Blair Spring 2012 Concert Calendar

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Unless otherwise noted, all concerts are free of charge and open to all audiences. All dates are subject to change — please visit our website, http://blair.vanderbilt.edu, for updated information.

Parking: Free self-parking is available at the West Garage, directly across the street from the school, for all evening and weekend concerts and events, with parking available after 5 p.m. Free parking is also available in the South Garage, on the other side of 24th Avenue South from the West Garage. Complimentary valet parking, provided by Phi Mu Alpha fraternity, is also available for many Concert Series events for guests arriving at least 15 minutes before concert time. Call 322-7651 for valet parking information.

 

JANUARY

 

PLEASE NOTE NEW DATE AND TIME

Wednesday, January 11

8:00 p.m.

Ingram Hall

Guest Artists

Kim Kashkashian, viola

Lydia Artymiw, piano

Violist Kim Kashkashian has established herself as one of the most accomplished artists of her generation. Inspiring worldwide acclaim, she has been hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as “an artist who combines a probing, restless musical intellect with enormous beauty of tone.” The New York Times has joined in these accolades, praising her “rich, mellow timbre and impressive artistry.”

Lydia Artymiw has emerged as one of the most compelling and individual pianists of her generation. For more than 30 years, she has consistently earned rave reviews, firmly establishing herself as a unique artistic personality with rare communicative gifts. Critics have praised her artistry and highly original interpretations, her warmth, intelligence, poetic gifts, thoughtfulness, versatility and, most of all, her distinctive and beautiful sound.

The pair are frequent collaborators, and their joint appearance in January will be a treat for Nashville audiences.

Ms. Artymiw will conduct a master class at 7 p.m. Tuesday, January 10. Ms. Kashkashian will conduct a master class at 11 a.m. Wednesday, January 11. Both master classes will be held in Steve and Judy Turner Recital Hall.

Sponsored by Marsha and Ken Mifflin

Blair thanks the Hutton Hotel for providing accommodations for Kim Kashkashian and Lydia Artymiw.

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Sunday, January 15

3:00 p.m.

Steve and Judy Turner Recital Hall

Faculty Recital

Fin de siècle

Jonathan Retzlaff, baritone

Jennifer McGuire, piano

The turn of the 18th to the 19th century in Europe gave rise to a host of compositional innovations in French Mélodie and German Lieder. An expanded harmonic palate, including the use of chromaticism, modal/scalar influences and emphasis on rhythmic setting of texts which remained faithful to the spoken word, fostered an era of some of the finest Lied and Mélodie composed within their genres. While most French composers reacted against what they saw as the excesses of Richard Wagner and those who worshiped him at Beyreuth, listen for yourself and conclude whether the French succeeded in a parting of the ways philosophically, aesthetically and musically. Baritone Jonathan Retzlaff and pianist Jennifer McGuire present a recital showcasing the works of Ravel, Wolf, Griffes and Debussy spanning the years 1890-1910 — the fin de siècle.

Sponsored by an anonymous friend of the Blair School of Music

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Monday, January 16

8:00 p.m. Pre-concert talk with Austin Bealmear

8:30 p.m. 50-minute performance

Steve and Judy Turner Recital Hall

Blair Nightcap Series

Bruce Dudley Double Quartet — Mostly Monk

Mostly Monk presents Bruce Dudley’s arrangements of Thelonious Monk, Billy Strayhorn and Bill Evans, along with his own compositions and jazz piano playing. The group includes Don Aliquo on saxophone, bassist Jim Ferguson, drummer Derrek Phillips and a sterling string quartet led by violinist David Davidson, with David Angell (violin), Monisa Angel (viola) and Sari Reist (cello).

“Bruce Dudley’s ‘Mostly Monk’ respectfully takes the music of Thelonious Monk and lifts it to a new level with his musical imagination and masterful creativity. He is supported by a cast of world-class musicians who give Mr. Monk’s music new life through the interpretations of Mr. Dudley.”  — JazzTimes

Guest speaker Austin Bealmear is the creator and host of “Jazz on the Side,” a weekly radio program that airs Sundays at noon on WMOT Jazz 89 FM.

Sponsored by Nissan Americas

This event will be recorded live for later broadcast on WNPT-2 television and VUcast.

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Thursday, January 19

8:00 p.m.

