Welcome to the Belmont University School of Music!

We are excited that you are considering studying music with us, and we invite you to explore the diverse music opportunities available at Belmont.

Use our web site to find out more about our programs, performances, faculty and students. Of course, our faculty and staff will be happy to answer your questions via phone (615-460-6408), email belmontmusic@mail.belmont.edu or visit us in person.

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Marjorie Halbert 2009 Cheney Award Recipient

Graduation 2009:  Provost Dr. Dan McAlexander presented the Chaney Distinguished Professor Award to Marjorie Halbert, associate professor of voice, director of musical theatre and coordinator of the musical theatre degree program.

2009 President's Concert

The 2009 President's Concert and the Applause Award presentation to the Beaman Family Foundation.

Goss Named Drummer for
Jars of Clay

Graduating senior Jake Goss was recently named the new drummer for local band Jars of Clay. The band is currently on tour in support of its latest album, The Long Fall Back to Earth.

Music Faculty - Guest Artists in Dresden, Germany

Trumpeter Joel Treybig and percussionist Chris Norton, faculty at the Belmont University School of Music in Nashville, were guest artists at the Carl Maria von Weber School of Music in Dresden, Germany from March 16 through March 20. Treybig worked with nine trumpet students from the university and preparatory school on solos by Arutunian, Goedicke, Haydn, Herfurth, Hummel, Kurz, Neruda, and Porrino in several masterclasses during the week, and Norton similarly presented a percussion clinic at the university and coached a student marimba trio at the preparatory school.

Treybig’s and Norton’s visit culminated in a recital presented in the new recital hall at the School of Music. Joined by Carl Maria von Weber piano faculty member Sonja Gimaletdinow, they performed solo works by J.S. Bach, arr. Becker (Gavotte en Rondeau, Presto), Claude Debussy, arr. Marlatt (La Fille aux chevaux de lin), Joseph Green (Xylophonia), J.W. Hertel (Concerto No. 3 in D), John La Barbara (Drover’s Lament), Chris Norton (Elegy: Reflection on 9/11, Single Generator, Summer Daybreak), and Ernst Sachse (Concertino), and included works for a wide variety of instruments including piccolo trumpet, E-flat trumpet, C trumpet, marimba, xylophone, vibraphone, cymbals, and drums. The performance, given to students, faculty, administrators, and Dresden community members, culminated in a performance of Macbeth and Macdonwald for trumpet and percussion by David Jarvis.

Clifton Forbis to Receive Encore Award

World-class tenor Clifton Forbis will return to Belmont University to accept the inaugural Encore Award on March 31 at 7:30 p.m. in Massey Concert Hall.  “Clifton is a natural choice for the first presentation of this award,” said Dr. Jeffery Kirk, Associate Dean for Performance Studies. The award has been created to honor a School of Music alumnus for achievement in the field of classical music.  “With performances with opera houses and symphonies around the world, Clifton is one of Belmont’s most distinguished classical alumni,” said Kirk. “He is a great example of what we hope all of our alumni achieve both personally and professionally.”

In addition to receiving the award Forbis will present a recital program of arts songs and arias and a master class with four Belmont students. The event is free and open to the public.

A 1985 graduate of Belmont and native Nashvillian, Forbis has performed demanding tenor repertoire around the world including the title roles in Samson et Dalila, Otello and Tristan und Isolde.  He is a leading artist with the Metropolitan Opera, Opéra National de Paris, Canadian Opera Company, and Teatro all Scala.

The School of Music plans to present the Encore Award annually to an alumnus in the field of classical music.

Basso Wins Country Music Showcase

On Sat., Feb. 21 the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business celebrated the annual Country Showcase with special guest host, Great American Country personality Nan Kelley. This year’s showcase featured student talents The Westbound Rangers, W.C. Marion, Cassidy Lynn, Steven Darden and Jenna Basso. Credits for this years’ performers include the hit television show “American Idol,” GAC, CMT’s “Can You Duet” and the Grand Ole Opry stage. “I sing in hopes of achieving a lifelong dream: taking a place in the spotlight among the leading ladies of country music,” said Jenna Basso, this year’s Country showcase winner.
Basso joins the lineup for the annual Best of the Best Showcase on April 25 at 7 p.m. in the Curb Event Center. She will perform alongside Stephen Whitfield, Future and The Strangers—winners of the Christian, Urban/Pop and Rock Showcases respectively, as well as the six winners of the ASCAP Writers’ Night Series. Continuing a tradition of recognizing music industry greats who are also dedicated to the educational process, the Curb College will name Donna Hilley as the first recipient of the Robert E. Mulloy Award of Excellence at the 2009 Best of the Best Showcase.

