News

The Blair School of Music celebrated another round of wins, with one Blair Academy student and seven collegiate students securing top vocal awards at the Tennessee National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Statewide competition. NATS is one of the nation’s leading organizations for advancing excellence in singing. Read More

As the semester comes to a close, Blair Academy students are stepping into the spotlight. Each semester, our young musicians bring their hard work to the stage, sharing polished performances with family, friends, and the wider Blair community. These concerts give students a chance to gain meaningful live… Read More

The MTNA National Competitions are among the most respected student performance competitions in the country. Every year, thousands of young musicians gather to compete. The purpose of the competition is to give students meaningful performance and learning experiences while recognizing excellence in music… Read More

Steinway & Sons President Gavin English with Heather Conner. Blair School of Music Chancellor’s Chair of Piano Heather Conner has received the prestigious designation of being named to the Steinway & Sons Music Teacher Hall of Fame. She was recently inducted at Steinway’s historic factory in New York City, in… Read More

Russell Platt, adjunct associate professor of music at Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music, has released a new album, Mountain Interval: Songs and Chamber Music, through Bridge Records. The digital release is set for November 7 with physical recording to be available November 21. The album brings together more than… Read More

On Friday, October 24, the Blair School of Music surprised students with its first Musician Wellness Day, hosted during their weekly Friday Recital Class. The afternoon transformed Ingram Lobby into a hub of activity, with each table focused on a tool or technique to support musicians’ physical, mental, or creative… Read More

Abigail Goddard, a student at the Blair Academy for Music at Vanderbilt University and a Myra Jackson Blair (MJB) Scholar, is using creativity and compassion to make a difference far beyond the concert stage.  In addition to her piano studies through the Blair program, Goddard… Read More

Promising “a mystery where past and present collide, and identity is up for debate,” Vanderbilt Opera Theater’s production of Alice Tierney lived up to its billing and more, as it delighted Ingram Hall audiences October 3–4.  A one-act opera by Melissa Dunphy, Alice Tierney tells the story of four modern-day… Read More

Rose Rutledge, the New York-based rogue flutist, producer, and Blair School of Music alumna (BM’06), will bring her Late Blooming project to Brooklyn Art Haus on October 1, 2025. The program, Loops and Light: Electro-Acoustic Explorers, pairs her lush “flutescapes” of layered flute choirs, vocal loops,… Read More

The Avedis Zildjian Company, a world-leading maker of cymbals, drumsticks, and percussion mallets, is bringing its Young Drummer of the Year Competition to the US for the first time, with finalists set to compete in Ingram Hall at the Blair School of Music on October 12, 2025. Read More

Update: A Gibson Garage pop-up store will be on site in Ingram Hall for the September 11 An Evening with Rick Beato event. The display will have acoustic and electric guitars you can play, Gibson gear, and more. Be sure to arrive early to check it out! Vanderbilt… Read More

Blair School of Music was honored to recently host the fifth biennial Roger Vignoles Mentoring Program for Young Professional Vocal Coaches. Four emerging vocal coaches and four Blair voice students were selected to attend several days of instructional sessions with the acclaimed Vignoles, which included a special master class… Read More

Grammy-nominated soul stylist and electronic music wizard Jamie Lidell has released a live performance video for “The Center,” recorded live in Turner Recital Hall on March 27, 2025, and featuring Blair student and faculty performers. The song is the lead single from Lidell’s upcoming album, Places of Unknowing, marking his… Read More

Charles Schmitt with Dean Melissa Rose Charles Thomas Schmitt, from Maitland, Florida, is this year’s Founder’s Medalist for Vanderbilt University Blair School of Music. Schmitt majored in trumpet performance with a concentration in jazz studies. As a member of several Blair jazz ensembles, he has performed at some of Nashville’s… Read More

“… the entire thing came together in two weeks, which I genuinely in hindsight don’t know how that happened.” – Aaliya Ramakrishnan When Blair composition student Aaliya Ramakrishnan was asked to create the music for an ambitious AI film project led by a group of 40 Vanderbilt students, she may… Read More

Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University is proud to present the world premiere of Places of Unknowing, a new series of songs by Grammy-nominated English musician, soul singer, and music technologist Jamie Lidell. The concert will take place Thursday, March 27, 8:00 p.m., in Turner Hall, marking a… Read More

Malcolm Matthews The musical artistry of Malcolm Matthews will be on full display in his Saturday, October 28 recital event, 8:00 p.m., in Turner Recital Hall. Performing on Blair’s resident Dobson organ and his own personal harpsichord, Matthews has prepared a special program that includes works by Bruhns, Hanff, Bach,… Read More

Ernesto Estigarribia Mussi will join Vanderbilt University Blair School of Music as Assistant Professor of Conducting in fall 2023. Hailed for his “expert direction” by Fanfare magazine, he is Music Director of the Sheboygan Symphony Orchestra and the Mankato Symphony Orchestra; the first Paraguayan to become Music Director of a… Read More