For music students, preparing for competitions and auditions has to be about more than winning.

Surprises are in store when Blair’s percussion ensemble VORTEX joins with former dancers of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and Nashville’s Company Rose on Sunday, April 1.

Chamber music, with its graceful, intimate character, presents a special set of challenges and pleasures to the musicians who play it.

In music, balance is the harmonic poise, the requisite equilibrium given to a chord, a melody or a group of instruments. In life, balance is the constant recalibration of obligations and passions. Quarter Note recently spoke to two Blair alumni to discover how divergent paths can lead to a fulfilling euphony.