Bernie Herms to Receive Curtain Call Award

Belmont University’s School of Music will present its annual Curtain Call Award to producer, composer, songwriter and Grammy nominee Bernie Herms. The award is presented annually to a School of Music alumnus in honor of achievement in the field of commercial and popular music.

Herms will receive the award on Feb. 24 during a concert in his honor that will feature recording artists Casting Crowns, Natalie Grant and RED. Herms has worked with all three artists through the course of his career. The concert and award presentation will be at 7:30 p.m. in Massey Concert Hall. The event is free and open to the public.

In addition to the concert performers, Herms' credits include projects with well-known artists such as Brad Paisley, CeCe Winans, Lonestar, Selah, Lorrie Morgan, Mark Shultz, Sammy Kershaw and Steven Curtis Chapman. His production credits have also extended to popular soundtracks such as Charlotte’s Web, The Nativity and Amazing Grace. Most recently, his work gained five nominations at the 2008 GMA Dove Awards, including Producer of the Year for In Better Hands for his wife Natalie Grant and a win for Song of the Year, "Praise You in this Storm."

Previous Applause Award winners include Melinda Doolittle, Josh Turner, Ginny Owens and Tammy Rogers King.

NPT's Broadcast of 'Christmas at Belmont' Wins Emmy

The "Christmas at Belmont 2007" broadcast, Nashville Public Television's (NPT) capturing of Belmont University’s annual Christmas concert, won a Midsouth Regional Emmy award for editing in the Special Event category. The 23rd Annual Midsouth Regional Emmy Awards ceremony and banquet was held Sat., Jan. 24 at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center.

Music Alumnae Participate in Inaugural Celebrations

Sarah Wiley Tietsort, who earned a 2008 master’s degree in vocal performance from Belmont, performed with the United States Navy Band’s Sea Chanters chorus at the Jan. 20 Inauguration of President Barack Obama. The 21-member Sea Chanters group performed the National Anthem just after the presidential inaugural address.

In addition, 2006 School of Music alumna Tiffany Wharton is featured on the Johns Hopkins University Web site as a performer for a Web feature on the Presidential Inauguration. Hopkins' Peabody Conservatory, where Wharton is a first-year Master of Music candidate in Voice, marked the inauguration of Barack Obama by offering videotaped performances of two quintessentially American songs. Click here to watch Wharton's performance of “At the River.”

Christmas at Belmont 2008

The annual "Christmas at Belmont" concerts featuring hundreds of School of Music students and faculty were held Dec. 6-7 in MPAC. A re-broadcast of last year's "Christmas at Belmont" performance, taped live in the Schermerhorn Symphony Center with host Melinda Doolittle, will air nationally on public television on Tues., Dec. 23 at 9 p.m. Central.

RAGTIME!

Musical Theatre Packs Massey for Ragtime
The Musical Theatre department packed Massey Concert Hall Nov. 21-23 with three performances of Ragtime, based on the E.L. Doctorow novel. The show mixes real life historical figures and fictional characters to tell the story of America in the early decades of the 20th century. Partial funding for Ragtime was provided by Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell and Berkowitz.

Belmont University School of Music Faculty, Staff and Friends visit the Steinway & Sons Factory in New York.

On September 5, 2008 a group from the School of Music went to the Steinway & Sons factory in New York City to tour the factory and selected a Concert Grand (Model D) for Massey Concert Hall and two Music Room Grands (Model B) for Harton Recital Hall. Piano Faculty members Dan Landes, Kris Elsberry, Anthony Belfiglio and Bruce Dudley selected the pianos.  In the selection room, the faculty gave an impromptu performance for the other members of the Belmont group; Dean Cynthia Curtis, Sarah Davis, Friends of the Arts at Belmont Secretary/Treasurer Anne Knestrick and Steinway Piano Gallery of Nashville's Bill Metcalfe and Brandon Herrenbruck.

The purchase of the pianos was a part of the Belmont University School of Music becoming an All-Steinway School.