Faculty

Blair School of Music will host a yearlong series of lectures and events throughout the 2024-2025 academic year investigating the complex, powerful, and infinitely various roles that music plays in the lives of individuals and communities. The Music in the Real World Colloquium seeks to present diverse perspectives from… Read More

Blair professor Fred Sienkiewicz holds a special relationship with the Monteux Festival in Maine. Not only was Monteux a transformative early musical experience, it’s also where he met his wife and fellow musician, Kristen. In this Q&A feature, he shares his early festival experiences and how they have impacted… Read More

Hailey Clark has been appointed to the faculty of Vanderbilt University Blair School of Music as assistant professor of voice. An award-winning operatic soprano, Clark has garnered praise on the international stage for her signature character portrayals, as well as her versatility in operatic and concert repertoire spanning… Read More

Blair School of Music welcomes David Samuel to Blair School of Music as assistant professor of viola. With a professional music career that spans continents and prestigious ensembles, Samuel has cemented his reputation as a versatile and accomplished musician. “I am beyond excited to have the privilege to work… Read More

3x Grammy-winning saxophonist, composer, and Blair School of Music educator Jeff Coffin (Dave Matthews Band) will release his new star-studded album, Only the Horizon, Friday, July 19 on Ear Up Records. This highly anticipated collection of original compositions showcases Coffin’s extraordinary compositional vision and arranging prowess, blending traditional… Read More

College Football 25 will be released on July 19. The much-anticipated new EA Sports College Football 25 game, coming in July, has a deep Blair connection as six faculty and alumni musicians were a part of the elite ensemble tapped to record the game soundtrack. Produced over several weeks in… Read More

Blair Associate Professor of Flute Molly Barth is one of 13 outstanding faculty members from across the university selected for the 2024 cohort of Chancellor Faculty Fellows. The group is composed of highly accomplished, recently tenured faculty from a wide variety of disciplines and areas of expertise. Each… Read More

Cynthia Cyrus Blair Professor of Musicology Cynthia Cyrus is currently in Austria on a nine-week research trip as she continues her studies of the Thalbach convent in Bregenz. Cyrus will be visiting the Austrian National Library in Vienna and topical archives housed in Innsbruck. She began her research… 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

Blair professors Melanie Lowe and Douglas Shadle have been honored with editor roles for two leading music research journals. Lowe has been named editor-in-chief of The Journal of Music History Pedagogy and Shadle has been appointed editor-in-chief of The Journal of Musicological Research. Serving on the… Read More