Crescendo

Philip Dikeman, associate professor of flute at the Blair School of Music and acting principal flute of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, died at home from cancer April 20, 2017. He was 54 years old. Mr. Dikeman joined the… Read More

Mary Grace Johnson The 2016-17 MTNA National Competition was held March 17-20 in Baltimore, Md. To compete at nationals, musicians have already won their state and regional divisions. Several Blair School musicians competed, and brought home national honors: Mary Grace Johnson, violin, took first place in the strings category of… Read More

Trombonist Roland Barber will join the faculty of the Blair School of Music in January 2017 as Adjunct Associate Professor of Trombone and Jazz Studies, teaching trombone, jazz brass and jazz improvisation. One-half of longtime Nashville-based jazz duo The Barber Brothers, Barber has also performed with an… Read More

Tenor Tyler Nelson Photo courtesy of Tyler Nelson Tenor Tyler Nelson joins the Blair faculty as an associate professor of voice.Nelson is one of America’s most promising young tenors and already enjoys success with a wide variety of concert repertoire. His recent engagements have included a performance… Read More

  Charles Calotta performs "Flower in Your Hair," music and lyrics by Jack Coen, from Coen's Folk and Flora. Photo by Steve Green Collaboration and Kindness by Maria Browning Jack Coen. Photo by Daniel Dubois Jack Coen loves flowers. A composition and… Read More

Abbey, left, and Brigit may be twins, but they have different majors. Abbey is earning a bachelor of music degree in musical arts/teacher education (voice). After graduating, she plans to stay an additional year as part of Blair’s MA5 program to become a music educator, earning a… Read More

Photo by Steve Green In June, a jazz quartet from the Blair School of Music visited Colombia as part of the Centro Colombo Americano jazz collaboration program to perform, teach workshops and participate in jam sessions with Colombian musicians in the cities of Medellin, Manizales and… Read More

Ryan Middagh, director of jazz studies at Blair, left, and Jeff Coffin, instructor in jazz saxophone, play with the Blair Big Band. Photo by John Russell Nashville’s moniker “Music City” accurately reflects the proliferation of stellar musicians in town who play all types of music. At Vanderbilt’s… Read More

Steven Fiske as The Celebrant in Leonard Bernstein's "Mass" and members of the Blair Children’s Chorale By Bonnie Arant Ertelt, Photos by Daniel Dubois Mass takes place when the show’s lead character, the Celebrant, snaps, giving in to forces that make him question his faith. Read More

Name: Michael Rinne Blair Major/VU: Double Bass performance Year of Graduation : 2010 Where you live now: Nashville Profession: Bassist and producer Most recently: On tour with Miranda Lambert Assistant Director of Admissions Molly Jewell had the pleasure of catching up with Blair… Read More

Three musicologists affiliated with the Blair School of Music received honors at the 42nd Annual Conference of the Society for American Music held in Cambridge, MA, March 9-13. Dale Cockrell, Professor of Musicology (Emeritus), received the Lifetime Achievement Award “in recognition of his pioneering… Read More

The Nashville Symphony has announced that Dr. Tucker Biddlecombe, Associate Professor and Director of Choral Activities at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music, will take over as Interim Director of the Nashville Symphony Chorus in July. Biddlecombe assumes leadership of the chorus from current Director Kelly Corcoran,… Read More

On February 20, the Blair Cello Choir, one of the ensembles in our precollege Suzuki program, performed the National Anthem before the Vanderbilt-Georgia men’s basketball game. The performance was a huge hit, and the ensemble has already been invited back to play again next season. Photos by Joe Howell, courtesy… Read More

Sixteen members of the Blair Children’s Chorus program have been accepted to the Southern Division American Choral Directors Honors Choirs. Congratulations to these talented young singers! High School Women Kristen Stetzer Clara Warford High School Men Eli Culley Will Wallace Junior High SATB Don Pierce… Read More

