spring2012
Tutti: News About Faculty and Staff
Mar. 1, 2012—This spring the Blakemore Trio (Carolyn Huebl, violin; Felix Wang, cello; and Amy Dorfman, piano) presented concerts in North Carolina at UNCG-Greensboro and Brevard, and Martin Methodist College in Tennessee. Repertoire of concerts this season included collaborations with violists Kathryn Plummer and Scott Rawls celebrating Schumann’s 200th birthday, as well as contemporary works by David Sanford, Shulamit...
A Note of Thanks
Mar. 1, 2012—Musicians know that without the help of arts patrons, there would be no music to fill concert halls and teach the next generation of music students. At the Blair School of Music, the support of so many in our community—alumni, parents, faculty, staff and friends—contributed to the enormous success of Vanderbilt’s Shape the Future campaign....
Top Spot
Mar. 1, 2012—For music students, preparing for competitions and auditions has to be about more than winning.
Join Us for These Spring Concert Season Highlights
Mar. 1, 2012—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....
The Perfect Job
Mar. 1, 2012—Meagan Nordmann Rhodes, BMus’09, says the perfect job “fell into my lap.” After having a self-described “crisis moment” during her senior year that left her doubting her aspirations as an oboist, Rhodes began looking for something that combined the arts with the regular hours of an office job. After confiding her interests to Kip Bennett,...
In the VORTEX with Cage and Cunningham
Mar. 1, 2012—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.
Making Music for Each Other
Mar. 1, 2012—Chamber music, with its graceful, intimate character, presents a special set of challenges and pleasures to the musicians who play it.
The Treble and Bass of a Balanced Life
Mar. 1, 2012—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.
From the Dean
Mar. 1, 2012—This issue of the Quarter Note goes to the very heart of what we do at the Blair School, and why we exist: our students. In these pages, we will focus on the critical moments in the lives of Blair students, from their auditions for admission to their professional lives after graduation.
The Art of the Admissions Audition
Mar. 1, 2012—Auditioning to be admitted to a collegiate school of music or conservatory is a very different process than auditioning for an orchestra or to get comments or ratings. Blair has refined the audition weekend process, and, according to Dwayne Sagen, assistant dean for admissions at Blair, current students are his best recruiters.