Steve and Judy Turner Recital Hall

Blair Presents

The Music of BMI Composer-in-Residence Adam Schoenberg

Performers include the Blair Brass Quintet, The Blakemore Trio, Allan Cox, Philip Dikeman, Bil Jackson and Melissa Rose

Some of Blair’s best faculty artists perform the works of acclaimed young composer Adam Schoenberg. Schoenberg’s music has an ability to create “mystery and sensuality” (New York Times), and has been hailed as “stunning” (Memphis Commercial Appeal), and “open, bold, and optimistic” (Atlanta Journal-Constitution). In addition to this program of mixed chamber works, Schoenberg’s music will also be on display the next night as The Blakemore Trio premieres a new Schoenberg piano trio (see below).

For more information about this exciting young composer, visit www.adamschoenberg.com

Sponsored by BMI

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Friday, January 20

8:00 p.m.

Ingram Hall

Signature Series

The Blakemore Trio

Amy Dorfman, piano; Carolyn Huebl, violin; Felix Wang, cello

The Blakemore Trio performs works of Haydn and Dvorak, and a world premiere of Adam Schoenberg’s piano trio Luna Y Mar.

Captivated by Adam Schoenberg’s imaginative and dramatic scores, the Blakemore Trio commissioned this young composer for tonight’s work. This performance caps his three-day residency at the Blair School.

Opening the program is Haydn’s sunny and delightful Trio No. 18 in A major, and concluding the concert is one of Dvorak’s milestone works, the powerful Trio in F minor.

Sponsored by the Estate of Landis Gullett

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Sunday, January 22

7:00 pm

Ingram Hall

Vanderbilt University Concerto Competition Finals

Our best and brightest go head-to-head. After last year’s exciting debut of this new format, the final round of the Vanderbilt Concerto Competition is, once again, open to the public. The winners of this competition will perform with the Vanderbilt Orchestra in April. Judges will announce the winners at the end of the evening.

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Sunday, January 22

4:00 p.m.

Steve and Judy Turner Recital Hall

Music On Film

Our popular series of classical concert films continues. Vanderbilt Orchestra conductor Robin Fountain introduces a concert film of renowned conductor Claudio Abbado leading the Lucerne Festival Orchestra in a performance of Gustav Mahler’s complex and compelling Symphony No. 9.

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Thursday, January 26

8:00 p.m.

Ingram Hall

Blair Presents

Thomas Hampson

American baritone Thomas Hampson enjoys a singular international career as a recitalist, opera singer and recording artist, and maintains an active interest in teaching, research and technology. He has performed in all of the world’s most important concert halls and opera houses with many of today’s most renowned singers, pianists, conductors and orchestras. He is one of the most important interpreters of German romantic song, and with his celebrated “Song of America” project, which he brings to Blair, has become the “ambassador” of American song. Hampson’s program at Blair is a panorama of American song, with music by Copland, Barber, Ives, Hopkinson, Griffes, Thomson and others. The performance will also include a brand-new song cycle by Michael Hersch, who has also composed a commissioned work for the Blair String Quartet.

Hampson will also conduct a master class in Ingram Hall on Wednesday, January 25.

www.thomashampson.com

Hampson’s accompanist, Craig Rutenberg, has appeared with many of today’s most distinguished vocal stars. Currently Head of Music Administration at The Metropolitan Opera, Rutenberg has previously been on the faculties of Boston University and The Eastman School of Music. In addition to his recital work in the 2011-2012 season, Mr. Rutenberg continues his project of recording the complete piano works of Virgil Thomson, which will be issued on Everbest, the recording label of the Virgil Thomson Foundation.

Sponsored by the Mary Cortner Ragland Master Series Fund

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Friday, January 27

8:00 p.m.

Ingram Hall

Signature Series

Blair Student Showcase

The Blair School’s very best and brightest show off what they can do! From solo artists to chamber ensembles, come see the future of classical music.

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Sunday, January 29

4:00 p.m.

Steve and Judy Turner Recital Hall

Faculty Recital

Christian Teal, violin

Jennifer McGuire, piano

Following a successful recital in January 2010, violinist Christian Teal and pianist Jennifer McGuire will present a recital of stunning 20th-century works by Benjamin Britten, Leos Janacek, and Sergei Prokofieff.

The Suite for Violin and Piano, Op. 6 by the great British composer Benjamin Britten was composed in 1935. This intriguing work starts with an Introduction, followed by March, Moto Perpetuo, Lullaby and Waltz.

