Blair School

The life, music, and visual art of Dr. Yusef Lateef will be celebrated September 12-13, 2025, as the Vanderbilt University Blair School of Music hosts the Yusef Lateef Symposium. The two-day conference will include panel discussions, viewings of the Yusef A. Lateef Collection housed at Vanderbilt, a… 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

Percussionists from five countries and 36 colleges and universities converged at Vanderbilt for the debut Nashville Marimba Sessions, hosted at Blair May 24-31. Spearheaded by Blair School of Music Associate Professor of Percussion Ji Hye Jung, the summer intensive featured a week of presentations, lessons, and performances. “My vision of… 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

Grace O’Duffy, a Blair School of Music student, is exploring fun ways for the Vanderbilt community to interact with music. Inspired by her passion for fostering connections through new music, Grace embarked on a journey to create an interactive musical instrument: an optical xylophone that plays sound in response… Read More

Vanderbilt Opera Theatre will present Staggerwing Thursday and Friday, October 3 and 4, 8:00 p.m. in Ingram Hall. The production marks the regional premiere of the new opera, composed by Lisa DeSpain with librettist Rachel J. Peters, which was workshopped in Vanderbilt’s inaugural Opera Lab in 2023. Set… Read More

A cohort of 82 new students has entered the Blair School of Music, representing hometowns and/or residencies in 24 states in the U.S., Hong Kong, Australia, and including the first Blair student from New Zealand. New students will join each of Blair’s studios in classical and jazz studies, including music… Read More

Ernesto Estigarribia Mussi Blair Academy at Vanderbilt is excited to announce that Ernesto Estigarribia Mussi has been named the conductor and artistic director for the Curb Youth Symphony. He serves as assistant professor of conducting and director of the Vanderbilt University Orchestra at Blair School of Music. “I am… Read More

The Blair Big Band has been honored with its 13th DownBeat Magazine Student Music Award. The Blair School of Music jazz program has been honored with its 13th DownBeat Magazine Student Music Award in an announcement released today. The Blair Big Band is a 2024 winner in the Undergraduate… Read More

The Dave Matthews Band, whose members include Jeff Coffin of the Blair School of Music jazz faculty, has been announced as a 2024 inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. A saxophonist, composer, and educator, Coffin is a three-time Grammy Award winner as a member of Bela Fleck… Read More