The Blair String Quartet
The Blair String Quartet
Founded in 1967, the Blair String Quartet was a joint venture between the George Peabody School of Music and the Potter Foundation, the founding organization of the Blair Academy of Music. This partnership allowed the Blair Academy to have full-time string faculty members who held co-appointments as assistant professors at Peabody College. The original members of the Blair String Quartet were Sheldon Kurland and Stephen Clapp (violins), Lee Kull (viola), and David Vanderkoi (cello).
![[Sheldon Kurland and Stephen Clapp, violins; Lee Kull, viola; David Vaderkooi, cello]](https://exhibitions.library.vanderbilt.edu/blair-string-quartet/wp-content/uploads/sites/81/2023/10/RG-590-S-1-BSQ-1967-1500.jpg)
[Sheldon Kurland and Stephen Clapp, violins; Lee Kull, viola; David Vaderkooi, cello]
Photograph Reproduction, 1967
Blair School of Music Archives
[Carl Gorodetzky and Chris Teal, violins; Jean Dane, viola; David Vanderkooi, cello]
Photograph Reproduction, 1972
Blair School of Music Archives
![[Lee Joiner and Christian Teal, violins; Kathryn Plummer, viola; David Vanderkooi, cello]](https://exhibitions.library.vanderbilt.edu/blair-string-quartet/wp-content/uploads/sites/81/2023/10/RG-590-S-3-BSQ-Poster-1970s-1500.jpg)
[Lee Joiner and Christian Teal, violins; Kathryn Plummer, viola; David Vanderkooi, cello]
Photograph Reproduction, [1970s]
Blair School of Music Archives
[Wheeler Opera House in Aspen, CO (L-R: Del Sawyer, Dean of the Blair School of Music; Connie Heard and Chris Teal, violins, Grace Mihi Bahng, cello; Kathryn Plummer, viola)]
Photograph Reproduction, 1986
Blair School of Music Archives
![[Wheeler Opera House in Aspen, CO (L-R: Del Sawyer, Dean of the Blair School of Music; Connie Heard and Chris Teal, violins, Grace Mihi Bahng, cello; Kathryn Plummer, viola)]](https://exhibitions.library.vanderbilt.edu/blair-string-quartet/wp-content/uploads/sites/81/2023/10/RG-590-S-4-BSQ-1986-1500.jpg)
![[Grace Mihi Bahng, cello; Steven Kochanowski, viola; Cornelia Heard and Chris Teal, violins]](https://exhibitions.library.vanderbilt.edu/blair-string-quartet/wp-content/uploads/sites/81/2023/10/RG-590-S-5-BSQ-1990s-1500.jpg)
[Grace Mihi Bahng, cello; Steven Kochanowski, viola; Cornelia Heard and Chris Teal, violins]
Photograph Reproduction, [1990s]
Blair School of Music Archives
[Wilma Ward Courtyard (L-R: Cornelia Heard, violin; Stephen Kochanowski, viola; Felix Wang, cello; Chris Teal, violin)]
Photograph Reproduction, [2000s]
Blair School of Music Archives
![[Wilma Ward Courtyard (L-R: Cornelia Heard, violin; Stephen Kochanowski, viola; Felix Wang, cello; Chris Teal, violin)]](https://exhibitions.library.vanderbilt.edu/blair-string-quartet/wp-content/uploads/sites/81/2023/10/RG-590-S-6-BSQ-2000s-1500.jpg)
In 2023, the Blair String Quartet remains a premiere chamber ensemble with a
national reputation. The quartet has had residencies at the Aspen Music Festival, the Sedona Chamber Music Festival, and Dartmouth College. The Blair String Quartet has recorded on Warner Brothers, New World Records, and Naxos. In April of 2012, the group premiered Michael Hersch’s Images from a Closed World at Carnegie Hall, a work that was commissioned by the quartet. The current membership of the quartet is Stephen Miahky and Cornelia Heard (violins), Christina McGann (viola), and Felix Wang (cello).