Blair School Of Music Acceptance Rate

Last Updated on July 30, 2023

The Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University offers an exceptionally rich array of educational opportunities in classical music performance, composition, and theory. The degree programs of the Blair School balance applied study with academic coursework to ensure students receive both practical performance experience as well as scholarly knowledge.

Blair offers all Vanderbilt students opportunities to make music a part of their lives and academic focus. Students in Vanderbilt’s other undergraduate colleges may also audition for a minor in music, music history, music composition, or music performance— or a second major in music.

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Blair Academy

Experience conservatory-level music training alongside a top-twenty academic education at one of the only exclusively undergraduate music schools in the country. Founded in 1964, the Blair School of Music sits in the heart of Nashville, a city with a rich musical and artistic culture.

Over the last several years, Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music has additionally partnered with some of the most renowned musical institutions, including the Berlin Philharmonic.

Some combine music in a double major or add a minor in one of our three other undergraduate schools, graduating with Vanderbilt’s strong foundation in the liberal arts and sciences supporting Blair’s intense training in music. Many of our students pursue study abroad opportunities around the world, studying in places such as Amsterdam, Berlin, Denmark, and Sydney.

Any Vanderbilt student who is interested in continuing their music studies can audition for any of the Blair ensembles at the beginning of fall semester. In addition, students interested in a minor or second major in music may audition at the end of one semester of private instructor, with the guidance of their instructor.

The Blair School of Music serves as the focal point within Vanderbilt University for the study of music as a human endeavor and as a performing art. Music offers to all persons a medium for the expression of the human spirit. Accordingly, the Blair School of Music addresses music through a broad array of academic, pedagogical, and performing activities. Consistent with the mission of Vanderbilt University, the School maintains and promotes the highest standards in the pursuit of scholarly and creative work, in the delivery of instruction, and in the promotion of professional and public service.In its scholarly and creative work, the Blair School of Music proposes to advance the discovery of knowledge, to expand the horizons of musical expression, to promote academic excellence, and to sustain an environment supporting these pursuits by faculty and students.

Pedagogically, the Blair School is committed to providing superior musical instruction to pre-collegiate and adult students in the environs of Nashville, Tennessee; stimulating classroom and studio instruction to collegiate music majors and minors; and, to the students of Vanderbilt University at large, an array of academically rigorous, culturally enriching courses appropriate to one of the nations’ leading institutions of higher learning.

Blair School Of Music Acceptance Rate

Blair School of Music has achieved an acceptance rate of 20%.

The Blair School of Music is solely for undergraduates

The talented musicians we attract want conservatory-quality music training with excellent teachers, frequent performance opportunities, and great facilities. They want to participate in their school’s top ensembles, so we deliberately limit our admissions numbers. Because we are selective, our students study and perform with musicians who are equally dedicated. The student-to-faculty ratio of 4:1 provides numerous opportunities to get to know and to work closely with the world-class musicians on our faculty.

Blair students are bright and versatile, with wide-ranging interests and ideas

Some combine music in a double major or add a minor in one of our three other undergraduate schools, graduating with Vanderbilt’s strong foundation in the liberal arts and sciences supporting Blair’s intense training in music.

Blair graduates can be found throughout the fields of performance, research, teaching and composition

Blair students have been accepted for graduate study at major schools of music in the United States and Europe. Other Blair alumni have pursued graduate work in disciplines as diverse as business, law, medicine and dentistry.

Whatever your musical or academic focus….

No matter why you choose the Blair School of Music, you will learn to think critically, listen perceptively, and write skillfully in a place long known to the world as Music City.

Read and listen to an audio slideshow about two current Blair students and why they chose Vanderbilt.

Best Music Schools In The US 

Looking into music schools is, for every family, a daunting, overwhelming task.

There are over 600 accredited music programs in the US alone, and the sheer number of options that one can apply to is astronomically high.

Having worked with over 130 music students personally in my college consulting program, I can tell you one thing that is certainly true in music schools:

Change.

Since I first published articles about music schools in 2014, the world of these institutions has been constantly changing.

It can be more difficult than ever for those on the outside to accurately discern what schools are good – and which ones are less so – with all the change that occurs inside an institution from year to year.

To bring awareness into music schools, today I am highlighting 10 schools of all shapes, sizes, and cultures throughout America in this article.

Some are conservatories in major cities; others are universities in small college towns.

Some are more classically bent – while some others are jazz or contemporary/pop music focused.

These schools represent a fraction – albeit a very important fraction – of what is out there.

However, all consumers looking into music colleges need a place to begin looking.

Of course, this list is just the beginning, and is by no means a “one-size-fits-all” list.

Every school on this list, by the way, has an undergraduate program.

Also, this is not a ranking list of the top 10 schools; rather, these 10 schools have been selected as they have demonstrated exemplary leadership and excellence in the field of music.

Also, I am not saying these are the 10 best music schools in the country. Rather, this article should be treated as a guide for where to look into when first researching music schools.

Finally, in an effort to create a well-rounded list of very different schools, I include schools in many major geographic regions. No US state is represented twice on this list.

DISCLAIMER: None of these schools have paid me to put them on this list.

While I have been offered in the past such compensation, I have not taken any money from music schools to promote them as that would run into ethical conflict with my college consulting program.

Okay, without further ado, let’s talk about 10 of the very best music schools in the US.

