Bard Conservatory of Music News Archive

Bard Conservatory graduate Ming Aldrich-Gan '10 is the music director for Bradley Cole at the New York International Fringe Festival.

On the eve of her first solo concert in Ireland, opera singer Dawn Upshaw talks about her early career and bringing classical music down to earth.

Graduate Vocal Arts Program artistic director Dawn Upshaw talks about teaching music as a profession at the Bard College Conservatory of Music.

Bard's new partnership with Soochow University is a first for both institutions, and quite unusual in Chinese education.

Bard Conservatory Percussion Program faculty members Eric Beach, Josh Quillen, Adam Sliwinski, and Jason Treuting—constituting the group So Percussion—team up with composer Dan Trueman on their new album.

Bard Conservatory Vocal Arts Program graduate Julia Bullock receives a rave review for her "full-voiced, stunningly paced account of 'Somewhere,'" in the San Francisco Symphony's concert performance of West Side Story.

So Percussion members and Bard Conservatory faculty Eric Beach, Josh Quillen, Adam Sliwinski, and Jason Treuting will perform at the Make Music New York festival this Friday with artist and percussionist Eli Keszler, using the Manhattan Bridge as a musical instrument.

Emily Reese at Minnesota Public Radio bids a fond farewell to Dawn Upshaw as her six-year artistic partnership with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra draws to a close.

The New York Times praised Julia Bullock's "rosy, agile voice" as Vixen in a production of "The Cunning Little Vixen" at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater in New York City.

Bard faculty member Dawn Upshaw will receive an honorary doctoral degree from the Juilliard School at their commencement this year.

The Bard College Conservatory Orchestra, conducted by music director Leon Botstein, is back on stage at the Fisher Center for its final concert of the semester on Saturday, May 11. Called a “genuine talent and profoundly gifted” by Vienna Express, violinist Shmuel Ashkenasi will perform Violin Concerto No. 1 by Prokofiev. The program celebrates the theme for this summer’s Bard Music Festival, “Stravinsky and His World,” and proceeds from the concert benefit the Scholarship Fund of The Bard College Conservatory of Music.

Bard Conservatory's Erica Kiesewetter was the concertmaster of a recent performance of Verdi’s “Lombardi Alla Prima Crociata" at Lincoln Center. The concert received a positive review from the New York Times and Kiesewetter's violin performance was applauded.

Chorus Master James Bagwell discusses Mahler's Symphony No. 2, which will be performed at the Fisher Center on April 26 and 27 by members of the American Symphony Orchestra, Bard College Conservatory Orchestra, and Longy Conservatory Orchestra.

Tonight: Bard's Dawn Upshaw and Kayo Iwama will perform at the Longy School of Music of Bard College with the Bard Conservatory Graduate Vocal Arts Program, featuring works by Bard students, faculty, and alumni/ae.

Bard's new conservatory building was made possible by alumnus, scientist, author, and activist László Z. Bitó '60.

Morning Edition highlights Dawn Upshaw's new album Winter Morning Walks, a collaboration with jazz composer Maria Schneider.

Dawn Upshaw, whom Opera News calls "a diva of the people and for the people," will be honored in an awards ceremony on April 21.

Sō Percussion and the Bard College Conservatory of Music Percussion Program present their second annual spring concert at the Fisher Center on April 12. Works include music by Steve Reich, Lou Harrison, Paul Lansky, and other recent percussion masterworks.

The celebration on April 14 will include an open house with chamber music performances, followed by a celebration in the performance hall at 4 p.m., with Conservatory director Robert Martin; musical performances by students of the Conservatory and Bard’s Music Program; a reading by acclaimed poet Robert Kelly, Asher B. Edelman Professor of Literature; and remarks by László Z. Bitó ’60 and Bard College president Leon Botstein.

Dávid discusses the Conservatory's Central European Tour, playing with Contemporaneous, and "Bard’s well-known aptitude for making dreams come true."

Bard College first-year percussion student Chris Gunnell was featured in the annual report of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Chris is pursuing a five-year dual degree at Bard, studying music at the Conservatory as well as philosophy and social policy at the College.

Joan Tower, Asher B. Edelman Professor of Music, will receive an honorary degree from Smith College at their commencement in May. Professor Tower has taught at Bard College since 1972. She is regarded as one of the most important living American composers, and has made lasting contributions as composer, performer, conductor, and educator in a career spanning more than 50 years.

President Botstein conducted the American Symphony Orchestra in a clarinet concerto by Bard Conservatory faculty member Harold Farberman, as well as Anton Bruckner’s rarely-performed Eighth Symphony.

