Dr. Milton Rubén Laufer

Jack G. Buncher Head of the School of Music
Professor

Bio

Dr. Milton Rubén Laufer serves as the Jack G. Buncher Chair, and Head of the School of Music in the College of Fine Arts at Carnegie Mellon University. A Chicago native of Puerto Rican and Cuban heritage, he began studying piano at the age of three. His musical training includes studies at the Music Institute of Chicago, the Gnessin Institute in Moscow, the Eastman School of Music, the University of Michigan, and Rice University.

A Yamaha Artist, Laufer has performed in some of the world’s most iconic venues—including Lincoln Center, New World Center, and Tchaikovsky Hall—and has shared the stage with renowned artists such as Natalie Cole, Chucho Valdés, and Guerassim Voronkov. His appearances on Spanish-language television and radio have reached audiences across Europe, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean.

The son of celebrated Puerto Rican flamenco dancer Carmen Alonzo, Laufer is internationally recognized as both a leading interpreter and scholar of Spanish piano music. His urtext editions of Isaac Albéniz’s 3 Improvisaciones para Piano and La Vega are published by G. Henle Verlag.

A committed advocate for the arts and education, Laufer has helped raise over $35 million in support of the institutions he has served. In his teaching, he champions the idea that musicians must be not only skilled and expressive performers but also adaptable, entrepreneurial thinkers. He underscores the importance of preparing students to thrive in an evolving artistic and professional landscape—where music functions both as a marketable asset and as a catalyst for meaningful social change.

Laufer is a founding trustee and lifetime member of the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame and an active voting member of both the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (Grammy Awards) and the Latin Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (Latin Grammys). He is also a founding partner of Tacitus International Consulting Group.