Schools

Obituary: Local Music Man Blair Barrett Dead

School officials confirmed this week that Blair Barrett, who is a 1983 graduate of the Armed Forces School of Music in Virginia, died last weekend.

The man who has worked to revive band programs at Newark schools died last weekend, school officials confirmed this week.

Blair Barrett, who graduated from the Armed Forces School of Music in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1983, has been a man of the arts for decades.

Locally, he has served as a musical director for numerous productions, including shows with Stage 1 Community Theatre in Newark.

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Barrett recently worked on at Newark Junior High School and the district’s elementary schools and worked to and even directed this year’s NMHS production of Grease.

Superintendent Dave Marken expressed regret in Barrett’s passing.

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“Our condolences certainly go out to his friends and family,” Marken said during Tuesday’s board meeting.


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