Dean Blair was born March 27, 1932, in Warren, Pennsylvania. During his public school years he studied piano, theory and composition with Dr. LeRoy Campbell at the Warren Conservatory of Music and upon graduation in 1950 he was awarded a diploma in music theory and piano.

From 1950 to 1954 he attended Stetson University on an academic scholarship graduating with a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Theory and Piano Pedagogy. After two years of military service in Korea as an artillery officer, he continued his studies at the Eastman School of Music where he studied composition with Wayne Barlow and Bernard Rogers, and graduated with a Master of Music degree in Composition in 1958. His doctoral studies in composition include study at the University of Colorado under Cecil Effinger and at Michigan State University with H. Owen Reed.

Following graduation from Eastman he accepted an appointment on the faculty of Wisconsin State University, Stevens Point, where he taught composition and theoretical subjects until 1969 when he was appointed associate professor in theory and composition on the faculty of the University of Lethbridge. He served as department chairperson from 1971 until 1980 and was promoted to full professor in 1977. He was a founding member of the boards of the Alberta Composers' Association and the CMC, Prairie Region.

Blair's compositional output encompasses a wide spectrum of forms, media and styles. Although his output includes occasional works exploring avant garde techniques, the majority of his works remain within the framework of tonality or expanded tonality. His total output includes some two hundred works covering nearly all instrumental and vocal media. He has some forty works in publication and two published recordings. Throughout his career he has maintained an interest in writing music for young performers and as a result has been frequent recipient of commissions resulting in publications in this area.