Recently, we had the pleasure of chatting with Blair graduate Miriam Sherk, and listening with amazement to her day-to-day schedule and accomplishments as a music therapist. It was fascinating to hear how much of a role music plays in her work, in her ability to do… Read More

The Music Teachers National Association Tennessee performance competition was held over the weekend at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro. Winners included the following Blair School precollege and collegiate students. Congratulations to all of them! Winner of Chamber Music String: Aurelius String Quartet (students of Stephen Miahky) Alternate of… Read More

Carol Nies conducts the Curb Youth Symphony. Congratulations to Carol Nies, the 2015 winner of the Carol Crittenden Arts Advocate of the Year, awarded by Nashville Singers. Below is the announcement from the Nashville Singers News. Congratulations, Carol! Dr. Carol Nies Selected to Receive the 2015 Carol… Read More

The Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University is pleased to announce the appointment of internationally acclaimed trumpeter Jose Sibaja as Associate Professor of Trumpet. He will join the faculty in August 2016. “I’m incredibly excited to join the Blair School of Music,” said Sibaja, “an institution… Read More

On October 24, immediately following the Blair String Quartet’s performance in Ingram Hall, the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University will formally unveil the Kraus Collection, a set of five music-themed paintings by noted artist Harold Kraus. The collection includes “Splendid Pipes,” a new work by… Read More

  Joy H. Calico, Professor of Musicology at the Blair School of Music and Director of the Max Kade Center for European Studies at Vanderbilt University, recently spoke about her latest book, Arnold Schoenberg’s “A Survivor from Warsaw”… Read More

Blair School undergraduate student Ramakrishnan Kumaran has won first place at the National Flute Association’s annual Young Artist Competition. He is the youngest student ever to win this honor. Kumaran is a sophomore flute performance major studying under Philip Dikeman. He will perform a winner’s recital August 14 in San… Read More

On a Monday afternoon in early September, Blair School of Music senior Kelby Carlson was crossing Children’s Way, the street that runs in front of the Blair School, just as he had done countless times before. Carlson, who is blind, was with his service dog, a 4-year-old yellow lab named Elvis. Read More

New Director of Admissions Thomas Crespo is making a return to the Blair School — he graduated from Vanderbilt in 2011 with a bachelor of music in bassoon performance and double minors in leadership and organization and in corporate strategy. Crespo earned a master of music in bassoon… Read More

Dwayne Sagen and Roland Schneller (photo by John Russell) Dwayne Sagen, left, and Roland Schneller retired from the Blair School of Music June 30. Sagen, who served as assistant dean of admissions at Blair and also as director of bands since 1986, was honored with a composition… Read More

Tucker Biddlecombe, associate professor of choral activities and choral director, served as conductor for the Florida All-State men’s chorus in 2014. He has also been engaged to conduct two all-state choruses in 2016, the Arkansas All-State Male Chorus and the New York All-State Mixed Chorus. Read More

Dean Mark Wait, Founder's Medalist Nora Pertz and Vanderbilt Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos at the May 8 graduation ceremony. At 14, Nora Pertz began pestering her mother to let her study abroad. Her high school piano teacher found a program in Vienna in which Pertz studied piano… Read More

A Gift for the Future On February 7 and 8, the Blair School of Music hosted the inaugural concerts on its new Dobson Organ, Opus 92. Modeled after German organs of the 18th century, the instrument, built by the Dobson Organ Company and installed last August, is in the… Read More

The Vanderbilt BhangraDores dance group collaborated with the Vanderbilt Chorale on a piece at February's Choral Prism concert. Photo by Steve Green When Tucker Biddlecombe, associate professor of choral activities and choral director, first came to the Blair School of Music in 2012, Blair-based performing choirs were… Read More

Stephen Miahky, Joseph Joachim Professor of Violin A teaching continuum More than most professions, music celebrates the line of succession from teacher to student. Almost all master performers are also master teachers, passing on knowledge gained from experience to the next generation. Read More

