All Bard News by Date
January 2012
01-13-2012
Since 1972, Joan Tower has taught at Bard College, where she is Asher B. Edelman Professor in the Arts. She is regarded as one of the most important living American composers. During a career spanning more than 50 years, Tower has made lasting contributions as composer, performer, conductor, and educator.
She has received commissions from the New York Philharmonic, St. Louis, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Houston Symphonies, Carnegie Hall, and Lincoln Center Chamber Society, among many other major ensembles, soloists, and orchestras. She was the first composer chosen for a Ford Made in America consortium commission for 65 orchestras. Leonard Slatkin and the Nashville Symphony recorded her composition Made in America in 2008; the album collected three Grammy awards. In 1990, she became the first woman to win the prestigious Grawemeyer Award for Silver Ladders. Other accolades include an honorary degree from the New England Conservatory (2006), the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s Composer of the Year (2010–11), and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Guggenheim Foundation, and New York State Council on the Arts. She received her B.A. at Bennington College and her M.A. and D.M.A. at Columbia University. She was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2004) and the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1998).
Photo: Joan Tower Credit: Noah Sheldon
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Bard Conservatory,Music | Institutes(s): Bard Conservatory of Music,Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Bard Conservatory,Music | Institutes(s): Bard Conservatory of Music,Bard Undergraduate Programs |
01-13-2012
Internationally renowned soprano Dawn UpshawCharles Franklin Kellogg and Grace E. Ramsey Kellogg Professor of the Arts and Humanities and artistic director of the Graduate Vocal Arts Program at the Bard Conservatory of Musichas been a member of the Bard College faculty since 2004.
A four-time Grammy Award winner, Upshaw is featured on more than 50 recordings, including the million-selling Symphony No. 3 by Henryk Gorecki. Her discography also includes full-length opera recordings of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro; Messiaen’s St. Francois d’Assise; Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress; John Adams’s El Niño; two volumes of Canteloube’s “Songs of the Auvergne”; and a dozen recital recordings. Upshaw made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1984 and has since achieved worldwide celebrity. She is known for singing the great Mozart roles (Pamina, Ilia, Susanna, Despina) as well as works by Bach, Bartók, Stravinsky, Poulenc, Messiaen, Debussy, and John Adams. She has performed with James Levine, Sir Simon Rattle, Gilbert Kalish, Kronos Quartet, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and the Cleveland, Chicago, and Philadelphia Symphony Orchestras, among others. She was the first singer to be named a “Perspectives” Artist by Carnegie Hall, and was the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship in 2007. She earned her B.A. from Illinois Wesleyan University and M.A. from the Manhattan School of Music; she holds honorary doctorate degrees from Yale, the Manhattan School of Music, Allegheny College, and Illinois Wesleyan University. She is also a faculty member of the Tanglewood Music Center.
Photo: Dawn Upshaw
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Bard Conservatory,Music | Institutes(s): Bard Conservatory of Music |
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Bard Conservatory,Music | Institutes(s): Bard Conservatory of Music |
December 2011
12-08-2011
The seventh annual Concerto Competition, presented by The Bard College Conservatory of Music, took place at Bard College with a preliminary round on Saturday, November 19, and a final round on Sunday, November 20. The eight finalists performed in the Sosnoff Theater of the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, competing for the opportunity to perform with the Bard College Conservatory Orchestra and the American Symphony Orchestra.
Photo: Dawn Upshaw
Meta: Type(s): Student | Subject(s): Bard Conservatory,Music | Institutes(s): Bard Conservatory of Music,Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Meta: Type(s): Student | Subject(s): Bard Conservatory,Music | Institutes(s): Bard Conservatory of Music,Bard Undergraduate Programs |
12-04-2011
The Bard College Conservatory of Music presents the Conservatory Orchestra in a matinee concert at the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts's Sosnoff Theater. Conducted by music director Leon Botstein and featuring guest soloist Jeremy Denk, piano, the Conservatory Orchestra will perform Charles Ives's "Decoration Day" and "Fourth of July" from A Symphony: New England Holidays; Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 37; and Mahler's Symphony No. 5.
Photo: Dawn Upshaw
Meta: Type(s): Event | Subject(s): Music | Institutes(s): Bard Conservatory of Music |
Meta: Type(s): Event | Subject(s): Music | Institutes(s): Bard Conservatory of Music |
12-04-2011
Dan Deacon and So Percussion, Ghostbuster Cook: Origin of the Riddler: During the Ecstatic Music Festival, So Percussion teamed up with the swami of dance-party electronica, Dan Deacon. Ghostbuster turned out to be a loose, ornate symphony for soda bottles, marimbas, and one loud laptop. The piece does for the rave what Bartok did for Hungarian folk music: sublimate the urge to dance into a visceral concert experience.
Photo: Dawn Upshaw
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Music | Institutes(s): Bard Conservatory of Music |
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Music | Institutes(s): Bard Conservatory of Music |
November 2011
11-30-2011
This Sunday matinee performance includes works by Beethoven, Mahler, and Ives.
