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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10/26Sunday7:00 pm – 8:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
Bitó Conservatory Building, Performance Space
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11/18Tuesday7:15 pm – 8:15 pm EST/GMT-5
The Jazz Room, Blum N211
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11/19Wednesday6:00 pm – 7:00 pm EST/GMT-5
Bard Hall
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11/21Friday7:00 pm – 8:00 pm EST/GMT-5
Chapel of the Holy Innocents
NEWSROOM
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
Bard Alumnus and Jazz Pianist Ran Blake ’60 Profiled in the Boston Globe
Jazz pianist and Bard College alumnus Ran Blake ’60 was interviewed by the Boston Globe for an article covering the artist’s career, which has spanned more than 60 years.
Bard Alumnus and Jazz Pianist Ran Blake ’60 Profiled in the Boston Globe
Ran Blake ’60. Photo by Andy Hurlbut
Post Date: 08-27-2025
Annual Conference of the US–China Music Institute Featured in Xinhua
The conference was part of the broader work of the US–China Music Institute to promote cultural bridges between the US and China through music, education, and performance.
Annual Conference of the US–China Music Institute Featured in Xinhua
The Bard East-West Ensemble with conductor Jindong Cai, director of the U.S.-China Music Institute.
“If you look at two countries, two regions, or two cultures through a political lens, you see conflict,” Jindong Cai, director of the U.S.-China Music Institute, told Xinhua. “But if you look at them through a cultural point of view, you find connection. Music, in particular, is impossible to decouple.” The evening programs also featured concerts by the Bard East-West Ensemble, which played a program of Chinese musical compositions specially arranged for the unique instrumentation of a Western string quintet, seven traditional Chinese instruments, and percussion. “Right now, we're seeing deep divisions across the globe,” said Xiaogang Ye, dean of the School of Music at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. “In this increasingly polarized world, perhaps Chinese music can take on a new role, not just as an artistic tradition, but as a form of emotional mediation, a means of restoring clarity and calm.”
Post Date: 05-06-2025