Vanderbilt Blair School Of Music

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

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 More

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 More

To kick off LGBTQI+ History Month, the Blair School of Music faculty presents a concert of works written by and for composer and author Ned Rorem. Known for both his breadth of output for both vocal and instrumental forces, Rorem entered gay icon status through the publication of his diaries over forty years, beginning in 1966. In addition to a selection of works by Rorem, a new work by Blair composer Russell Platt—writing in honor of Rorem—will be performed. Read More

The Vanderbilt Wind Symphony, conducted by Thomas Verrier, associate professor of conducting, will open its fall performance season on Friday, Sept. 22, with Symphonic Songs. The Vanderbilt University Orchestra will perform Rhythmic Tapestry on Saturday, Sept. 23, where Ernesto Estigarribia Mussi, assistant professor of conducting, will make his Blair conducting debut. Read More

'Florence Price: A Celebration,' a multi-event music festival, will pay tribute to the life, music and enduring legacy of a woman who broke barriers of race and gender in classical music. Taking place Oct. 3–Nov. 14 at venues across Nashville, the series is produced by Blair's Douglas Shadle, associate professor of musicology. Read More

The public is invited to join the world-renowned Limón Dance Company for an open rehearsal event, as the company continues its two-week residency at the Blair School of Music. Seating is extremely limited and free advanced tickets are required.  Read More