BARD COLLEGE CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF CONCERTO COMPETITION

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, NY—The first Concerto Competition, presented by the Bard College Conservatory of Music, took place at The Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College on Thursday, December 15, 2005. The winners of the competition are: Nan Jia (first place), who will appear as a soloist at a performance of the American Symphony Orchestra’s fall subscription series at the Fisher Center; Shuang-shuang Liu (second place), who will appear at the May 11 concert at the Fisher Center of the Conservatory Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Leon Botstein; and the alternate is Luo-sha Fang. The judges for the competition were Leon Botstein, President of Bard College and music director and principal conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra in New York and of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the radio orchestra of Israel; Wu Han, coartistic director of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center; and Nardo Poy, principal violist of the American Symphony Orchestra and member of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. “The mission of the Conservatory at Bard is to provide the best possible preparation for a person dedicated to a life immersed in the creation and performance of music,” says Robert Martin, director of the Conservatory and vice president for academic affairs at Bard College. “We believe deeply in the value of an education in the liberal arts and sciences, not as a luxury, but as the best preparation for functioning competitively and creatively.” According to Melvin Chen, associate director of the Conservatory and professor of music and science at Bard College, “Music, like all art, engages the mind and the heart. It redefines boundaries and questions limits in order to make a meaningful statement about the human condition. The education of the mind is therefore as important as the education of the fingers or voice. The greatest musicians not only have the technical mastery to communicate effectively, but also are deeply curious and equally adept at analytical and emotional modes of thought.” Building on its distinguished history of innovation in the arts and education, Bard College has launched the Bard College Conservatory of Music. This innovative, five-year double-degree program is guided by the principle that musicians should be broadly educated in the liberal arts and sciences to achieve their greatest potential. While training and studying for the bachelor of music degree with world-class musicians and teachers and performing in state-of-the-art facilities, such as the Frank Gehry–designed Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, Bard Conservatory students will also pursue a bachelor of arts degree at Bard, one of the nation’s leading liberal arts colleges. The Bard College Conservatory of Music’s instrumental and composition faculty includes world-class musicians and composers, including violinists Ani Kavafian, Ida Kavafian, Weigang Li, Laurie Smukler, and Arnold Steinhardt; violists Steven Tenenbom, Michael Tree, and Ira Weller; cellists Sophie Shao and Peter Wiley; double bassist Marji Danilow; pianists Melvin Chen, Jeremy Denk, Peter Serkin, and piano master classes with Richard Goode; oboist Laura Ahlbeck; flutist Tara Helen O’Connor; clarinetists Laura Flax and David Krakauer; bassoonist Marc Goldberg; horn players Julie Landsman and Jeffrey Lang; and trombonist John Rojak. The Colorado Quartet and Da Capo Chamber Players are in residence. Members and principals of the American Symphony Orchestra are also available for instruction, coaching, and leading of sectional rehearsals in the Conservatory Orchestra. In 2006–07, the Conservatory will introduce three additional programs: the Vocal Arts Graduate Program, directed by Dawn Upshaw; The Conductors Institute and its graduate program in conducting, directed by Harold Farberman; and the Composition Program, directed by Joan Tower and George Tsontakis. For more information about the Bard College Conservatory of Music, call 845-758-7196, e-mail [email protected], or log onto the program’s website, www.bard.edu/conservatory. # # # (12.16.05)

This event was last updated on 01-31-2006

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