The Sonata for Violin and Piano by Czech composer Leos Janacek was composed in 1914 and contains elements of folk music which was an important part of Janacek’s research and compositions.

The Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, Op.80 was composed over an eight-year period between 1938 and 1946 and was finally completed after Prokofiev had composed his second sonata for violin and piano. The work is dark and brooding, but with powerful expression of the full gamut of emotion and power.

Sponsored by Judy and Steve Turner

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FEBRUARY

Friday, February 3

8:00 p.m.

Ingram Hall

Vanderbilt Wind Ensemble

Program titled: “An American Triptych”

Thomas Verrier, conductor, and Rafael Rodriguez, guest conductor

and

Vanderbilt Orchestra

Robin Fountain, conductor

Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances, Op. 45, an orchestral suite in three movements, and the last orchestral composition written by Rachmaninoff.

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Monday, February 6

8:00 p.m.

Ingram Hall

Signature Series

Blair Woodwind Quintet

Philip Dikeman, flute

Jared Hauser, oboe

Bil Jackson, clarinet

Leslie Norton, horn

Cynthia Estill, bassoon

Join the Blair Woodwind Quintet for the debut performance of new members Philip Dikeman and Bil Jackson. It will be an evening of classic compositions from the wind repertoire, spanning the romantic to modern eras and featuring the music of Samuel Barber, Paul Hindemith, Paquito D’Rivera and August Klughardt.

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Thursday, February 9

8:00 p.m.

Steve and Judy Turner Recital Hall

Living Sounds

Blair’s student composers are in the spotlight, showing off the next evolution of classical composition.

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TICKETED EVENT

Friday, February 10

8:00 p.m.

Ingram Hall

Nashville Jazz Orchestra

Jim Williamson, director

The Nashville Jazz Orchestra’s Artist Series concert features Bob Mintzer, a big band jazz saxophone player, composer/arranger and member of Grammy-winning jazz-rock stalwarts The Yellowjackets.

Tickets: $20 adults; $15 seniors (65+0 and Vanderbilt faculty and staff; $10 students with ID; $5 Vanderbilt students with ID. Tickets available at the door.

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Sunday, February 12

5:00 p.m.

Ingram Hall

Nashville Sinfonietta

With Amy Dorfman and Mark Wait, and Dean Whiteside

Nashville Sinfonietta brings together performers from the Nashville Symphony and the Blair School of Music. The program will include Mozart’s Concert No. 10 for Two Pianos, featuring the Dorfman/Wait Piano Duo, and Haydn’s Symphony No. 88 in G.

This performance is a benefit for the Shade Tree Family Clinic — donations will be accepted, but are not required.

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Monday, February 13

7:30 p.m.

Steve and Judy Turner Recital Hall

Blair Student Chamber Ensembles

A musical potpourri for a mixture of chamber ensembles, including string, woodwind and brass instruments. Blair collegiate students perform familiar masterworks as well as rare and new chamber music gems.

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Tuesday, February 14

8:00 p.m.

Steve and Judy Turner Recital Hall

Faculty Recital

Brian Utley, saxophone

With guest artist Kae Hosoda-Ayer, Assistant Professor of Piano at Baylor University

Brian Utley and Kae Hosoda-Ayer perform recent works by American composers, including Sonata for Soprano Saxophone and Piano by Perry Goldstein, and Prelude by L. Mark Lewis. The duo’s musical selections are drawn from a recent CD recording, which is due out on Mark Records in 2012.

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Wednesday, February 15

8:00 p.m.

Steve and Judy Turner Recital Hall

Guest Artist

Gregory Sioles, piano

Pianist Gregory Sioles, an assistant professor of piano at Louisiana State University, presents a program exploring connections to the idea of variation, through the works of three composers. Handel’s Chaconne and Beethoven’s last Sonata (second movement) open and close the program. Both are variation sets. John Corigliano’s work is based on an ostinato figure found in the second movement of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony. His piece, too, could be considered “variations,” but only  in the loosest sense of that term.

G. F. Handel, Chaconne in G Major

F. Schubert, Sonata in A Minor, D. 537

John Corigliano, Fantasia on an Ostinato

L. v. Beethoven, Sonata in C Minor, Op. 111

Sioles will also conduct a master class at 5 p.m. Tuesday, February 14, in Steve and Judy Turner Recital Hall.

