The Bard College campus is awash in music; by all accounts, that fact is one of the school’s most distinctive features. The Music Program, one of the largest programs on campus, provides a wide range of musical concentrations, from classical composition and performance to jazz, electronic music, musicology, ethnomusicology, and music theory. The music faculty all maintain highly visible careers outside academia, many of us nationally or internationally. Many of our most active music students are majoring in something other than music, and all are welcome.
Photo by Karl Rabe
The Bard Conservatory
The Music Program is separate from the Bard College Conservatory of Music, which has a double-degree program and various graduate programs. The Conservatory's primary differences are as follows: focus on classical music performance and composition; secondary major required; five-year program; and audition required to apply. Despite the separation, many performance opportunities involve both Conservatory students and Music Program students.
The Bard Baroque Ensemble
The Bard Baroque Ensemble welcomes students from both the College and Conservatory. At the start of the semester, students from the College or Conservatory wishing to join should contact director Renée Anne Louprette at [email protected] to express their interest in joining. Watch a livestreamed concert by the Bard Baroque Ensemble in collaboration with Bard Chamber Singers, Preparatory Chorus, Graduate Vocal Arts Program, performing works by Bach in Olin Hall.
Applying to the Program
Upcoming Events
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4/04Saturday4:00 pm – 5:30 pm EDT/GMT-4
Bard Hall
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4/26Sunday7:00 pm – 8:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Bard Hall
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5/13Wednesday7:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Chapel of the Holy Innocents
NEWSROOM
Professor Franz Nicolay Reviews Burning Down the House, A New Book About the Talking Heads, for the Wall Street Journal
Franz Nicolay, visiting instructor of music at Bard College, reviewed Burning Down the House by Jonathan Gould, a new book about the band The Talking Heads, for the Wall Street Journal. The book, Nicolay writes, tracks the “almost magical, barely explicable, transformation of a group” that “has to be a candidate in the perennial conversation about the greatest American rock band.”
Professor Franz Nicolay Reviews Burning Down the House, A New Book About the Talking Heads, for the Wall Street Journal
Franz Nicolay.
The Music Program provides a wide range of musical concentrations, from classical composition and performance to jazz, electronic music, musicology, ethnomusicology, and music theory. The music faculty all maintain highly visible careers outside academia, nationally and internationally.
Post Date: 01-27-2026
Bard Conservatory and Music Faculty and Alumni/ae Nominated for 2026 GRAMMY Awards
The 2026 GRAMMYs, officially known as the 68th GRAMMY Awards, will take place on Sunday, February 1.
Bard Conservatory and Music Faculty and Alumni/ae Nominated for 2026 GRAMMY Awards
Clockwise from top left: Lights on a Satellite, featuring Gwen Laster; In This Short Life featuring Devony Smith VAP ’14; Schubert/Beatles featuring Julia Bullock VAP ’11; La Mer: French Piano Trios featuring Eri Nakamura CPF ’15.
The Bard College campus is awash in music—by all accounts, one of the school’s most distinctive features. The Music Program, one of the largest programs on campus, provides a wide range of musical concentrations, and the Bard Conservatory aims to provide the best possible preparation for a person dedicated to a life immersed in the creation and performance of music.
Post Date: 11-25-2025
Two Bard College Faculty Awarded New York State Council on the Arts Grants
Tanya Marcuse, associate professor of photography, and Sarah Hennies, assistant professor of music, have been awarded 2025 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowships.
Two Bard College Faculty Awarded New York State Council on the Arts Grants
L–R: Tanya Marcuse, associate professor of photography; Sarah Hennies, assistant professor of music, photo by Kay Bell ’26
In Portent, Marcuse visualizes phenomena that defy the laws of nature by staging fantastical scenes in swamps, rivers, and orchards near her home in the Hudson Valley. Conceived during the Covid-19 pandemic, her project reflects the instability of our world while expanding photography’s ability to navigate the ambiguous terrain between fact and fiction. She is currently preparing a book and several exhibitions of the project. In addition, Marcuse has been named one of five Joy of Giving Something (JGS) Fellows, which supports contributors to the photographic arts.
Throughout her fellowship, Hennies will continue to develop new pieces that challenge conventional boundaries between music, sound art, and lived experience. Her compositions often take the form of immersive, durational works that foreground subtle shifts in rhythm, resonance, and timbre. Her projects engage themes of queer and trans identity, psychoacoustics, and the politics of listening, inviting audiences into heightened awareness of time and embodiment. In a separate honor, Hennies has been named the 2025 Composer in Residence for the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, taking place in Huddersfield, England in November.
Each year, the NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship provides a lens for contemporary artistic expression. The themes, ideas, and materials used by the 2025 Fellows reflect and respond to the larger social, political, and economic issues of today. Artists across categories are exploring topics including diasporic and immigrant identity; gender, race, and sexuality; environmental and disability justice; and civic engagement.
Post Date: 08-29-2025