Las Cruces High School

Gabriella Alvarez is an accomplished flutist and music educator from Las Cruces, New Mexico. She received both her Bachelors of Music Education and Instrumental Performance from New Mexico State University where she studied under renowned musicians and educators.

While at NMSU, Gabriella was principal chair for the NMSU Wind Symphony and NMSU Philharmonic Orchestra for four years. She was also selected for many leadership roles within the NMSU music department including drum major and NAfME president. It was with great honor that Gabriella represented NMSU for promotional videos, inspiring music education articles, and interviews produced by The New York Times and Brut during the pandemic. After the pandemic, Gabriella held graduate level responsibilities while working for the Pride of New Mexico during her final undergraduate year in college.

Other accomplishments throughout her life include being named the NMMEA 2024 New and Emerging Educator of the Year, winning the El Paso Youth Orchestra Competition, winning the NMSU Pressor Music Competition, performing as a soloist for the NMSU Philharmonic Orchestra, recording holiday music presented on news channels, and recording for band cover albums. She was also selected to perform for the NMSU honors recital every semester while in college.

Gabriella’s previous teaching experiences include student teaching at Chaparral Middle School and Santa Teresa High School. After student teaching, Gabriella was hired to work with Mesa Middle school where she specialized in teaching woodwinds and lead teaching beginning band. Her work ethic at the middle school level has earned her bands superior ratings at the Southwest Music Performance Assessment festival and has allowed her to produce well accomplished concerts throughout the school year. She has also helped many of her students earn superior ratings at Solo and Ensemble and has helped her students audition for the All-City honor band.

Gabriella is extremely excited to be rejoining the Las Cruces High School band program where she assisted as a marching band technician during her time in college. It has always been a dream for Gabriella to teach high school and she hopes to continue making a positive difference in her community. Overall, Gabriella’s goals as a growing music educator are to help create an environment that inspires her students to achieve success and develop a life-long appreciation for music.