Join Us for These Spring Concert Season Highlights
Signature Series
Craig Nies, Piano
Friday, March 30, 8 p.m.
Ingram Hall
After five years, indefatigable and prodigious pianist Craig Nies concludes his Well-Tempered Clavier concert series. In the spring of 2007, Nies embarked on a journey to perform in concert the entire Well-Tempered Clavier of J. S. Bach, which includes 48 preludes and fugues. These concerts have also featured signature works from other important composers, including the complete Debussy Preludes.
This final installment will feature the last three preludes and fugues by Bach; the last six Debussy Preludes; and Beethoven’s mighty “Hammerklavier” sonata, which, fittingly, ends with what Nies says is the most demanding fugue ever composed for piano.
“It has been a great pleasure to work on the complete Well-Tempered Clavier,” Nies says. “While I enjoy the variety in every program, I am very happy just working on Bach for hours!”
Sponsored by the parents of a current Blair student
Sundays in April at Cheekwood
Blair faculty artists will perform Sundays in April in the drawing room of the Cheekwood mansion. Performances will start at 2 p.m. and last about an hour. Performances are free with paid Cheekwood admission.
April 1: John Johns, guitar
April 8: The Ars Nova Quartet (Caroline Hart and Ben Hart, violins; Christopher Lowry, viola; Emily Nelson, cello)
April 15: Blakemore Trio (Carolyn Huebl, violin; Felix Wang, cello; Amy Dorfman, piano)
April 22: Lauren Coplan, piano
April 29: Christian Teal, violin, and Jennifer McGuire, piano
The Annual Appalachian Celebration
Saturday, April 21, 8 p.m.
Ingram Hall
Matt Combs, director
This annual hoedown features Blair’s own folk and instrument performance faculty, plus plenty of surprise guests from the Nashville music industry. Come for the unexpected and stay for the joy of our region’s favorite folk music performed by some of the very best players in the country.
Sponsored by the David Schnaufer Fund
This concert is a benefit for the Jerome “Butch” Baldassari Pre-College Scholarship Fund at the Blair School of Music. Donations at the door will be accepted but are not required.
SPECIAL EVENT: A Celebration of the 100th Birthday of John Cage
Revolutionaries in the Academy! — John Cage and Merce Cunningham. A Conversation on Form, Composition and Creativity
Thursday, March 29, 3 p.m.
Steve and Judy Turner Recital Hall
Michael Holland, artistic director of Blair Percussion VORTEX, introduces this dialogue on the intersection of music and dance, featuring Jennifer Goggans, a former dancer with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, and Michael Slayton, chair of Blair’s music composition department
Blair Percussion VORTEX celebrates John Cage with former dancers of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company
Plus: COMPANY ROSE
Sunday, April 1, 8 p.m.
Ingram Hall
Michael Holland, artistic director
Marsha Barsky and Erin Law, choreographers
7 p.m. Cage Musicircus in Ingram Lobby and Plaza. “You won’t hear a thing. You’ll hear everything!”
7:40 p.m. Pre-concert talk with Professor Robert Fry in Ingram Hall
Witness history. Make history. Join VORTEX and artistic director Michael Holland in the centennial birthday celebration of John Cage and his 50-year collaboration with Merce Cunningham. Rare, archival photographs, audio clips and historic film footage let Cage and Cunningham speak to you as VORTEX performs with former members of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, just off their historic international farewell Legacy Tour.
A reception in Ingram Lobby follows the performance.
For information on related Cage/Cunningham/VORTEX events, call (615) 322-7651.
Support for these programs is provided by a Curb Creative Campus Innovation Grant. Additional support provided by: Mark Wait, Dean, Blair School of Music; Frank Wcislo, Dean of the Martha River Ingram Commons at Vanderbilt; Sandra Stahl, Office of the Dean of Students; and by JoEl Logiudice, Office of Creative Engagement. Blair thanks the Hutton Hotel for providing accommodations for all visiting artists.
These are just a few of the concerts scheduled for your enjoyment. Visit the website at blair.vanderbilt.edu for more information about concerts and events at the Blair School of Music.