Composer John Blair

Born in the nation's capital, John Blair began musical studies at age ten. Upon discovering an abandoned trombone in the family's hall closet, he began lessons. Proficiency on trombone came quickly and he was an accomplished self-taught pianist by age fourteen. John credits his parents for exposure to a wide range of different musical styles. This included regular doses of Joplin, Beethoven, Copland, as well as standards from the American musical theater. From the earliest years composition and improvisation were significant to his musical explorations. He enjoyed experimenting with assigned exercises, modifying melodies and rhythms at will, much to the chagrin of his teachers.

Influential composition teachers include, Donald Erb, Chen Yi, and Zhou Long. John served on the faculties of Montgomery College and Sam Houston State University. He implemented the Jazz Studies program at Montgomery College. At SHSU, he served as assistant director of the Jazz Ensemble, taught music theory, private composition and ear training. He is currently enjoying success as a New York based composer and arranger and recently completed a three year residency in the prestigious BMI Jazz Composers’ Workshop directed by Jim McNeely, Mike Abene, and Mike Holober.

John is an active jazz performer, appearing at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival with Grammy award winning artist Bill Watrous and Al Grey. He has performed with John Dankworth, Cleo Laine, and the Empire Brass. John has provided arrangements for jazz artists Kevin Mahogany, Bobby Watson, and Carol Sudhalter. His composition Cosmic Residue was presented at the International Jazz Composers' Symposium at USF. Most recently he appeared as a jazz pianist at the Brooklyn Lyceum in New York.

Other assignments include serving as orchestrator and editor for the opera Raoul, written by Gershon Kingsley and librettist Michael Kunze. Raoul had its premiere at the Bremen Opera House.

His composition Parallax for solo piano, released on Capstone records, has received numerous public performances. Adagio for Clarinet was premiered at the International Clarinet Symposium in May 2003 and continues to enjoy multiple public performances.

John was invited by Pulitzer prize-winning composer Yehudi Wyner to participate as a Fellow at the Atlantic Center for the Arts. He also participated as a composer fellow at the Second Annual John Duffy Composers' Institute. While in residence, his composition, We Wear the Mask, was selected and performed for a workshop directed by Sheldon Harnick and Rhoda Levine.

Current projects include composing the scores for the feature film, Jun and Summer (read about the production in indieWIRE), and the Civil War epic Legion, based on the historic regiment known as Philip’s Legion.