Vanderbilt Blair School Of Music
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No Limits: Together, We Achieve Even More
Excellence, the first principle set forth in the updated Code of Bylaws approved by Vanderbilt’s Board of Trust, along with our other two guiding principles—academic freedom and free expression, and growth and development—drives our core purpose: to provide transformative education and pathbreaking research. It is our foremost commitment and our steadfast promise in all that we do. Read MoreMay 22, 2025
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Nashville Jazz Connections at Blair
Jazz has a long history in Music City. As long as Nashville has been a center for recording and education, it has drawn musicians of all types who found places to play—as well as to teach. Many have had connections to Vanderbilt Blair School of Music Read MoreMay 12, 2025
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Pascal Le Boeuf: A Vanderbilt ‘Strand’ in Grammy-Winning Music
Pascal Le Boeuf, assistant professor of the practice in music and technology, won the Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition on Feb. 2, his third nomination in the category. He talked to Vanderbilt Magazine about his influences for the Grammy-winning "Strands." Read MoreMay 12, 2025
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Vanderbilt University honors emeritus and emerita faculty at 2025 Commencement
Vanderbilt University honored 32 retiring faculty members on May 9 for their years of service by bestowing upon them the title of emerita or emeritus faculty during Vanderbilt’s Commencement ceremony at GEODIS Park. Two outgoing deans also were recognized for service to the university. Read MoreMay 9, 2025
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A New Jazz Age
Vanderbilt University is becoming known as a place to study jazz performance and delve into jazz history through the acquisition of the extensive collections of Dizzy Gillespie, Yusef Lateef and Phil Schaap. Read MoreApr 21, 2025
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Joshua McGuire named new university marshal
Joshua McGuire, BMus’03 and principal senior lecturer in musicianship at Blair School of Music, has been named the new university marshal for Vanderbilt’s Commencement ceremony. Read MoreMar 17, 2025
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Alumnus Steve Turner, trustee emeritus and Nashville philanthropist, has died
Alumnus, trustee emeritus and Nashville real estate visionary James Stephen “Steve” Turner, a prominent university benefactor whose gifts included funding for commissioned works for Blair School of Music signature ensembles, died Feb. 11. He was 77. Read MoreFeb 13, 2025
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Dean Melissa Rose creates harmony while advancing the Blair School of Music
What does masterfully playing the piano have to do with leading one of Vanderbilt’s most creative schools? Read how Melissa Rose, dean of the Blair School of Music, finds the right rhythm for collaboration. Read MoreOct 14, 2024
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Access Point: Chrysa Kovach, BMus’13, works to help everyone experience music on their own terms
Whether on a Zoom call with adults regaining their ability to enjoy music through assistive technology like cochlear implants, or working with preschoolers with no music experience at the Neighborhood Music School in Los Angeles, community music facilitator Chrysa Kovach, BMus'13, helps make music accessible for all. Read MoreOct 1, 2024
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Patrick Kenny, Class of 2025, releases album of original music
Blair senior jazz performance major / guitarist Patrick Kenny has released his debut album, 'Water Damage,' a six-song project that includes guest performances by Blair professors Jeff Coffin and Marc Widenhofer, as well as other Blair student musicians. Kenny composed all six of the jazz fusion-styled pieces for the project. Read MoreSep 11, 2024
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Blair Academy celebrates 60 years of world class music education
Since its founding in 1964, Blair Academy at Vanderbilt has grown from a small music school in a house on 18th Avenue to a community institution serving more than 700 precollege and adult students every year. This year, the Academy is celebrating a proud tradition of 60 years of wide-ranging music education for all ages. Read MoreAug 14, 2024
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Get to know Vanderbilt’s residential faculty: Brittany Chase
Brittany Chase started as an undergraduate at Vanderbilt, now she's one of the new residential faculty. Read what she's most looking forward to as she moves onto the Ingram Commons. Read MoreAug 6, 2024
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Commodore City: Vanderbilt and Nashville continue their collegial relationship into the next 150 years
From arts to athletics to education and innovation, Vanderbilt has been a driving force in helping shape an ever-evolving Nashville into a dynamic, world-influencing city. Read MoreMay 15, 2024
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Blair’s Kathryn Plummer celebrates 50 years of teaching and performing with May 4 concert
Vanderbilt Blair School of Music Professor of Viola Kathryn Plummer will celebrate 50 years of performing and teaching in a special concert, 3 p.m. May 4 in Turner Recital Hall. Read MoreApr 25, 2024
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Two Blair alumni among laureates of American Viola Society Composition Competition
Chris Lowry, BMus’11, and Peter Dayton, BMus’12, both received recognition in the American Viola Society’s 2024 biennial Maurice Gardner Competition for Composers. Among the 77 submissions to the contest, Chris Lowry was the first prize winner, with his work, “Zenith (for Jackson)” for viola and electronics. Read MoreMar 20, 2024
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New Motion Picture Features Score Composed by Blair Alumnus Gene Back
An upcoming motion picture, 'Cabrini,' features a score composed by Blair School of Music alumnus Gene Back, BMus’06. Coming to theatres on March 8, International Women’s Day, 'Cabrini' was directed by the award-winning Alejandro Monteverde. Read MoreFeb 27, 2024
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A Joyful Noise
Some have said that singer Dashon Burton’s bass-baritone is enormous, capable of raising the dead or like looking directly into the sun. This year, the two-time Grammy winner is nominated once again with vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth in the Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance category for their album Rough Magic (New Amsterdam Records, 2023). Read MoreFeb 2, 2024
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CLASS OF 2024: Tatum Earp composes music with storytelling, family and faith at the core
WATCH: Learn how Blair composition student Tatum Earp was inspired by her late father's senior photography project to create a unique and inspiring Immersion Vanderbilt project. Read MoreJan 12, 2024
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Vanderbilt LIVE Initiative team advances to finals of NSF challenge to improve K-12 learning outcomes
By Jenna Somers A trans-institutional team from the LIVE Initiative at Vanderbilt University has progressed to the final round of the National Science Foundation’s Visionary Interdisciplinary Teams Advancing Learning (VITAL) Prize Challenge for designing BeatBlox, a music-based framework for teaching computer science. The team, Code to Joy,… Read MoreDec 4, 2023