Brian Cooper, who graduated in May with degrees in musical arts (clarinet) and bioinformatics, in the lab of Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Biological Sciences Antonin Rokas, where he helped develop a tool to look at research on evolutionary genomics. Photo by John Russell Brian Cooper’s typical day… Read More

Jenna Mangum, precollege violin student of Connie Heard, performs at a weekly studio class that includes both precollege and college students. Photo by Susan Urmy   Most undergraduate students don’t have much contact with younger or older learners during their college years. They inhabit a sort of… Read More

(From left) David Bender, Maggie Kasinger and Kaili Wang. Photo courtesy of Nashville Symphony For the second year in a row, Blair School precollege students took top honors at the annual Nashville Symphony Curb Concerto Competition, held March 15 at Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Violinist Kaili Wang, a… Read More

Eight members of the Blair Children’s Chorus program went to Salt Lake City in late February to sing in the National Honor Choirs of the American Choral Directors Association’s National Conference. Blair’s singers were selected from more than 3,000 students from all over the United… Read More

Greg Barz, associate professor of musicology (ethnomusicology), was named Alexander Heard Distinguished Service Professor at Vanderbilt for 2013–14. He also published three articles in 2013 in the South Africa Journal of Humanities, the Cambridge Guide to World Music, and a special issue of Acta Academica. He serves on… Read More

  Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet member Andreas Wittman works with oboe students during a master class in the instrumental rehearsal hall. master class (‘ma:str klas) A class taught by an accomplished musician who individually instructs advanced students in performance and technique, often before… Read More

  A combination of precollege, collegiate, and alumni singers and musicians performed John Rutter’s “Mass of the Children” on March 16 at the Blair School of Music 50th Anniversary Gala Concert. For more information on future 50th anniversary concerts, visit “Blair Events” on… Read More

Madeline Myers, BMus'11 (Photo by Elena Olivo) Madeline Myers, BMus’11, won the first annual Davenport Songwriting Contest sponsored by Tony Award-winning producer Ken Davenport (The Bridges of Madison County, Kinky Boots, Macbeth starring Alan Cumming, Godspell) with her song “I Could Be a Hero.” The… Read More

Photo courtesy of Tucker Biddlecombe The Vanderbilt Chorale, under the direction of Tucker Biddlecombe, associate professor of choral activities and choral director, embarked on a tour of Florida in March. This newly formed ensemble serves as the core of the Vanderbilt Symphonic Choir and is made up… Read More

Thomas Verrier, associate professor and director of wind studies The Blair School will host the biennial conference of the College Band Directors National Association in March 2015. Seven of the finest wind orchestras from throughout the United States are expected to perform. In addition, leading scholars, conductors,… Read More

Chris Teal, Joseph Joachim Professor of Violin and member of the Blair String Quartet (photo by John Russell) As the Blair School of Music celebrates its 50th anniversary, one who has been a steady presence since Blair’s days on 18th Avenue South will be saying goodbye. Christian… Read More

Vanderbilt Orchestra Director Robin Fountain with BMI Composer-in-Residence Kevin Puts and Associate Professor of Clarinet Bil Jackson rehearsing for a January concert that featured Puts' Clarinet Concerto written for Jackson (Photo by Anne Rayner) The relationship between the Blair School of Music and music licensing organization BMI… Read More

Roo George-Warren (Susan Urmy/Vanderbilt University) The Office of Honor Scholarships is pleased to announce that DeLesslin “Roo” George-Warren, a Class of 2014 voice and music composition major at Blair School of Music, is one of 40 students in the nation to… Read More

The Aetas Trio, which consists of Blair School undergraduate students Matthew Lammers, violin, Ann Yeh, cello, and Marissa Uchimura, piano, won third place in the Music Teachers National Association nattional competition, held March 22 in Chicago. Read More