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Special Event

Friday, February 17

8:00 p.m.

Ingram Hall

Signature Series

Blair String Quartet

Christian Teal, violin

Cornelia Heard, violin

John Kochanowski, viola

Felix Wang, cello

The Blair String Quartet presents the world premiere of

of Images From a Closed Ward, a work the group commissioned from groundbreaking American composer Michael Hersch and the first string quartet he has written in more than 20 years. The work was commissioned as part of The Blair Commissions: Music for the 21st Century, through funding from the James Stephen Turner Family Foundation. The Quartet will also premiere the work later in the spring in Philadelphia and at New York’s Carnegie Hall.

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COMPOSER’S STATEMENT

I first came into contact with artist Michael Mazur’s work in 2000, while I was living in Italy. An exhibition of Mazur’s The Inferno of Dante, a series of forty-one etchings with accompanying texts of Dante translated into English by Robert Pinsky, was being shown at the American Academy in Rome. Viewing the collection of etchings was among the most powerful experiences I have ever had. Soon after we met, Mazur would often stop by the space I used to work in, where I would then play through many of my own compositions. Although we worked in very different mediums, I often felt that Mazur understood what I was doing better than most.

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In mid-2009, for the first time in almost twenty years, I began work on a string quartet; the catalyst for which was an encounter the previous year with two groups of etchings done by Mazur in the early 1960s: the Closed Ward and Locked Ward series. The images are devastating ones.  Why I was attracted to them, how they resonated with and why they haunted me, are for reasons that remain personal. That said, the fact that visual art became something of an ignition point for my own work was a very new experience for me. As the summer of 2009 wound down, I had formulated the broad outlines of the work enough that I decided it would be a good time to reconnect with Mazur. I was extremely excited at the prospect of seeing him again, and sharing the terrain of this new quartet. I felt that he would be surprised and pleased that something he had done had a hand in the shaping of this new work. The day before I planned to contact him, I read of his untimely death in a Sunday newspaper.

— Michael Hersch

Sponsored by the James Stephen Turner Family Foundation 

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Saturday, February 18

8:00 p.m.

Steve and Judy Turner Recital Hall

Faculty Recital

Jessica Blackwell, violin

An Evening of Schubert

Violinist Jessica Blackwell orchestrates an enchanting evening of music by Franz Schubert. Highlights from the all-Schubert program include:

Selected lieder, with guest soprano Candice Zimmerman

Selected solo piano works, featuring pianist Jennifer McGuire

Cello Quintet in C Major, D. 956, with Jessica Blackwell and Anna Lisa Hoepfinger, violins; Dan Reinker, viola; Michael Samis and Christopher Stenstrom, cellos.

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Sunday, February 19

2:00 p.m.

Ingram Hall

Vanderbilt Community Chorus

David Binns Williams, director

The Community Chorus presents a salute to musical theater with a program of Stephen Sondheim’s timeless tunes.

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Tuesday, February 21

and

Wednesday, February 22

Master Classes

Roger Vignoles, piano

British pianist Roger Vignoles is internationally recognized as one of the world’s most distinguished collaborative pianists and musicians of today. He regularly partners the finest singers in major venues around the world and is regarded as a leading authority on the song repertoire. In the course of his distinguished career, he has collaborated with such top singers as Elisabeth Söderström, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Kathleen Battle, Thomas Hampson, Sir Thomas Allen and many more.

Vignoles will be visiting Blair for two days to teach master classes in art song to selected singer/pianist teams. The public is invited to observe. Specific times and performance halls are TBA, but classes will be conducted throughout the day on both dates.

Sponsored in part by the L. Michelson, B, Mus. ’11, Fund for Collaborative Master Classes

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Wednesday, February 22

8:00 p.m.

Ingram Hall

Vanderbilt Wind Symphony

Thomas Verrier, director

Consortium Premiere: Road Stories, by Jennifer Higdon

and

Vanderbilt Orchestra

Robin Fountain, conductor

Works by BMI composer Sean Shepherd

Called “sharp and fierce” (Feast of Music) with “a wonderful way of making the orchestra shimmer” (Sequenza 21), young composer Sean Shepherd creates music that has earned him admiration and return engagements with major ensembles across the U.S. and Europe and a number of high-profile commissions, including the New York Philharmonic. He is currently the Daniel R. Lewis Composer Fellow of the Cleveland Orchestra and Composer in Residence of the Reno Philharmonic.

