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Music, like all art, engages the mind and the heart.

The mission of the Bard College Conservatory of Music is to provide the best possible preparation for a person dedicated to a life immersed in the creation and performance of music.

More About Us
  • Visiting Bard
    Interested in visiting Bard for a campus tour or performance? 
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A singer in front of an orchestra in Olin Hall
Photo by Karl Rabe

Offering Unique Undergraduate and Graduate Programs

  • Undergraduate Double Degree in Liberal Arts and Music Performance (BA and BM)
  • Graduate Degree in Vocal Arts (MM)
  • Graduate Degree in Conducting (MM)
  • Graduate Degree in Instrumental Studies (MM)
  • Master of Arts in Chinese Music and Culture (MA)
  • Advanced Performance Studies 
  • Postgraduate Collaborative Piano Fellowship
Learn More
The Bard Conservatory also offers a Preparatory Division for students ages 3–18.

News

US-China Music Institute of the Bard College Conservatory of Music Presents Ninth Annual China Now Music Festival, "Chasing Dreams," October 2–11, 2026

US-China Music Institute of the Bard College Conservatory of Music Presents Ninth Annual China Now Music Festival, "Chasing Dreams," October 2–11, 2026

This year’s festival “Chasing Dreams” reminds us that the pursuit of dreams is a shared human experience that connects all people.

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Professional photo of Composer in Residence Missy Mazzoli.

The Galloping Cure by Composer in Residence Missy Mazzoli Featured by the BBC

"Losing someone to addiction [is] hard to have the words for. My attempt to talk about it was to make this piece,” said Mazzoli.

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A professional photo of Composer in Residence Missy Mazzoli.

Composer in Residence Missy Mazzoli Profiled in the New York Times

“We want the field to expand,” said Mazzoli, “and so bringing in [diversity] helps the field survive and thrive.”
 

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Upcoming Events and Performances

  • Sun-Ly Pierce sitting at a cafe table, wearing a dress and a long suede coat.; Alumni/ae Spotlight: Sun-Ly Pierce '19, mezzo-soprano, with Kayo Iwama, piano
    9/19
    Saturday
    Alumni/ae Spotlight: Sun-Ly Pierce '19, mezzo-soprano, with Kayo Iwama, piano 4:00 pm
    Bitó Conservatory Building, Performance Space
  • Joan Tower smiling against a solid red wall. ; Celebration: A Concert honoring Joan Tower's 54th year at Bard, "My longtime home"
    10/3
    Saturday
    Celebration: A Concert honoring Joan Tower's 54th year at Bard, "My longtime home"
    Presented by the Altalena Artists Collective

    4:00 pm
    Bitó Conservatory Building, Performance Space
  • Headshots of Sohyun Ahn, Junah Chung, and Paolo Marchettini; Trio Apex
    10/16
    Friday
    Trio Apex
    Sohyun Ahn, piano; Junah Chung, viola; and Paolo Marchettini, clarinet

    7:00 pm
    Bitó Conservatory Building, Performance Space
  • From left to right: Erika Switzer, Helena Baillie, Anita Balázs
; Elegies
    10/17
    Saturday
    Elegies
    A program of radiance and remembrance

    4:00 pm
    Bitó Conservatory Building, Performance Space
  • A sepia toned image of apple branches.; Noon Concert Series
    10/19
    Monday
    Noon Concert Series 12:00 pm
    Bitó Conservatory Building, Performance Space

Meet Our Faculty

See All Faculty
  • Melissa Reardon
    Viola; Artist in Residence, Bard College

    Melissa Reardon

    Grammy-nominated violist Melissa Reardon is the Artistic Director of the Portland Chamber Music Festival in Portland, ME, Artist in Residence at Bard College and Conservatory and a founding member and the Executive Director of the East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO).  As a member of the Ensō String Quartet from 2006 until its final season in 2018, Melissa toured both nationally and internationally, with highlight performances in Sydney, Melbourne, Rio de Janeiro, New York’s Carnegie Hall, and Washington, DC’s Kennedy Center to name a few.  Melissa won first prize at the Washington International Competition, and is the only violist to win top prizes in consecutive HAMS International viola competitions. She has appeared in numerous festivals across the United States and around the world, including tours with Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, and with Musicians from Marlboro. She held the post of Associate Professor of Viola at East Carolina University from 2007 -2013,  and earned degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music and the New England Conservatory. Melissa is married to the cellist Raman Ramakrishnan and they live in NYC with their seven-year-old son Linus.
  • Jonathan Salamon
    Baroque Ensemble

    Jonathan Salamon

    Jonathan (Jon) Salamon is a harpsichordist and scholar specializing in Baroque music. He is Visiting Assistant Professor of Music at Bard, where he directs the Bard Baroque Ensemble and teaches courses in music theory, ear training, and music history. 

    Jonathan has performed across the U.S. and abroad in concerts and festivals, including at the Bach Virtuosi Festival, Midtown Concerts Series, and Harpsichord Heaven, and at venues including Carnegie Hall, the Jewish Museum, the Guggenheim, the Morris Steinert Collection of Musical Instruments, and the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, among others. He was awarded Third Prize at the Mathieu Duguay Early Music Competition. Jonathan is currently the Principal Keyboardist with the Chamber Orchestra of New York, with whom he made his Carnegie Hall debut as soloist in J.S. Bach’s Harpsichord Concerto in D minor. 

    A committed educator, Jonathan was previously Adjunct Assistant Professor at SUNY Purchase, where he taught courses in music history and writing. 