The finals of the Nashville Symphony’s annual Curb Concerto Competition were held Sunday, March 2, at Schermerhorn Symphony Center, and all three top finalists are Myra Jackson Blair Scholars in the Blair School’s precollege program. Violist Olivia Palazzolo won the grand prize, and will perform as… Read More

A 10-member delegation from the Lingnan Student Opera League at Sun Yat-Sen University will visit Vanderbilt as a part of the “Opera Exchange” sponsored by Vanderbilt’s U.S.-China Center for Education and Culture. Since 2007, and especially since the establishment of the U.S.-China Center, Vanderbilt and SYSU… Read More

  February 18, 2014 Media contacts: Kristin Whittlesey (615) 322-7656 kristin.whittlesey@vanderbilt.edu Jim Patterson, (615) 322-NEWS jim.patterson@vanderbilt.edu William “Billy” Adair, a teacher, arranger, multi-instrumentalist and backbone of the jazz program at Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music, has died. He was 66. Adair,… Read More

Blair School precollege student Nolan Harvel, a guitar student and member of the Nashville Boychoir, will be one of the featured soloists with the Nashville Symphony May 29-31. The program is part of the Nashville Symphony Chorus’ 50th anniversary celebrations, and features the chorus on Leonard… Read More

The Aetas Trio, which consists of Blair School undergraduate students Matthew Lammers, violin, Ann Yeh, cello, and Marissa Uchimura, piano, won the regional Music Teachers National Association division competition, which was held at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Ky., on January 18. The trio will go on to compete… Read More

Cal Turner Jr. at the piano. (Susan Urmy/Vanderbilt University) Cal Turner Jr. loves organ music. And sure, lots of people enjoy listening to the organ. But how many of them have pipe organs in their own houses? “I have to be the only husband in America who,… Read More

Photo courtesy of Evan Mack Evan Mack, B.Mus. ’03, is the recipient of one of the newest awards presented by the Vanderbilt Alumni Association Board of Directors — the Young Alumni Professional Achievement Award. The Young Alumni Professional Achievement Award honors an alumnus/a age 40 or younger,… Read More

Recent CD Releases by Faculty and Alumni The Blakemore Trio Plays Beethoven and Ravel, Blue Griffin Records, by the Blakemore Trio: Amy Dorfman, piano, Carolyn Huebl, violin, and Felix Wang, cello. Featuring two masterworks for piano trio—Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Trio in D Major, Op. 70, No. 1,… Read More

Photo credit: Peter Adamik Blair’s Newest Artists-in-Residence In January, the Blair School of Music announced a partnership with the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet as the school’s newest artists-in-residence. The world’s most celebrated wind quintet has completed its original planned three-year residency at Blair, with highly successful and… Read More

Composer Richard Danielpour debuts piano etudes at Blair Composer Richard Danielpour A piano etude dedicated to another musician can tell a lot about the honoree. In the case of the C Major Etude by Richard Danielpour, the famed composer freely admits that the piece reflects great admiration… Read More

As Blair approaches its 50th anniversary, one faculty member has been there all the way Roland Schneller, Chancellor's Professor of Piano at the Blair School of Music Roland Schneller is that rarest of individuals in the 21st-century American workforce—someone who has spent his entire career with one… Read More

Voice students at Blair benefit from the coaching expertise of collaborative pianists Voice instruction at the Blair School of Music is now doubly enriched by the presence of two full-time vocal coaches/collaborative pianists who work exclusively with undergraduate voice majors. In addition, a master class in collaborative piano has been… Read More

Two Jobs in One   Jeremy Wilson, associate professor of trombone Few musicians wind up winning their very first orchestral audition, and the percentage of those whose first audition is with the Vienna Philharmonic is likely very slim. That… Read More

Blair’s curriculum evolves to reflect and reinforce student needs in the 21st century From the beginning, Blair students are placed in small chamber ensembles concurrently with playing in larger ensembles. Playing in small ensembles develops their listening and collaborative skills for playing in the larger… Read More