Sponsored by BMI

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Friday, February 24

8:00 p.m.

Ingram Hall

Blair Chamber Choir

and

Blair Symphonic Choir

David Cassel, director

The Blair Chamber Choir will perform the music of Blair’s own composers, both students and alumni. The Symphonic Choir performs contemporary settings of the love poetry of Robert Burns and Edward Heyman, as well as Celtic and Appalachian folk songs.

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Tuesday, February 28

8:00 p.m.

Ingram Hall

Guest Artists

Sō Percussion

Innovative, experimental percussion quartet Sō Percussion brings its genre-smashing production to Ingram Hall. The ensemble is signed to Cantaloupe Music, a record label affiliated with celebrated experimental music collective Bang on a Can. In performance, the quartet is known for incorporating unusual and exotic instruments, including bowed marimba, aluminum pipes and, confoundingly, amplified cactus. Two new recordings, Steve Mackey’s It Is Time on Cantaloupe Music, and Steve Reich’s Mallet Quartet on Nonesuch Records, both written for Sō, were released in September 2011. This year, the group is an Edward T. Cone Ensemble-in-Residence at Princeton University. www.sopercussion.com

Sponsored by the Sartain Lanier Family Foundation Inc.

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MARCH

Thursday, March 1

8:00 p.m.

Steve and Judy Turner Recital Hall

Guest Artist

Elias Goldstein, viola

Elias Goldstein is a rising star in the viola world. He won second prize at the prestigious Primrose International Viola Competition in 2011, and recently made his Russian debut with the Moscow Soloists and the New Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra under Alexander Slatkovsky. As a soloist with orchestras he has appeared with the Moscow Soloists under the direction of Yuri Bashmet, New Moscow Philharmonic, New Mexico Chamber Orchestra, the Ukrainian Chamber Orchestra, and the DePaul Symphony Orchestra, where he won the annual concerto competition twice. As an orchestral musician, he has performed as guest concertmaster with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. He was a regular member of the Grant Park Orchestra, and has also performed with Bergen Philharmonic in Norway and with members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He is a founding member and principal violist of the Advent Chamber Orchestra.

While at Blair, Goldstein will also conduct a master class at 8 p.m. Wednesday, February 29, in Steve and Judy Turner Recital Hall.

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TICKETED EVENT

Saturday, March 3

8:00 p.m.

Steve and Judy Turner Recital Hall

Blair Presents

ALIAS Chamber Ensemble

Innovative Nashville chamber ensemble ALIAS continues its 10th anniversary season with two works by American composer Kenji Bunch, including the world premiere of a piece for French horn and strings written especially for ALIAS. These works will be included on ALIAS’ recording of Bunch’s chamber music, for release on the Delos label in 2012.

Kenji Bunch, Luminaria (2002)

Claude Debussy, Sonata for Cello and Piano (1915)

Kenji Bunch, horn commission (2011)

Christopher Norton, Open Door, Peninsula Field (2009)

Stevan Tickmayer, Three variations on a theme by J.S. Bach (2005)

Kevin Keller, Riding the Purple Twilight (2008)

Proceeds from the concert will benefit King’s Daughters Child Development Center. Tickets are $12 for adults, $5 for students, free for Blair students. Tickets are available at www.aliasmusic.org.

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TICKETED EVENT

Saturday, March 3

and

Saturday, March 10

7:30 p.m.

Ingram Hall

Special Event

CAAN presents Dragon Tales

The Chinese Arts Alliance of Nashville (CAAN) presents “Dragon Tales,” a dance theater production celebrating the Chinese Dragon Year of 2012. The dragon is an auspicious creature in Chinese cultures, symbolizing strength, determination and good luck. The dance production includes “Dragon Pearl,” which depicts a Chinese folk story about a boy turning into a dragon, with original music by Don Hart. Another dance piece, “Dreaming of Dragonland,” will include live music from cellist Felix Wang. Closing out the performance, the traditional Lion and Dragon Dance will feature a recently restored antique Chinese dragon.

Tickets: $20 adults; $15 groups of 10+, seniors and students; $10 children younger than 10. To order tickets, send check to CAAN, PO Box 120025, Nashville TN 37212. For more information, contact ChineseArtsAlliance@gmail.com or call 292-6204.

