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Eric Rombach-Kendall served as the director of bands at UNM since 1993. Photo courtesy of UNM Music.

Death of UNM Director of Bands Eric Rombach-Kendall leaves profound impact, legacy

The University of New Mexico suffered a great loss with the death of music professor and Director of Bands Eric Rombach-Kendall on Monday, Jan. 24. Survived by his wife Julie and children Michael and Rebecca, Rombach-Kendall is remembered not only for his musical genius but also for his heartfelt impact on the lives of those around him.

Rombach-Kendall served as director of bands at UNM for nearly 30 years since 1993. Previously, he was a conductor at Boston University and Carleton College, and he taught in the Washington State public school system for six years.

Rombach-Kendall was recognized nationally when he served as the president of the College Band Directors National Association from 2011 to 2013.

A vigil was held Monday afternoon when Rombach-Kendall was still in a coma after suffering from a heart attack. Loved ones, colleagues, current and former students, and more were in attendance to mourn.

Colleague Chad Simons, associate professor of music and director of UNM athletics bands, referenced a section from Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman’s poem “The Hill We Climb” at the vigil, speaking of the light that Rombach-Kendall always gave to UNM.

“For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it, if only we’re brave enough to be it,” Gorman’s poem reads.

Having taught and conducted thousands of musicians, Rombach-Kendall’s legacy will continue for generations through his students, colleagues and others.

“I truly admired Eric’s dependable, thoughtful, straightforward leadership. As many of you, I truly looked up to him and knew that If I had a problem he had my back. He was always incredibly supportive,” Michael Hix, interim chair of the music department, wrote in an email to the fine arts department. “He is irreplaceable and will be deeply missed by his friends, colleagues and mentees/students here at UNM.”

Hix referenced “A Psalm of Life,” a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, to conclude the vigil on Monday.

“Lives of great men all remind us, we can make our lives sublime / And, departing, leave behind us, footprints on the sands of time / Footprints, that perhaps another, sailing o’er life’s solemn main / A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, seeing, shall take heart again,” Hix read out loud.

Megan Gleason is the Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at editorinchief@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @fabflutist2716

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