Blair School

Grace O’Duffy, a Blair School of Music student, is exploring fun ways for the Vanderbilt community to interact with music. Inspired by her passion for fostering connections through new music, Grace embarked on a journey to create an interactive musical instrument: an optical xylophone that plays sound in response… Read More

Vanderbilt Opera Theatre will present Staggerwing Thursday and Friday, October 3 and 4, 8:00 p.m. in Ingram Hall. The production marks the regional premiere of the new opera, composed by Lisa DeSpain with librettist Rachel J. Peters, which was workshopped in Vanderbilt’s inaugural Opera Lab in 2023. Set… Read More

A cohort of 82 new students has entered the Blair School of Music, representing hometowns and/or residencies in 24 states in the U.S., Hong Kong, Australia, and including the first Blair student from New Zealand. New students will join each of Blair’s studios in classical and jazz studies, including music… Read More

Ernesto Estigarribia Mussi Blair Academy at Vanderbilt is excited to announce that Ernesto Estigarribia Mussi has been named the conductor and artistic director for the Curb Youth Symphony. He serves as assistant professor of conducting and director of the Vanderbilt University Orchestra at Blair School of Music. “I am… Read More

The Blair Big Band has been honored with its 13th DownBeat Magazine Student Music Award. The Blair School of Music jazz program has been honored with its 13th DownBeat Magazine Student Music Award in an announcement released today. The Blair Big Band is a 2024 winner in the Undergraduate… Read More

The Dave Matthews Band, whose members include Jeff Coffin of the Blair School of Music jazz faculty, has been announced as a 2024 inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. A saxophonist, composer, and educator, Coffin is a three-time Grammy Award winner as a member of Bela Fleck… Read More

Evan Bish is the acting principal for the Nashville Symphony’s bass section. Since graduating from Vanderbilt six years ago, double bassist Evan Bish, BMus’18, has continued a meteoric ascent as an in-demand musician and session player. Originally from Poughkeepsie, New York, Bish studied under Joel Reist at Blair and as… 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, winning… Read More

The 2024 MusicTech Camp will be July 8-20 at Blair School of Music. Blair School of Music will host its third annual MusicTech Music and Technology Camp, July 8-20, 2024. The program offers a unique opportunity for teens interested in digital music production and video game design to learn alongside… Read More

Tickets are on sale now for three concert events during the 2024 International Jazz Symposium hosted at Blair School of Music. Blair School of Music will host the 2024 International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers (ISJAC) Symposium May 16-18. The three-day event will include three stellar guest artist… Read More