Deborah Leah Ungar is a pianist and multi-instrumentalist with a background in classical and world music, musicology and International Studies. She is a recognized performer and educator in the classical genre, studying and earning degrees in piano, music theory, and music education at San Diego State and Washington State Universities.  Further studies include Aspen Music Festival and School, American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, and the Eastern European Folklife Center.  Her teachers have included Richard Tetley-Kardos, Karen Follingstadt, Gerald Berthiaume, Eddie Daniels, Souren Baronian and many musical collaborators.

She has been performing traditional and contemporary music of the Balkans, Turkey and Greece for over 10 years, with a special love for working with folk dance groups and festivals around New Mexico and nationally. The catalyst for reconnecting with her love of studying and performing world music began at San Diego State University, where she studied Finnish, Indian, and Afro-Cuban music in addition to clarinet and piano. After moving to Santa Fe in 2007 she began intensively studying and performing music of the Balkans. She has performed at world music festivals and in a variety of musical settings across the US, Europe, and Turkey. 

Her recent work explores the roots of the interconnectedness of Turkish, Greek, and Sephardic music through performances, workshops and lectures including Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, NM and the Society for Ethnomusicology's Regional Conference in Albuquerque, NM.  She has presented and performed at national and international conferences including the College Music Society, Society of Composers, Inc., and the International Music Theory Conference in Vilnius, Lithuania.

She has performed across New Mexico the country at workshops, music festivals and International folk dance events and is known for contemporary and traditional interpretations of Balkan and international folk dance classics.  With her former group, Rumelia, their debut album, Lost and Found, was received to critical acclaim in 2014, earning several NM Music Award nominations.

​Deborah Leah Ungar is a Music Specialist and Band Director for Santa Fe Public Schools. For ten years she was Adjunct Faculty, piano, at the Santa Fe University of Art and Design/College of Santa Fe’s Contemporary Music Program. She was Director of Education and Outreach for the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival doubling the reach and scope of the program, and has served as a consultant with non-profit chamber music organizations and festivals to develop meaningful arts programming for their youngest audiences.