Bernardo Illari, associate professor of music, and Malena Kuss, Professor Emeritus of music, have been named two of the most important musicologists of the last decade (1999-2008) by the Konex Foundation, which recognizes the work of Argentines in culture and the arts. Illari and Kuss are two of six Argentine musicologists receiving the award in the classical music category at a Sept. 10 ceremony in Buenos Aires.

Illari is a specialist in Latin American music from the colonial and early national periods. Before joining UNT in 2001, he held academic appointments in Argentina and Spain. Kuss, a leading expert in operas by Latin Americans and a specialist in 20th-century music, began teaching at UNT in 1976 and retired in 1999. She is known internationally for her research on the Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera.