| Intro | American musician |
| Is |
Musician Educator Conductor Choir director Music educator Pianist |
| From | United States of America |
| Type |
Academia Religion Music |
| Gender | male |
| Birth | 4 September 1946 |
| Age: | 73 years |
Robert Lewis Blocker, DMA (born September 4, 1946) is an American classical pianist, choral conductor, music educator, and music school executive at the collegiate level, who, for the past twenty-one years (since July 1995), has served as Dean of the Yale School of Music, which since 1958 has been exclusively a graduate professional school.
Career highlights
| Institutions | |
|---|---|
| Yale 2006–current |
Blocker is the Henry and Lucy Moses Dean of Music at Yale University, and also holds the positions of Professor of Piano and Professor (adjunct) of Management. During his tenure as dean, Blocker has seen the Yale School of Music endowment increase from $29 million to $361 million (as of January 30, 2008) and planned additional commitments totaling $20 million. He presided over the completion of the first three phases of the Yale music complex renovation, which cost $42 million. As of 2012, Blocker is in the throes of the final phase, which is estimated to be $50 million. |
| SMU 2005–2006 |
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Southern Methodist University, Dallas |
| Yale 1995–2005 |
Dean of Music, Yale University. |
|
UCLA 1991–1995 |
Professor and Founding Dean, School of the Arts and Architecture, and Professor of Management (Adjunct), Anderson School of Management, University of California, Los Angeles |
| North Texas 1988–1991 |
Professor and Dean, College of Music, University of North Texas. Blocker was an alumnus of North Texas (MM, 1970, DMA, 1972). During his tenure, the endowment for the College of Music increased $2–1/4 million. |
| Baylor 1983–1988 |
Professor and Dean, School of Music, Baylor University |
| UNCG 1981–1983 |
Professor and Dean, School of Music, University of North Carolina at Greensboro |
| SFA 1976–1981 |
Associate Professor and Chairman, Department of Music, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches |
| Brevard 1974–1976 |
Associate Professor and Chairman, Division of Fine Arts, Brevard College, Brevard, North Carolina |
| Western Texas 1973–1974 |
Associate Professor and Chairman, Division of Fine Arts, Western Texas College |
Education
Blocker earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Furman University in 1968. He earned graduate degrees — Master of Music in 1970 and Doctor of Musical Arts in 1972 — from the University of North Texas College of Music, where he studied closely with pianist Richard Brannan Cass (1931–2009), an alumnus of Furman and Juilliard and 1953 Fulbright Scholar to the National School of Music of Paris where he had studied with Nadia Boulanger. In 1986, while serving as dean at Baylor, Blocker was a fellow at the Institute for Educational Management at Harvard in 1986.
Honorary degrees
- 2003 — Doctor of Music, Converse College
- 1995 — Master of Arts, Yale University
- 1992 — Doctor of Humanities, Furman University
Honors & awards
- Elm-Ivy Award, Yale University, April 2008
- Founder’s Award, PORTALS, The Hotchkiss School
- President’s Citation for Extraordinary Service, University of North Texas, 2005
- Honorary Professor of Piano, Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing, 2004
- Elected Member, The Grolier Club, New York City, a society for bibliophiles, 2003
- Yale Tercentennial Medal recipient, 2001
- Featured in Steinway and Sons film commemorating 300th anniversary of the piano, 2000
- Distinguished Alumni Award, Furman University, 1999
- Order of the Palmetto, 1999 (highest distinction of service awarded by the state of South Carolina)
- Outstanding Professor, Baylor University, 1986
- Artist-in-Residence, South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts & Humanities, 1985
- Teaching Excellence Award Grant, Stephen F. Austin State University, 1980
- Artist Teacher, National Piano Foundation, 1980–1981
- Artist Roster, Texas Commission on the Arts, 1978–1981
- Artist Faculty, Brevard Music Center, 1974–1976
- Outstanding Teacher Award, Brevard College, 1975
- Texas State Doctoral Fellowship, 1970–1972
- Outstanding Doctoral Candidate, University of North Texas College of Music, 1972
- Outstanding Masters Candidate, University of North Texas College of Music, 1970
- Rotary Scholar, 1964–1968
- Presser Scholar, 1964–1968
Selected publications
Selected discography
- Mozart, Piano Concertos Nos. 12, 13, and 14, Naxos Records (2010) OCLC 690227850, 767878821
- Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 3, Credia Classics (S. Korea) (2002)
Family & growing up
Blocker is a graduate of the St. Andrews Parish High School, which as since merged with West Ashley High School in the Charleston County School District of South Carolina.