Vanderbilt Blair School Of Music

Vanderbilt Magazine celebrates the lives and mourns the loss last spring of three Vanderbilt alumni who led with passion and generosity during times of transition and change: James Stephen “Steve” Turner, BA’69; Sylvia Sanders Kelley, BA'54; and H. Rodes Hart, BA'54. Read More

Clark Hubbard, BMus'18, marches to his own tune as a composer, drummer and assistant director of marching and athletic bands at Vanderbilt University. Read 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 More

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 More

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 More

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 More

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 More

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 More

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 More

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 More

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 More

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 More

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 More

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 More

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 More

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 More

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 More

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 More

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 More