Blair School Of Music

• The Blair Big Band, directed by Ryan Middagh, director of jazz studies, was invited to play the recent annual conference of the Jazz Education Network, the professional organization for jazz musicians and jazz educators, in New Orleans. The conference features the finest professional and educational jazz musicians and… Read More

Sabrina Bradford (violin), Antonia Rohlfing (piano) and Blake Kitayama (cello) rehearse their chamber music piece at the Blair School. Photo by Anne Rayner Musicians learn not only how to play an instrument, but how to play in a group, be it a full orchestra or a quartet. Learning to… Read More

Richard Kogan, M.D., who is both a psychiatrist and a concert pianist, conducted two performances recently as the 2017 Leonard Visiting Scholar, sponsored by the Department of Medicine and the Blair School of Music. Read More

His piano performances have been reviewed by The New York Times, which praised his "exquisite playing," and by The Boston Globe, which wrote, "Kogan has somehow managed to excel at the world's two most demanding professions." Read More

The Blair School of Music opened its concert season with numerous premiere performances this fall, including several world premieres of works specifically commissioned for Blair faculty. Read More

Are you ready for some football and the Vanderbilt alma mater with a Nashville twist? Our 2016 public service announcement, featuring more than 100 students and the expertise of the Blair School of Music, will be part of the TV telecast as Vanderbilt hosts South Carolina Sept. 1. Read More

A tenor who studied with Metropolitan Opera star John Alexander and currently studies with Robert White of Juilliard, Rich Miller is in his sixth year as president of the Metropolitan Opera Guild and is an advisory director of the Metropolitan Opera Association. As a Blair parent and member of the Vanderbilt Parents Leadership Committee and the Parents and Family Advisory Board, he and his wife, Carol, have made it possible for the Blair and Vanderbilt communities to access live streaming of the Met through a subscription service. Read More

Jeff Coffin and Ryan Middagh work with the Blair Big Band Local music industry fuels expansion of program Nashville may be best known for country music, but the moniker “Music City” most accurately reflects the proliferation of stellar musicians in town who play all types of music. At Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music, Ryan Middagh, director… Read More

Want to watch a live concert at Blair? Many student and faculty concerts now are streamed live from Ingram Hall, Steve & Judy Turner Recital Hall, and the Choral Rehearsal Hall from Blair’s live-streaming page at vu.edu/blair-stream. The performances are not archived. Read More

Blair students know they’ll be majoring in music—often in addition to other disciplines—but frequently they choose Vanderbilt for the other social and academic opportunities the university offers that a traditional music conservatory cannot. This means Blair students are among the busiest on campus, continuing their intense focus on music while juggling the demands of other classes. Read More

Vanderbilt alumni are making a splash on Broadway, as evidenced by several recent graduates currently working both behind the scenes and in front of the lights in New York City productions. Read More

As a busy Nashville singer, songwriter, performing pianist and recording artist, Sarah Williams spends her days balancing creativity, efficient practice and time management. Read More

This fall the Blair School of Music presents two operas diametrically opposed in style, scale and staging. Read More

Erin Elgass, a Blair Music Education major and an alto saxophone player, is the junior field commander for the Spirit of Gold Band. In the wake of the Commodores’ big win against Austin Peay, Elglass discusses perfecting the sound that rallied the Commodores to the victory. Read More

Odie Blackmon, an adjunct professor in Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music, is a Grammy-nominated, CMA-Award-winning songwriter that lives and learns in our music studios. The Hustler sat down with Blackmon to hear more about the Nashville songwriting business up close and personal. Read More

To help smooth the application and audition process for prospective students, Blair adopted the online tool Decision Desk, which allows applicants to upload a video audition, as well as letters of recommendation from music instructors. Read More

Kelby Carlson serves as secretary for the Vanderbilt Disabilities Awareness Partnership, a student organization founded last year to raise awareness about disabilities and improve accessibility. Read More

As the Blair School of Music wrapped up its 50th anniversary celebrations, 2015 kicked off with several world premieres and a major national conference. Read More

On Feb. 26 the Blair School of Music gave the world premiere of American composer Michael Hersch’s Zwischen Leben Und Tod. Read More

The opportunity to sing a diverse range of material drew Shirley last February to the American Traditions Competition, a national vocal competition in which he placed fifth. Read More