School Notes: School of Music
November/December 2022

Dean to retire in August 2023

After 28 years as the Henry and Lucy Moses Dean of Music at Yale, Robert Blocker will retire at the end of August 2023. Blocker will continue to serve on the Yale School of Music faculty as professor in the practice of piano, and as an affiliate professor of leadership strategies at the Yale School of Management. “Serving our School of Music and Yale University as the Henry and Lucy Moses Dean of Music has been an unimaginable privilege and joy,” Blocker said. Yale University president Peter Salovey ’86PhD said, “It has been a privilege to work closely with Dean Blocker. His wisdom and vision, commitment to excellence in education and scholarship, bold creativity, and principled leadership have redefined the school, and his immense contributions will be felt for generations to come.” Salovey said he “will soon form a search advisory committee to identify candidates to serve as the next dean of the School of Music.” The school will hold an event in April to celebrate the remarkable legacy Blocker will leave when he retires from the deanship. Blocker’s retirement will also be celebrated in YSM’s alumni magazine, Music at Yale.

Norfolk Festival embarks on facilities improvement project

In September, the Yale Summer School of Music/Norfolk Chamber Music Festival will begin a major building project that includes the construction of a new Music Shed Annex and a complete renovation of Eldridge Barn. The Annex will feature new backstage facilities, including rehearsal spaces. The Barn will be converted to housing for festival fellows and students. The $8.5 million project “will put us on par with any teaching festival in the country,” said festival director and School of Music deputy dean Melvin Chen.