Flutist Mary-Elizabeth Thompson is an Associate Professor of Music at Sul Ross State University, where she teaches woodwind performance, music history, and music education courses. She is currently the second flutist of the Las Cruces Symphony Orchestra and is in demand as a recitalist and chamber musician. Recent performances include appearances with the Lynx Trio at the Consulado General de México in El Paso, TX and for the Asociación de Música de Cámara del Norte in Juárez, MX. An advocate for new music, Thompson has been invited to perform in festivals such as the New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival, the Puentes Festival in Puebla, MX, and the Foro Internacional de Música Nueva Manuel Enríquez in Mexico City; and as a guest lecturer/performer in conferences such as the Consejo de la Música de las Tres Americas in San Juan, Puerto Rico, National Flute Association Annual Convention, and the College Music Society International Conference in Belgium. She has commissioned and premiered works by composers such as Jim Stephenson, Carson Cooman, Malcolm Dedman, Jorge Sosa, and Gabriela Ortíz.
Thompson completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in flute performance with honors at the University of Kansas, after which she spent a year in Mexico City as a Fulbright-García Robles Scholar engaging in postdoctoral research in contemporary Mexican music with renowned flutist Alejandro Escuer. Since then, she has served as the Interim Professor of Flute at the University of Kansas and performed regularly with the El Paso Symphony, El Paso Opera, and Orquesta Sinfónica de UACJ in Juárez, MX.