Alumni

Blake-Anthony Johnson Blair School of Music alumnus Blake-Anthony Johnson has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation (NOJHFF). A nationally recognized leader in music and cultural advocacy, Johnson has previously worked as a civic leader, professional musician, and arts innovator, most recently… 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

Cabrini, with a score composed by Gene Back, will release worldwide on March 8. 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

Name: Jonathan Chu Blair major: Violin performance, with second major in economics Year of graduation: 2003 Where you live now: St. Louis, Mo. Profession: Violist with the St. Louis Symphony What does a typical day look like in your career? I play in the St. Read More

Name: Charlotte Ulrich Blair major: Vocal Performance Year of graduation: 2015 Where you live now: Nashville Profession: IQ Talent Partners, a Nashville-based tech recruiting company founded by two Vanderbilt graduates (www.iqtalentpartners.com) What does a typical day look like in your career? I like what… Read More

Katrina Lenk, Jonathan Raviv and Tony Shalhoub in “The Band’s Visit.” The Band’s Visit, a musical about an Egyptian orchestra stuck for a night in a remote Israeli town, swept the Tony Awards on June 10, winning 10 awards including Best Musical. The show’s small cast, which features Katrina Lenk… Read More