University of Southern California Thornton School of Music (Los Angeles, CA)

I am consistently amazed at the quality of output USC delivers. USC is quickly rising as one of the top 5 music schools in the US, as it exemplifies a diversity of major interests that many schools are not daring enough to embrace.

We only have to look at two specific programs to really see what makes USC so cutting-edge – the Popular Music program as well as the Film Scoring program.

The Popular Music program is among the most selective in the world; I have been told from a source in the school that only 3% of the applying singer-songwriters are accepted…

This is Curtis-level selective!

And of course, the Film Scoring program – while a Master’s degree program – signifies a movement that only a handful of music schools are willing to embrace, which is this: commercial composition.

For years, writing & promoting music of a commercial nature has been considered “tasteless” and “jejune” in many US music schools. USC, understanding the needs of a modern-day musician to survive, has long been one of the champions of commercial music composition.

 Of course, USC’s traditional classical program is among the very best and most selective in a university.

We find many of the top young musicians throughout the country studying at USC, flocking there to study with internationally renowned artist-faculty, many of whom are employed in the neighboring Los Angeles Philharmonic, the country’s highest-paying orchestra next to Chicago and San Francisco.

Finally, the jazz program at USC may just be among the most outstanding of its type. Legendary jazz musicians Bob Mintzer, Peter Erskine, and Vince Mendoza are just three of the 21 dedicated jazz faculty members who comprise this school.

As someone who has helped several students gain admission into USC, I can tell you that admission is competitive; outside of faculty, many people desire attending university in Los Angeles as it is one of the major music markets in the US.

USC is not for everybody, especially those that may be desiring to go to an independent conservatory or those looking to not go to school in one of the most populous, crowded cities in the country. But for those who USC is a match for, there are few schools that can claim to be equals.

Vanderbilt University Blair School of Music (Nashville, TN)

Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music is something of an anomaly in the world of music schools.

A predominantly classical music institution housed in what many consider to be the world’s country music capital, the Blair School of Music has played an important role in the gradual shifting of Nashville’s musical culture towards a diversity of genres embracing the new and the traditional. What most people should know about Blair is its incredible financial aid opportunity: no student leaves Vanderbilt with any student loans.

This represents a seismic shift towards a positive future trend, as student loan debt is one of the greatest barriers to monetary freedom facing so many millennials – and even a sizeable population of Generation X – today.

The school has a drive towards community in ways that few other schools have.

How so?

Many of the faculty members live on campus among the students. By designing their community in this way, we find that students and teachers coexist with a unique closeness not seen in many other music schools.

The Princeton Review also has ranked Vanderbilt the #1 “happiest” campus for several years in a row, demonstrating how much the community at Vanderbilt loves itself.

The music program is selective – the most selective areas being composition and classical voice.

Vanderbilt, notably, is also an undergraduate-only music school. This is significant, and I can tell you why…

At some very large music programs, students work with teaching assistants in their first year of education. Also, many large music schools with graduate programs often prioritize the older graduate students over the younger undergraduates. However, at Blair, this is not the case at all as there is no graduate program.

The future of Vanderbilt is bright, as it is a rising undergraduate institution.

BOTTOM LINE: Financially-friendly, community driven classical music program situated in one of America’s largest music markets.

Northwestern University Bienen School of Music – Ranking, Acceptance Rate, Faculty, and More

Offering a wide range of programs and a dedication to collaborative teaching, the Bienen School of Music offers something for just about any aspiring musician — performer, scholar, teacher, arts administrator, or music critic.

Located just 12 miles north of Chicago, a world class musical city, Bienen encourages its students to get outside of the classroom to advance their career while receiving conservatory-level training ready to prepare musicians of the highest caliber.

The school has deep roots. In 1873, the Northwestern Female College and the Evanston College for Ladies became the Northwestern University Woman’s College.

In 2008, the conservatory was renamed the Bienen School of Music. At present, the school has over 600 undergraduate and graduate students and 125 world-renowned faculty members. Alumni can be found in all corners of the music world from performers to educators in leading arts.

Given its history, proximity to the vibrant musical scene in downtown Chicago, and top-notch faculty, Bienen is considered one of the top music schools in the U.S.

For aspiring musicians, Bienen offers an impressive amount of performance opportunities and currently sponsors 16 ensembles including: The Bienen Contemporary and Early Vocal Music Ensemble, Baroque Music Ensemble, Concert Band, Chamber Orchestra, Contemporary Music Ensemble, Chapel Choir, Guitar Ensemble, Jazz Orchestra, Philharmonia, the Symphony Orchestra, Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Wildcat Marching Band, University Chorale, University Singers, and University Women’s Chorus.

Did we mention the library also holds an impressive amount of correspondence from the American composer John Milton Cage Jr.? Those needing a break from rigorous study can avail themselves of the thoughts and insights of one of the great leading figures of post-war avant-garde in their spare time.

Northwestern University Bienen School of Music Acceptance Rate 

For the Bienen School of Music, the acceptance rate is approximately 10%, which makes it a highly competitive school, although slightly more in reach than Juilliard or Colburn. At Bienen, around 200 undergraduates and graduates are accepted per year.

Keep in mind sometimes the numbers just don’t work to your advantage. For example, teachers can only take on a certain number of students for a given instrument each year. In these cases, musicians who apply for maxed-out studios are usually refunded their application fee and told no one who plays their instrument will be accepted that particular year.