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Friday, March 16

8:00 p.m.

Ingram Hall

Signature Series

Piano Faculty Concert — Living Composers

Roland Schneller, Autumn Leaves (2010) by Sean Calhoun (b. 1992)

Karen Ann Krieger, Concert Etude Op. 40  by Nikolai Kapustin (b. 1937)

Melissa Rose, North American Ballads, 1. Dreadful memories (After Aunt Molly Jackson) by Frederic Rzewski (b. 1938)

Lauren Coplan, Before Sleep and Dreams by Aaron Jay Kernis (b. 1960)

Elizabeth Eckert,  Humoresque by Rodion Shchedrin (b. 1932)

Amy Dorfman, Piano Figures (2006) by George Benjamin (b. 1960)

Valerie Middleton, Suite Impressions by Judith Lang Zaimont (b. 1945)

Sheree Koutsoukos and ChiHee Hwang, Toccata and Fugue by Anthony Newman (b. 1941)

Maureen May and Patsy Wade, Points on Jazz by Dave Brubeck (b.1920)

Sponsored by Delphine and Ken Roberts

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Sunday, March 18

3:00 p.m.

Steve and Judy Turner Recital Hall

Faculty Recital

Amy Jarman, soprano

Jennifer McGuire, piano

Between the Wars: Songs by European Composers 1916-1940

The four composers represented on this recital have in common the changing landscape of Europe in the first part of the 20th century. Rachmaninoff’s songs feature virtuosic writing for the piano partnered with lyrical and haunting melodies in the voice. These were the last songs he wrote before leaving Russia after the revolution. Eric Korngold’s best-known composition is the opera Die Tode Stadt, written in 1920. The songs featured were written in the late 1920s, when he was still living in Vienna, prior to leaving Europe for the United States and a career as composer of film scores. Benjamin Britten’s friendship with W.H. Auden influenced his decision to leave Britain when it was on the brink of World War II, moving to American for three years. On This Island was written and first performed in 1937, before Britten and his partner Peter Pears followed Auden to New York. Francis Poulenc lived in Paris most of his life, and at the start of World War II was engaged by the Ministry of Arts as part of an effort of musical propaganda. He spent a year in Bordeaux, then, once released from duty, moved to Noizay, where he spent the remainder of the war years. This cycle of songs, which are settings of poems by the French surrealist poet Guillaume Apollinaire, includes one of Poulenc’s most beautiful songs, Sanglots.

Sergei Rachmaninoff, Six Songs, Op. 38

Erich Korngold, Three Songs, Op. 22

Benjamin Britten, On This Island

Francis Poulenc, Banalités

Sponsored by an anonymous friend of the Blair School of Music

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Wednesday, March 21

8:00 p.m.

Ingram Hall

Guest Artist

An Evening with flutist Julien Beaudiment and the Vanderbilt String Orchestra, with Philip Dikeman, flute, and The Atlantic Ensemble

Outstanding young French flutist Julien Beaudiment is the principal flute at the Orchestre de l’Opéra National de Lyon, a position he obtained at the age of 22, while still a student. From 2005-06 he was principal flute of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, making him the only French flutist to have held such a position with a prestigious British orchestra.

Beaudiment’s program at Blair will feature collaborations with Blair faculty, including Philip Dikeman and The Atlantic Ensemble, as well a work for solo flute with the Vanderbilt String Orchestra.

The String Orchestra will also perform Edward Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro.

Sponsored by Marsha and Ken Mifflin

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Thursday, March 22

8:00 p.m.

Steve and Judy Turner Recital Hall

Guest Artists

Tony Boutté, tenor

Alan Johnson, piano

Guest artists from The Frost School of Music, University of Miami

A varied program of traditional and contemporary vocal music, including the Nashville premiere of Michael Alec Rose’s Bucolics, a setting of five poems by the award-winning poet Maurice Manning.  Both the poet and the composer will be in attendance and will hold a pre-concert conversation about the different kinds of “singing” that’s done by poets, composers and performers.

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Friday, March 23

8:00 p.m.

Ingram Hall

Vanderbilt Wind Symphony and Chamber Players

Program titled: “New Frontiers.”

Thomas Verrier, conductor

Wayne Bailey, guest conductor

Guest conductor Wayne Bailey is Professor of Music in the Herberger College School of Music at Arizona State University, where he conducts the university’s wind ensemble and teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in conducting.

