News

Novelist Jonathan Franzen, author of The Corrections and Freedom, will speak at the Blair School’s Ingram, Hall on Wednesday, September 23, talking about his new novel, Purity. Tickets are $33.50, which includes a copy of the book. Tickets are available through the Salon@615 website. Discounted student… Read More

Due to the Labor Day holiday, Philharmonia will not rehearse on Sunday, September 6. However, Curb Youth Symphony will rehearse on Monday, September 7, as usual. Read More

We recently had the pleasure of catching up with Blair School alumna Sarah Williams, B.Mus. ’06, and learning about her post-Vanderbilt music career. As a piano teacher, performing pianist and singer-songwriter, Williams’ days are a balancing act between creativity, efficient practice and time management. We asked her… Read More

The Blair School of Music admissions team invites high school students and parents to “College 101: The Blair Necessities.” We’ll answer questions and offer guidelines to prepare for any college application and/or music school audition — not just for the Blair School — and provide a general overview of financial… 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

This fall, the Blair School of Music is expanding our Suzuki violin program. We’ve added a new instructor, Tina Simpson, and expanded the hours of our existing instructors. It’s the perfect time to get your child involved! Suzuki instruction builds students’ self-discipline and character. It does… 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