    Jonathan’s research focuses on the keyboard music of Bach, Handel, and their contemporaries, using schema theory and the partimento tradition to examine issues of style transmission and pedagogy in the long eighteenth century. He has presented research at conferences hosted by the American Bach Society, the American Handel Society, the Historical Keyboard Society of North America, and the Society for Music Analysis, among others. Jonathan’s writing has appeared in the journal Min-Ad, in Harpsichord & Fortepiano Magazine, and in La Voce di New York, where he was formerly a concert reviewer. Since 2023, he has co-convened several virtual conferences on galant schema theory. Ongoing projects include a co-edited volume on schema theory and an article on J.S. Bach’s embodied keyboard practices in BACH: Journal of the Riemenschneider Bach Institute.

    His research has been supported by a Fulbright grant to the Netherlands and a Gates Cambridge Scholarship at the University of Cambridge. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from NYU and Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in Harpsichord Performance from the Yale School of Music.

    www.jonathansalamon.com
  • Weston Sprott
    Trombone Masterclasses

    Weston Sprott

    Weston Sprott enjoys an exciting career that includes orchestral, chamber, and solo performances, as well as numerous educational and outreach efforts. He is Dean of the Preparatory Division at The Juilliard School, leading Juilliard Pre-College and the Music Advancement Program, and a trombonist in New York’s Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, of which he has been a member since 2005. He has been recognized as “an excellent trombonist” with a “sense of style and phrasing [that] takes a backseat to no one”. He is a recipient of the Sphinx Medal of Excellence and the Atlanta Symphony Talent Development Program Aspire Award.

    Sprott has performed frequently with the Philadelphia Orchestra, held a position with the Zurich Opera/Philharmonia, and has appeared with numerous other major orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Atlanta Symphony, and Oslo Philharmonic. He previously held principal positions with the Pennsylvania Ballet Orchestra and the Delaware Symphony Orchestra. His chamber music and festival engagements include the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Fesitval (SICMF), Classical Tahoe, Festival Napa Valley, Walla Chamber Music Festival, Chineke!, PRIZM Ensemble, and numerous others.

    As a soloist, Sprott has been featured regularly throughout the United States, Europe, South Africa, and Asia. He made his Carnegie solo debut in 2007 and was a featured soloist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center is 2017. Sprott’s debut album, Act I, was released in 2010 and hailed by the American Record Guide as “an outstanding recording” that “feels the emotion of every note and phrase”.

    A dedicated and tireless teacher, Sprott holds faculty positions at Juilliard Pre-College and Bard College. He previously led the brass department at Mannes College and held faculty positions at Rutgers University, Purchase College, and the Juilliard Music Advancement Program. He also regularly serves on the faculties of SICMF, PRIZM, Curtis Institute of Music’s Summerfest, National Youth Orchestra-USA (NYO-USA) and NYO2. 

    He appeared in Ben Niles’ documentary film Some Kind of Spark, which highlights the impact of music education in the lives of students as they attend Juilliard’s Music Advancement Program. Other documentary film credits include A Wayfarer's Journey:Listening to Mahler, and Rittenhouse Square. His thoughts are also quoted in Rhythms of the Game, a book by former New York Yankees star Bernie Williams. He also works with organizations like Play On Philly and Music Kitchen, and has sponsored educational opportunities and solicited instrument donations for disadvantaged students. His philanthropic spirit was recognized in an article by the Wall Street Journal. He is the Board Chair of the Friends of SICMF, a member of the Bronx Arts Ensemble’s Artistsic Advisory Board, and a member of the Avery Fisher Artist Program's Recommendation Board. Weston is an active speaker, writer, and advisor for diversity and inclusion efforts in classical music. 

    Weston Sprott is an artist/clinician for the Antoine Courtois Instrument Company. He designed and performs exclusively on the Courtois Creation New York trombone. Performances and interviews with Mr. Sprott have been seen and heard on PBS' Great Performances, NPR's Performance Today, MSNBC, and Sirius Satellite Radio. 
  • Sasha Romero
    Trombone

    Sasha Romero

    Sasha Romero was appointed principal trombone of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in 2018. Prior to her appointment at The MET, she held the position of principal trombone with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra from 2016-2018.

    Hailing from Longview, Texas, Sasha grew up within the acclaimed and robust Texas band system and achieved great musical success at a young age. She went on to earn her Bachelor of Music degree at Baylor University, where she studied with Brent Phillips; and her Master of Music degree at Rice University, studying with Allen Barnhill.

    In addition to a lengthy list of national and international solo and chamber music competition wins to her name, Sasha is honored to have been a semi-finalist in the first Brass Division of the 2019 XVI International Tchaikovsky Competition in St. Petersburg, Russia.

    Sasha is a passionate educator, and currently serves on the trombone faculties at Rutgers University, Mannes School of Music, and Bard College Conservatory of Music. A highly sought-after teacher, soloist, and clinician, she has presented solo recitals and masterclasses at numerous colleges, universities, music conservatories, and industry conventions across the United States.

    When she is not at The MET, teaching, or screaming into the night at the shortcomings of NYC’s public transportation system (looking at you, weekend subway service), Sasha is occasionally invited to perform as a guest trombonist with the world’s major orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Dallas Symphony, Houston Symphony, and others. She can be heard on Weezer’s OK Human album, as well as the film soundtracks to The Good Liar (2019) and Joker (2019).

    Sasha currently makes her home in New York City, where she spends an embarrassing amount of time catering to the demands of her absurdly adorable cats and searching endlessly for decent Mexican food.

    Sasha Romero is an S.E. Shires Performing Artist and she has a signature mouthpiece line with Long Island Brass Co.

Preparatory Division Fall Registration Now Open

Apply & Register Here →

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Bard College
Bard College
Conservatory of Music
30 Campus Road
Annandale-on-Hudson
New York 12504-5000
845-758-7196
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All photos by Karl Rabe unless stated otherwise.