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Sunday, March 25

2:00 p.m.

Ingram Hall

Vanderbilt University Concert Choir

David Binns Williams, director

The oldest performing ensemble on campus performs choral works of all genres.

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Sunday, March 25

2:00 p.m.

Steve and Judy Turner Recital Hall

Blair Harp Ensemble

Marian Shaffer, director

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Friday, March 30

8:00 p.m.

Ingram Hall

Signature Series

Craig Nies, Piano

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,” says Nies. “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

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Saturday, March 31

8:00 p.m.

Steve and Judy Turner Recital Hall

Faculty Recital

Philip Dikeman, flute

With Melissa Rose, piano, and Jared Hauser, oboe

New Associate Professor of Flute Philip Dikeman’s debut solo recital at Blair will have an international flair, featuring several works by contemporary composers, including leading Mexican composer Samuel Zyman’s Sonata for Flute and Piano, with Melissa Rose; Scottish-American composer Thea Musgrave’s Impromptu No. 1 for Flute and Oboe, with Jared Hauser; and American composer Jennifer Higdon’s rapid♦fire, for solo flute.

Dikeman comes to Blair after almost 20 years with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, where he was Assistant Principal Flute, and Acting Principal Flute for his final two seasons. He was previously Principal Flute of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and the San Antonio Symphony, and Guest Associate Principal Flutist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic on its 2010 U.S. tour.

Sponsored by an anonymous friend of the Blair School of Music

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APRIL

 

SPECIAL EVENT

A celebration of the 100th birthday of John Cage

Thursday, March 29

3 p.m.

Steve and Judy Turner Recital Hall

Revolutionaries in the Academy! — John Cage and Merce Cunningham. A Conversation on Form, Composition and Creativity

Michael Holland, artistic director of Blair Percussion VORTEX, introduces this dialogue on the intersection of music and dance, featuring Jennifer Goggans, former dancer, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, and Michael Slayton, chair of Blair’s music composition department.

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Sunday, April 1

8 p.m.

Ingram Hall

Blair Percussion VORTEX

Michael Holland, artistic director

VORTEX celebrates John Cage with former dancers of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company

Plus: COMPANY ROSE

Marsha Barsky and Erin Law, choreographers

7:00 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 322-7651.

Support for this program provided by a Curb Creative Campus Innovation Grant. Additional support provided by: Mark Wait, Dean, Blair School of Music; Frank Wcislo, Dean of the Ingram Commons; Sandra Stahl, Office of the Dean of Students; and by JoEl Logiudice, Office of Creative Engagement. 

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Monday, April 2

8:00 p.m.

Ingram Hall

Signature Series

Blair Brass Quintet

Allan Cox, trumpet; Pat Kunkee, trumpet; Leslie Norton, horn; Prentiss Hobbs, trombone; Gilbert Long, tuba

The Blair Brass Quintet, founded in 1995, has concertized throughout the Southeast, and is very involved in exposing young people to their music through school concerts. Their repertoire ranges from traditional to contemporary. For this concert, the Quintet will perform works by Samuel Scheidt, John Cheetham, Malcolm Arnold and Charles-Marie Widor, among others.

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Wednesday, April 4

8:00 p.m.

Steve and Judy Turner Recital Hall

Living Sounds

The new works of Blair’s student composers, performed by their peers. Come hear the next generation of classical composition!

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Wednesday, April 11

8:00 p.m.

Ingram Hall

Sankofa

Vanderbilt’s African Drumming and Dance Ensemble

Gyane Kwame Ahima, director

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Wednesday, April 11

7:30 p.m.

Steve and Judy Turner Recital Hall

Blair Student Chamber Ensembles

A musical potpourri for a mixture of chamber ensembles, including string, woodwind and brass instruments. Blair collegiate students perform familiar masterworks as well as rare and new chamber music gems.

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Friday, April 13

8:00 p.m.

Ingram Hall

Vanderbilt University Orchestra

Robin Fountain, conductor

Featuring the winners of the 2011 Blair Concerto Competition.

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Saturday, April 14

8:00 p.m.

Ingram Hall

Blair Big Band

Billy Adair, director

“Swing Into Spring” with the Blair Big Band. Instrumental and vocal jazz, from the classics (think Count Basie!) to the modern era.

Sponsored by Melissa and Scot Hollmann

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Sunday, April 15

8:00 p.m.

