Vanderbilt University Blair School of Music

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The Blair School of Music provides undergraduate conservatory-style education in music performance, theory, and history at Vanderbilt University, a major research university located in Nashville, Tennessee. Blair is the youngest and smallest of Vanderbilt's ten constituent schools and colleges.HistoryWhile established in 1964, Blair did not initially offer undergraduate-level courses, instead focusing on pre-college music education as part of the then-independent Peabody College (Peabody is itself now part of Vanderbilt). Through the initiative of Chancellor Alexander Heard in 1981, Vanderbilt began offering undergraduate programs at Blair as part of a wider liberal arts curriculum. In 1986, Blair began awarding its own bachelor's degrees.Degree programsThe Blair School of Music confers the bachelor of music degree in music performance, in composition and theory, and in musical arts. Unique among Vanderbilt's four undergraduate schools, Blair has no graduate students. However, in conjunction with Peabody College, Blair offers a five-year bachelor of music/master of education program in musical arts and teacher education. The Blair School of Music is set apart from other similar undergraduate music programs, like those at Northwestern University, Rice University, and Carnegie Mellon University by offering degrees only to undergraduates, giving them the sole focus of the faculty.