Roger Lewis Melone

Roger Lewis Melone passed away peacefully at the age of 81 on April 23, 2025, in Albuquerque, NM. He was born in Tulsa, OK on July 3, 1943, to the late Lewis and Lucille Melone.

Roger enjoyed a long and successful career as a conductor. In 1967, he was appointed Choral Director and Associate Conductor of The San Antonio Symphony Orchestra and Grand Opera, a position he held until being named Resident Conductor and Choral Director of The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra in 1983. He remained with the chorus until his retirement in 2023. Throughout his career Roger also served as guest conductor of orchestras and choruses around the United States.

New Mexico held a special place in Roger's heart. He was a passionate advocate for music and the arts in the community, and his concerts touched the lives of tens of thousands of audience members across the region. His memory will be treasured by the hundreds of musicians who collaborated with him through four decades.

A memorial celebration will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, at the First Unitarian Church of Albuquerque, 3701 Carlisle Blvd. NE.

"We must never forget that music is movement, always going somewhere, shifting and changing, and flowing, from one note to another; and that movement can tell us more about the way we feel than a million words can", and "Music can name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable"

-Leonard Bernstein