Join us for a guest artist performance by bassoonist Nanci Belmont, Wednesday, February 14, 2024, 8:00 p.m., in Turner Hall. A dynamic performer and educator, Belmont has been praised as “outstanding” by New York Classical Review. She was recently appointed assistant professor of bassoon at Louisiana State University and previously served on the faculty of the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Mass.
This is a free event with tickets required for admission. Doors to Turner Hall will open 15 minutes prior to show start. Late seating will be at artist discretion.
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Venue: Turner Hall, Vanderbilt University Blair School of Music
Address: 2400 Blakemore Ave., Nashville, TN 37212
Parking: Free parking is available at the Vanderbilt West Parking Garage on Childrens Way, directly across from Blair School of Music. Due to construction on 25th Ave. South, enter the West Garage on 24th Ave. South.
About Nanci Belmont:
A dynamic performer and educator, bassoonist Nanci Belmont has been praised as “outstanding” by New York Classical Review. Trained and experienced in teaching artistry and community engagement, Belmont aims to cultivate meaningful relationships and relevant musical experiences through performance. She is the Second Prize winner of the 2016 Fernand Gillet-Hugo Fox Competition of the International Double Reed Society and is a Performing Artist for Leitzinger Bassoons. Belmont has appeared as a concerto soloist in New York City on multiple occasions, including performances of the Strauss Duett Concertino for Clarinet and Bassoon and the Gubaidulina Concerto for Bassoon and Low Strings. A proponent for the music of our time, Belmont is also active in the performance and commissioning of new works for bassoon. Recent solo engagements include guest artist recitals at Montclair State University, University of Memphis, and performances for the Meg Quigley Virtual Bassoon Symposium and multiple International Double Reed Society Conferences.
Chamber music is an integral part of Belmont’s career, and she is frequently invited to collaborate at chamber music festivals and series throughout the United States. She is a member of The City of Tomorrow, a wind quintet dedicated to the performance and expansion of contemporary repertoire. The City of Tomorrow recently released their second album, Blow, on New Focus Recordings, featuring works by Franco Donatoni, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Hannah Lash. From 2012-2014 Belmont was the bassoonist with Ensemble Connect (formerly Ensemble ACJW)– a Program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and the Weil Music Institute. In other contemporary chamber music ventures, Belmont frequently collaborates with the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra, International Contemporary Ensemble, Argento Chamber Ensemble, and Talea Ensemble.
As an orchestral musician, Belmont has performed with many of the major ensembles in New York City, including the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, American Symphony Orchestra, and New York City Ballet Orchestra. Additionally, she has worked with the Charleston, Princeton, and Tallahassee Symphony Orchestras. Memorable international experiences include performances and recording of Peter Grimes in the United Kingdom for the Benjamin Britten Centennial as a part of the Britten Pears Festival, and a European tour with Ensemble intercontemporain in collaboration with the Lucerne Festival.
In her role as an educator, Belmont strives to cultivate curious, lifelong learners in music. She was recently appointed as Assistant Professor of Bassoon at Louisiana State University, and previously served on faculty at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Mass. Belmont has presented master classes at a variety of colleges and universities across the country, and spends part of her summer on faculty at the Trentino Music Festival Chamber Music & Orchestral Studio in Italy.
Belmont received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Stony Brook University, a Master of Music degree from Manhattan School of Music, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Florida State University. Her primary bassoon teachers include Jeff Keesecker and Frank Morelli.