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

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

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

The Blair Student Showcase, one of our most popular annual events, takes place at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24. Here’s the lineup: Scherzo No. 3 in C-Sharp minor, Op. 39, by Frederic Chopin Thomas Ridgway, piano Recitativo and Scherzo, Op. 6, by Fritz Kreisler Adrian Evarkiou-Kaku, violin Concertino,… Read More

The results of the concerto competitions have been posted. Forty-eight students competed — the most ever — and the finals were held Jan. 19. The judges were very impressed by the performances, and the finals were a nice showcase for the school and students. The competition was judged by Jennifer… Read More

Mary Grace Johnson, featured soloist at the Side-by-Side concert. The annual Side-by-Side concert, which pairs the Blair School’s Curb Youth Symphony with the Nashville Symphony, will take place at 7:00 p.m. Friday, May 16, at Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Admission is free and open to the public. Read More

Joy Fan won the Kentucky MTNA Junior Strings Division. Joy is a student of Connie Heard. Chloe Harvel, violin, won honorable mention in Junior Strings at the MTNA Southern Division competition in January 2013. Chloe is a student of Carolyn Huebl. Nolan Harvel, guitar, won the Columbus State Guitar Symposium… Read More

Blair School of Music precollege violin student Mary Grace Johnson won the Nashville Symphony Curb Concerto Competition on March 3, 2013, in the final round of three performers. Johnson will perform the first movement of Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto, Op. 14, with the Nashville Symphony and Curb Youth Symphony at… Read More

Music City Trio (from left): Nathan Lowry, Susan Yang and Jennifer Pittman. At the annual MTNA (Music Teachers National Association) Southern Division Finals, several Blair students took honors, and one student ensemble will move on to the national competition in March. The Southern Division competition was held… Read More