NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University, a prominent classical music institution of the southeastern United States, will launch a course in the blues during the spring semester.
The new course is part of a Blair initiative to represent the broad palette of music, while retaining an emphasis on the European classical tradition. Classes in jazz and film music are already offered, and courses in the histories of rock and country music are being developed.
"Blair School of Music is always looking for opportunities to develop and offer courses that demonstrate the vitality of music as a means of expression both in history and in our society today," said Mark Wait, dean of Blair School of Music.
Blues course lecturer Greg Barz says he expects about a hundred students to take the blues class, impressive for an elective course.
"I think students can learn much more than the blues in a blues class," said Barz, assistant professor of musicology and ethnomusicology. "It’s a pathway into Southern culture, Southern history, race relations, language issues, all packed into how we understand and interpret the blues."
Blair also offers a course in the business of music taught by former recording industry executive Jim Foglesong, and has instructors like Butch Baldassari and David Schnaufer, who specialize in folk music. A Conversations Series launched in 1995 has brought musicians including Chet Atkins, Mark O’Connor and Amy Grant to Blair to discuss their careers.
"I think there is a lot to be gained with a broad palette," Barz said. "I would never suggest that someone take a course in the blues instead of a seminar on Mahler and his symphonies, which we’re also offering this spring. But you never know what’s going to turn a student on to exploring his or her own music.
"Very often the most important thing students learn through the study of music is that we’re not so different, that we can all develop a common vocabulary to approach many aspects of our lives.
Blair School of Music was founded in 1964 as the pre-college music division of George Peabody College. It became the 10th school at Vanderbilt University in 1981.
Media contact: Jim Patterson, (615) 322-NEWS
Jim.patterson@vanderbilt.edu