As the Assistant Director of the Institute for Music Leadership (IML), Dr. Blaire Koerner’s mission is to provide resources and opportunities for creatives to envision, create and sustain successful careers in an ever-changing field. In this role, Dr. Koerner oversees the Arts Leadership Program curriculum, certificate, internship placements, grants, and student advising. She is also part of the Office of Careers & Professional Development advising team, collaborating with students and alumni in one-on-one meetings and group sessions to help them discover personal, professional, and artistic goals. Having been guided by incredible mentor’s through-out her life, Dr. Koerner hopes to be a life-long connection to Eastman students and alumni.

Dr. Koerner is also faculty of the Masters of Arts in Music Leadership (MAML) degree, teaching the cumulative Capstone Internship course. Through this course, she helps students navigate full-time internships at renowned national musical institutes such as Interlochen, Aspen Music Festival, El Sistema USA, Eighth Blackbird, Fifth House Ensemble, and Bang on a Can.

In addition to her work at Eastman, Dr. Koerner is an accomplished bassoonist and educator. She performs in a bassoon and harp duo (Hats+Heels) that focuses on storytelling and is a freelancer in the upstate New York area. An avid chamber musician, she co-founded the Soundweavers podcast, which interviews national and international musicians around the in’s and out’s of the small ensemble field. As an educator, Dr. Koerner’s roles include adjunct bassoon professor at Syracuse University’s Setnor School of Music and instructor and chamber coach at the Eastman Community Music School (ECSM), where she received the Jack L. Frank Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2016.

Dr. Koerner completed her DMA at the Eastman School of Music in Bassoon Performance, with a Collegiate Teaching minor. She also holds a Masters of Music degree in Bassoon Performance from Eastman, a M.Ed in Elementary Education and B.S. in Bassoon Performance both from Hofstra University.

An old soul, Dr. Koerner can be found enjoying old fashioned hobbies – gardening, antiquing, crocheting, and cuddling with her cat Orzo. She is also known for her ever-growing collection of hats from all eras, a slight obsession of hers.