Competitions

A number of Blair School of Music students participated in the National Association of Teachers of Singing Kentucky/Tennessee Regional Auditions, held April 7-8 at Belmont University. Blair students who placed included: Sarah Parker: First place, freshmen women Arielle Kasnetz: Second place, freshmen women Matt Shorten: Second place,… 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

The Curb Youth Symphony 2015 Concerto Competition was held on Sunday, November 1. The winners are, in alphabetical order: Joy Fan, violin Jenna Mangum, violin Honorable mentions, also in alphabetical order: Jocelyn Hartley, cello Dustin Lin, clarinet Kazuki Takizawa, piano… 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

(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

Vanderbilt University Concerto Competition Finals Sunday, January 18 7 p.m., Ingram Hall Our best and brightest go head to head. For the fifth year in a row, we open the final round of the Vanderbilt University Concerto Competition to the public. As did last year’s, the 2015 Concerto Competition… Read More

Vanderbilt University Orchestra Robin Fountain, conductor Friday, April 10 8 p.m., Ingram Hall Violinist Elizabeth Drabkin, pianist Marissa Uchimura and percussionist Liam Underwood, the winners of the 2015 Vanderbilt Concerto Competition, perform as featured soloists with the Vanderbilt University Orchestra. Read More

American Viola Society president Nokuthula Ngwenyama presents Blair student Olivia Palazzolo with the Tone Award at the Primrose International Viola Competition.   Blair School precollege student Olivia Palazzolo won the Tone Award at the Primrose International Viola Comptition, held in June at the Colburn School in… Read More

Olivia Palazzolo, age 17, and Blair alumna Dana Kelley, B.Mus. ’12, depart for the Primrose International Viola Competition on Saturday June 7. They are two of just 30 violists ages 15-29 selected to compete in the live rounds of the competition. Their fellow quarter-finalists are from Australia, Canada, China, France,… Read More

2014 Lotte Lenya Competition judges and winners (L to R): Rob Berman, Judy Kaye, James Robinson, Arlo Hill, Natalie Ballenger, Ben Edquist. Photo courtesy of the Kurt Weill Foundation. Ben Edquist, B.Mus. ’13, won the $15,000 first prize in the finals of the 2014 Lotte Lenya Competition,… Read More