Photo: Dawn Upshaw
Meta: Type(s): Event | Subject(s): Bard Conservatory,Music | Institutes(s): Bard Conservatory of Music,Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Meta: Type(s): Event | Subject(s): Bard Conservatory,Music | Institutes(s): Bard Conservatory of Music,Bard Undergraduate Programs |
11-22-2011
Photo: Dawn Upshaw
Meta: Type(s): Student | Subject(s): Music | Institutes(s): Bard Conservatory of Music |
Meta: Type(s): Student | Subject(s): Music | Institutes(s): Bard Conservatory of Music |
11-15-2011
Photo: Dawn Upshaw
Meta: Subject(s): Bard Conservatory,Music | Institutes(s): Bard Conservatory of Music,Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Meta: Subject(s): Bard Conservatory,Music | Institutes(s): Bard Conservatory of Music,Bard Undergraduate Programs |
September 2011
09-14-2011
The Bard College Conservatory of Music has received a generous $9.2 million gift from Bard alumnus Laszlo Z. Bito, class of 1960, for the construction of The Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Conservatory Building. This state-of-the-art teaching and performance facility addresses the growing needs of the Conservatory, brought on by its fivefold growth since its founding in 2005. With an anticipated completion date of January 2013, the building is scheduled to begin construction in October. The design of the building, by Deborah Berke & Partners Architects in New York City, supports the Conservatory's dedication to providing top-level musical training in the context of a liberal arts education. A groundbreaking ceremony for The Laszlo Z. Bito '60 Conservatory Building will take place on Saturday, October 29 at 11:30 a.m., adjacent to the Milton and Sally Avery Arts Center at Bard College.
Photo: Dawn Upshaw
Meta: Type(s): Alumni | Subject(s): Bard Conservatory,Music | Institutes(s): Bard Conservatory of Music,Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Meta: Type(s): Alumni | Subject(s): Bard Conservatory,Music | Institutes(s): Bard Conservatory of Music,Bard Undergraduate Programs |
April 2011
04-28-2011
Photo: Dawn Upshaw
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Bard Conservatory,Music | Institutes(s): Bard Conservatory of Music,Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Bard Conservatory,Music | Institutes(s): Bard Conservatory of Music,Bard Undergraduate Programs |
04-18-2011
Photo: Dawn Upshaw
Meta: Type(s): Student | Subject(s): Bard Conservatory,Music | Institutes(s): Bard Conservatory of Music,Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Meta: Type(s): Student | Subject(s): Bard Conservatory,Music | Institutes(s): Bard Conservatory of Music,Bard Undergraduate Programs |
04-18-2011
Photo: Dawn Upshaw
Meta: Subject(s): Music | Institutes(s): Bard Conservatory of Music,Bard Undergraduate Programs,Fisher Center |
Meta: Subject(s): Music | Institutes(s): Bard Conservatory of Music,Bard Undergraduate Programs,Fisher Center |
March 2011
03-19-2011
Bard College student performance receives positive review from The New York Times.
Photo: Dawn Upshaw
Meta: Type(s): Student | Subject(s): Bard Conservatory,Music | Institutes(s): Bard Conservatory of Music,Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Meta: Type(s): Student | Subject(s): Bard Conservatory,Music | Institutes(s): Bard Conservatory of Music,Bard Undergraduate Programs |
03-05-2011
This video is from a March 5, 2011 dress rehearsal, featuring Natalie Merchant with The Bard College Conservatory of Music Orchestra.
Photo: Dawn Upshaw
Meta: Type(s): Event | Subject(s): Bard Conservatory,Music | Institutes(s): Bard Conservatory of Music,Bard Undergraduate Programs,Fisher Center |
Meta: Type(s): Event | Subject(s): Bard Conservatory,Music | Institutes(s): Bard Conservatory of Music,Bard Undergraduate Programs,Fisher Center |
February 2011
02-01-2011
Photo: Dawn Upshaw
Meta: Subject(s): Bard Conservatory,Dance,Division of the Arts,Music,Theater | Institutes(s): Bard Conservatory of Music,Bard Undergraduate Programs,Fisher Center |
Meta: Subject(s): Bard Conservatory,Dance,Division of the Arts,Music,Theater | Institutes(s): Bard Conservatory of Music,Bard Undergraduate Programs,Fisher Center |
December 2009
12-04-2009
It’s not uncommon for musicians to perform as public service—in schools, hospitals, and nursing homes. But students in the Bard Conservatory Orchestra recently found themselves onstage in an unusual venue: a maximum security prison. WNYC's Lara Pellegrinelli reports on their concert, the first ever to feature a full orchestra at the Eastern Correctional Facility in Naponach.
Photo: Dawn Upshaw
Meta: Type(s): Student | Subject(s): Bard Conservatory,Music | Institutes(s): Bard Conservatory of Music,Bard Prison Initiative,Bard Undergraduate Programs,Center for Civic Engagement |
Meta: Type(s): Student | Subject(s): Bard Conservatory,Music | Institutes(s): Bard Conservatory of Music,Bard Prison Initiative,Bard Undergraduate Programs,Center for Civic Engagement |