San Juan Symphony's expanded education outreach in our 40th season, Inside the Orchestra will bring area 4th graders into the heart of the symphony on Monday, October 6, 2025, at Henderson Performance Hall. This interactive school-day concert features Respighi's Pines of Rome and guided narration by conductor Thomas Heuser, offering students a rare, immersive experience with live symphonic