Frequently Asked Questions
Conservatory Visit Day
To arrange a visit day, please contact the Conservatory Admissions staff at (845) 752-2409 or conservatoryadmission@bard.edu.
Each visit day will include a tour of the Conservatory facilities and a meeting with a Conservatory Admissions Counselor. Depending on the day of your visit, we will do our best to arrange for you to observe a class, rehearsal, chamber music coachings, and/or concerts, as well as schedule a meeting with our director of admissions, Katie Rossiter.
Location:
The Conservatory Admissions Office is located in the Blum Music Building, within the Avery Center for the Arts complex on 59 Blithewood Road. (You can also find us by looking for the Edith C. Blum Institute on this campus map.)
Prospective students are welcome to arrange lessons with the VAP voice teachers as part of the process of deciding where to apply. The VAP faculty is happy to try to make such arrangements if their schedules allow. Please contact the Conservatory Admissions staff at conservatoryadmission@bard.edu or (845) 752-2409 for more information.
Yes, VAP applicants are eligible for both need-based and merit-based financial aid.
The FAFSA and CSS Profile are used to determine financial need and are required in all cases in which financial aid of any kind is awarded. Click here for additional information.
Competitive merit awards are based on the strength of the audition and the applicant’s overall musical achievement and promise.
We ask all students—even students who are applying for merit-based aid only—to submit the required Financial Aid forms.
Bard require all pre-screening recordings to include both audio and video. Although our application technically supports media files as large as 2 GB, please be advised that larger files will take longer to upload from your internet connection and may stall if you are on a wireless connection or one that cannot sustain a connection for the necessary period of time. Uploaded documents may contain no more than 75 pages. Our application supports the following file formats:
Video: .avi, .flv, .m1v, .m2v, .m4v, .mkv, .mov, .mpeg, .mpg, .mp4, .wmv
No, an accompanist will be provided for your audition for the Vocal Arts Program. You may however bring your own pianist if you wish.
All prescreening materials, along with the completed application, are due December 1.
Weekly voice lesson are taught both in New York City and on the Bard Campus. Voice lessons take place on Fridays and the remainder of the curriculum takes place Monday-Thursday in Annandale-on-Hudson.
The majority of VAP performances occur on the Bard campus. Opera and other large scale performances take place in the Fisher Center. Recitals and masterclasses take place in Olin Hall, the recital hall in the Laszlo Bitó Conservatory building and other venues on campus. VAP singers also perform frequently off-campus throughout the Hudson Valley and in major venues in New York City and Boston.
For information about applying to the Vocal Arts Program as an international student click here.
Results from the prescreening round will be sent out in mid-December. If you have not heard from the Conservatory by January 2, please contact us at conservatoryadmission@bard.edu or (845) 758-7604.
Due to the very full schedule of the VAP curriculum, it is generally not possible for students to take regular college classes.
The curriculum of the Vocal Arts Program develops fearless entrepreneurial skills, unique artistic values, and a network in the professional music world. This, along with the support of distinguished faculty, enables its graduates to lead lives in music that are diverse and wide-ranging. Check out Life After VAP.