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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
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    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

Asher B. Edelman Professor of Music Joan Tower.

Professor Joan Tower Profiled in WHMT and the Daily Catch

"We don’t try to burden our students with our style,” Tower said. “They develop their own voice, which I’m proud of.”

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Opening Friday, October 2, China Now Music Festival, “Chasing Dreams,” Presents Concerts and Discussions at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Bard College, Tempo Performing Arts Center, and Asia Society

Opening Friday, October 2, China Now Music Festival, “Chasing Dreams,” Presents Concerts and Discussions at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Bard College, Tempo Performing Arts Center, and Asia Society

“We aim to tell stories of the shared dreams, resilience, and creativity that connect all of us, American and Chinese alike. Through music, we can be reminded that our histories and aspirations are deeply intertwined,” says Artistic Director Jindong Cai.

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A professional photo portrait of Missy Mazzoli

Bard Composer in Residence Missy Mazzoli featured in the New York Times

“That’s what I like about opera: That it’s a music-driven story where every emotion is taken to an extreme.”

Read More

Upcoming Events and Performances

  • China Now Music Festival: Chasing Dreams at Kingston
    10/4
    Sunday

    China Now Music Festival: Chasing Dreams at Kingston
    Bard East/West Ensemble conducted by Jindong Cai

    3:00 pm
    TEMPO Performing Arts Center 29 Wurts Street Kingston, NY, 12401 United States
  • China Now Music Festival: Chasing Dreams at Bard Chapel
    10/9
    Friday
    China Now Music Festival: Chasing Dreams at Bard Chapel
    Chinese and American Folk Songs

    2:00 pm
    Chapel of the Holy Innocents
  • Gilles Vonsattel, wearing a blue button down shirt and glasses, against a black background. ; Guest Artist Recital: Gilles Vonsattel, piano
    10/9
    Friday
    Guest Artist Recital: Gilles Vonsattel, piano 7:00 pm
    Bitó Conservatory Building, Performance Space
  • China Now Music Festival: Chasing Dreams at Fisher Center 
    10/10
    Saturday
    China Now Music Festival: Chasing Dreams at Fisher Center 
    The Orchestra Now Celebrates America's 250th Anniversary - Bard College

    3:00 pm
    Fisher Center, Sosnoff Theater
  • China Now Music Festival: Chasing Dreams at Jazz at Lincoln Center
    10/11
    Sunday
    China Now Music Festival: Chasing Dreams at Jazz at Lincoln Center
    The Orchestra Now Celebrates America's 250th Anniversary - NYC

    3:00 pm
    Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center

Meet Our Faculty

See All Faculty
  • Nicholas Alton Lewis
    Chamber Music

    Nicholas Alton Lewis

    Nicholas Alton Lewis is the clarinetist and co-founder of the BLAK-New Blues Ensemble, an ensemble founded with composer-pianist Anthony Kelley and based at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. The BLAK-New Blues Ensemble was created to explore an ensemble’s ability to circumnavigate, through improvisation, the codes and tropes of African-American, European, and music of other parts of the world in ways that produce a coherent and fresh musical product.

    Mr. Lewis has been featured in performances of the Mozart Concerto for Clarinet and Sinfonia Concertante with the Williamsburg Symphony, and of the David Baker Jazz Suite for Clarinet and Orchestra with the Richmond (VA) Symphony and the Soulful Symphony in Baltimore, MD. An exponent of celebrating the music of our time, he has premiered works by Craig DeAlmedia, Anthony Kelley, Aristides Llaneza, Caroline Mallonee, John Mayrose, Gary Nash, Mike Worth, and Iannis Xenakis.

    Mr. Lewis has held clarinet positions with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra and Williamsburg Symphony, for 18 and 12 years respectively. He has also performed with the Akron, Pittsburgh, Virginia, and Westmorland Symphonies, as well with the Baltimore Opera Orchestra, and Brevard, Gateways, and Pittsburgh New Music Festival Orchestras.