Ingram Hall

Steel Drum Bands

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Sunday, April 15

2:30 p.m.

Steve and Judy Turner Recital Hall

Blair Suzuki Violin Performing Group

Carol Smith, director

and

Blair Children’s Cello Choir

Kirsten Cassel Greer and Anne Hall Williams, directors

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Tuesday, April 17

8:00 p.m.

Ingram Hall

Blair Chamber Choir,

Blair Symphonic Choir

and

Vanderbilt Oratorio Orchestra

David Cassel, director

The Chamber and Symphonic Choirs will perform Bach’s Cantata 191 and the Haydn Lord Nelson Mass, with student soloists and the Vanderbilt Oratorio Orchestra.

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TICKETED EVENT

Sunday, April 20

8:00 p.m.

Ingram Hall

Nashville Jazz Orchestra

Jim Williamson, director

The Music of Stevie Wonder

The Nashville Jazz Orchestra celebrates Stevie Wonder with a program dedicated to his music. Sure to be an evening that will get you on your feet!

Tickets: $20 adults; $15 seniors (65+) and Vanderbilt faculty and staff; $10 students with ID; $5 Vanderbilt students with ID. Tickets available at the door.

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Saturday, April 21

8:00 p.m.

Ingram Hall

Signature Series

The Annual Appalachian Celebration

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, 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 not required.

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Monday, April 23

8:00 p.m. Pre-concert talk

8:30 p.m. 50-minute performance

Steve and Judy Turner Recital Hall

Nightcap Series

Carolyn Huebl, violin

Leslie Norton, French horn

Mark Wait, piano

An evening of contemporary horn trios, spotlighting works by composers Paul Lansky and Verne Reynolds. Lansky made his reputation as a pioneer in electronic and computer music (Radiohead featured samples of his work prominently on signature album Kid A), but has more recently been writing for acoustic instruments. Reynolds

was a distinguished composer and influential horn professor who wrote extensively for brass instruments.

Sponsored by Nissan Americas

This event will be recorded live for later broadcast on WNPT-2 television and VUcast.

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Wednesday, April 25

Thursday, April 26

6:00 p.m.

Saturday, April 28

5:00 p.m.

Steve and Judy Turner Recital Hall

Blair Pre-College Program Scholarship Recital

Blair’s finest pre-college students are featured in a variety of solo works for piano, strings, woodwinds, brass and voice.

Sponsored by an anonymous friend of the Blair School of Music

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Saturday, April 28

1:00 p.m.

Steve and Judy Turner Recital Hall

Suzuki Cello Graduation and Festival Concert

Anne Hall Williams and

Kirsten Cassel Greer, directors

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Saturday, April 28

3:00 p.m.

Steve and Judy Turner Recital Hall

Suzuki Violin Graduation and Festival Concert

Carol Fisher, director

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Saturday, April 28

8:00 p.m.

Steve and Judy Turner Recital Hall

Faculty Recital

Jama Reagan, piano

With guest artist Arunesh Nadgir, assistant professor of piano, Middle Tennessee State University

A duo-piano collaboration that pairs Middle Tennessee pianists.

Francis Poulenc, Concerto in D Minor for Two Pianos

William Bolcom, The Garden of Eden

Astor Piazzolla, Tangos for Two Pianos

John Corigliano, Kaleidoscope for Two Pianos

This concert is a benefit for the W.O. Smith Music School. Donations at the door will be accepted, but are not required.

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MAY

Monday, May 7

7:30 p.m.

Ingram Hall

Curb Youth Symphony

Carol Nies, director

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Tuesday, May 8

7:30 p.m.

Ingram Hall

Nashville Youth Repertory Orchestra

Sally McFadden, director

Youth Strings Orchestras, Reading Orchestra and Beginning Reading Orchestra

Celeste Tuten, director

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Friday, May 11

7:30 p.m.

Ingram Hall

Blair Children’s Chorus Program

Hazel Somerville and Coni Guerin, directors

Featuring the Blair Children’s Concert Choir, Young Men’s Chorus, Choristers, Nashville Boychoir at Blair, and Young Singers of Blair.

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Friday, May 18

8:00 p.m.

Ingram Hall

Vanderbilt Community Chorus

David Binns Williams, director

An all-Americana program, featuring Aaron Copland’s “Old American Songs” with chamber orchestra accompaniment.