School Notes: School of Music
July/August 2023

Retiring dean feted by YSM community

In April, Yale president Peter Salovey ’86PhD hosted a concert event in celebration of Dean Robert Blocker’s 28 years of distinguished service to the university. Blocker will retire on August 31. Among the dignitaries who spoke about Blocker’s remarkable leadership were Salovey, Yale President Emeritus and the Frederick William Beinecke Professor of Economics Emeritus Richard Levin ’74PhD, Juilliard School President Emeritus Joseph Polisi ’73MusM, ’80DMA, and founding members of the YSM Board of Advisors John A. Herrmann Jr. ’57 and Anne-Marie Soullière. Blocker received Yale’s prestigious Nathan Hale Award for his dedicated service to the university. Salovey, in honor of Blocker’s transformative tenure, created the Robert Blocker Fund for Student Support. On behalf of YSM’s board, Herrmann andSoullière announced the establishment of an endowed professorship and a scholarship in Blocker’s name. 

The April 27 event, which was streamed live, included performances by Blocker and members of the Yale Philharmonia(recorded); the YSM Brass Ensemble led by faculty horn player William Purvis; soprano Jaeeun Shin ’24MusAM, mezzo-soprano Kara Morgan ’24MusAM, and Yale Opera artistic director Gerald Martin Moore; the Yale Glee Club led by the Marshall Bartholomew Professor in the Practice of Choral Music Jeffrey Douma; the Callisto Quartet, YSM’s fellowship quartet-in-residence, and the Olmeta Quartet; violinist Kate Arndt ’19MusM, ’26DMA; Associate Professor (Adjunct) Emerita Marguerite Brooks; and the Yale Percussion Group led by Director Robert van Sice. A reception was held at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.