    Prior to joining the faculty at Bard College, Mr. Lewis served as Senior Associate Dean and Special Advisor to the President at the Curtis Institute of Music, and also served on the music department faculties of Howard University and Virginia Union University. He holds the degrees of Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Music in clarinet performance from Carnegie Mellon University, as well as a Master of Divinity degree from Yale Divinity School where he pursued studies in the Institute of Sacred Music. Additionally, Mr. Lewis is the current Associate Vice President for Academic Initiatives and Associate Dean of Bard College.

    Photo credit: Joseph Brunjes
  • 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.
  • Jack Ferver
    Assistant Professor of Theater and Performance

    Jack Ferver

    Jack Ferver is a New York–based writer, choreographer, and director. Their genre defying performances, which have been called “so extreme that they sometimes look and feel like exorcisms” (New Yorker), explore the tragicomedy of the human psyche. Ferver’s “darkly humorous” (New York Times) works interrogate and indict an array of psychological and sociopolitical issues, particularly in the realms of gender, sexual orientation, and power struggles. Their visionary direction blurs boundaries between fantastic theatrics and stark naturalism, character and self, humor and horror.

    Ferver’s works have been presented in New York City at the New Museum; New York Live Arts; The Kitchen; The French Institute Alliance Française, as part of Crossing the Line; Abrons Arts Center; Gibney Dance; Performance Space 122; the Museum of Arts and Design, as part of Performa 11; Danspace Project; and Dixon Place. Domestically and internationally, Ferver has been presented by the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College; American Dance Institute (Maryland); Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (Illinois); Portland Institute of Contemporary Art (Oregon); Institute of Contemporary Art at MECA (Maine); Institute of Contemporary Art (Massachussets); Diverse Works in collaboration with the Contemporary Arts Museum of Houston; and Théâtre de Vanves (France).

    Ferver’s work has been critically acclaimed in the New York Times, La Monde, Artforum, New Yorker, Time Out NY, Modern Painters, Financial Times, Village Voice, and ArtsJournal. Ferver has received residencies and fellowships from the Maggie Allesee National Center of Choreography at Florida State (2012); Baryshnikov Arts Center (2013); Watermill Center (2014); Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art (2014); and Live Arts Bard, the commissioning and residency program of The Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College (2014); and Abrons Art Center (2014-2015). They are a 2016 recipient of the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grant.

    Ferver teaches at Bard College in  the Theater and Performance Program and for the graduate Vocal Arts Program. They have also taught at NYU Tisch, SUNY Purchase, and have set choreography at The Juilliard School. As an actor they have appeared in numerous films and television series and plays. They are currently working on a solo work to be presented in collaboration with the visual artist Marc Swanson at Mass MoCA and a new play with the playwright Jeremy O Harris.
  • Mark Baechle
    Film Composition

    Mark Baechle

    Mark Baechle is a Swiss-born, New York based composer and music producer. He primarily works in film and television.

    Throughout his 20-year career in the industry, he has collaborated with some of the most acclaimed filmmakers and musicians of our time.

    At the outset of his career he was an assistant to the luminary composers Elliot Goldenthal and John Corigliano.

    Under the aegis of composer Marcelo Zarvos, he provided arrangements and additional music to the acclaimed TV series “Ray Donovan”, “The Affair”, “Extant” and “The Big C”.

    He also arranged, recorded and mixed all the music for “Disney’s Little Einsteins”, a cartoon series introducing art and classical music to children, the soundtrack of which was nominated for a Grammy Award (2007).

    Besides composing his own scores, he’s in demand as an orchestrator for films and, as such, has contributed to the scores of David Newman, Clint Mansell, Nicholas Britell and many more.

    Mark is also active as a composer of vocal, chamber and orchestral music. His work has been performed by notable artists and ensembles (New York Festival of Song, the Ahn Trio, Basel Sinfonietta).

    He studied at the pre-college division of the Academy of Music and Schola Cantorum Basel (Switzerland) and graduated from Berklee College of Music with a BA in Film Scoring.

    Mark is represented by Rochelle Sharpe at Incite Management

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
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All photos by Karl Rabe unless stated otherwise.