Violinist Sabrina Tabby is in her fourth year in the Bard Conservatory's dual-degree program. She performs with student music ensemble Contemporaneous and recently returned from the Conservatory's tour of central Europe.

The Almanac looks at this historic piece and previews the performance, featuring members of the Bard Conservatory Orchestra and singers from the Bard Chamber Singers and the Graduate Vocal Arts Program.

Students and faculty of the Bard Conservatory performed at the Morgan Library in Manhattan, featuring new works composed by Bard faculty, as well as current students and recent alumni of Bard College and Conservatory.

Bard College president Leon Botstein has been awarded the Bruckner Society Medal of Honor in recognition of his exemplary work in furthering the understanding and appreciation of the life and work of Anton Bruckner. The award was presented on February 24 at a concert of the American Symphony Orchestra in New York City, before a performance of Bruckner's Symphony No. 8.

“The Secret Listener,” a lecture and recital including a performance of Robert Schumann’s Phantasie, will be presented by acclaimed pianist/conductor Jeffrey Kahane, on Monday, March 4, at 8 p.m. in Olin Hall.

The Fisher Center presents J. S. Bach’s sacred oratorio St. John Passion, featuring members of the Bard College Conservatory Orchestra, conducted by Leon Botstein, with singers from the Bard College Chamber Singers and the Graduate Vocal Arts Program, with James Bagwell, choral director.

Acclaimed soprano Dawn Upshaw and singers from her graduate Vocal Arts Program at The Bard College Conservatory of Music perform a concert of contemporary songs featuring the world premier of a work by George Tsontakis as well as new works composed by current students and recent alumni of the Conservatory and the Longy School of Music of Bard College. The performance takes place on Tuesday, February 19 at 8:00 p.m.

Bard Conservatory student and economics major Chi-Hui Yen opens the "Bard at Beattie" 2013 season at Beattie-Powers Place in Catskill on Sunday.

The Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts presents the Bard College Conservatory Orchestra on Sunday, February 17. The program includes Ottorino Respighi’s Fountains of Rome; Krzysztof Penderecki’s Viola Concerto, with Lin Wang, viola; and Sergey Prokofiev’s Suite from Romeo and Juliet.

Bard College Conservatory of Music professor Jeffrey Kahane talks about his musical values, teaching philosophy, and the Conservatory.

The Preparatory Division of The Bard College Conservatory of Music is announcing the creation of a new Preparatory Orchestra, for students aged 8 through 18. All orchestral instruments will be included, and young musicians of all levels of ability are welcome.

On Sunday, December 9, 2012, the Bard College Conservatory Orchestra performs Haydn, Dvořák, and a world premiere by Christopher Swist, with guest conductor Marcelo Lehninger MFA ’07.

The Hudson Valley Chamber Music Circle and the Preparatory Division of The Bard College Conservatory of Music present a Family Concert on Saturday, November 10, at 4 p.m. in the Bard Chapel. Admission is free of charge; all donations support the Bard Conservatory Preparatory Division scholarship fund.

The Graduate Conducting Program of The Bard College Conservatory of Music presents an evening of music by Harold Farberman, founder and artistic director of The Conductors Institute at Bard College, on Friday, November 9, at 8 p.m. in Olin Hall. The concert features Marka Gustavsson, viola; Sō Percussion; and Farberman’s students in the Graduate Conducting Program. A reception will follow the program. Admission is free and no reservations are necessary.

The Fisher Center and Bard College Conservatory present Conservatory Sundays, October 14, 21, and 28, and December 9.

Last summer, the Bard College Conservatory Orchestra toured greater China, performing in Taipei, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Wuhan, and Guangzhou over three weeks. In this video, conservatory students discuss tourism, culture, and developing identity as an orchestra during the tour.

Bard Conservatory students are ambitious and versatile. In this video, students and faculty talk about how the Conservatory's unique double-degree program affords a rigorous and well-rounded education in music and the liberal arts.

Highlights Include Amanda Palmer and The Grand Theft Orchestra, The Carolina Chocolate Drops, American Ballet Theatre, Conservatory Sunday Series, American Symphony Orchestra Concerts, Meredith Monk & Vocal Ensemble, and John Cage: On & Off the Air!

Contemporaneous is an ensemble of student musicians dedicated to performing new music by student composers. The group released their first album, Stream of Stars: Music of Dylan Mattingly, in 2012, and performs regularly on the Bard campus and in the greater region.

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Credit: Photo by David Adam Nagy
Meta: Type(s): Student | Subject(s): Music,Student | Institutes(s): Bard Conservatory of Music,Bard Undergraduate Programs |