Frequently Asked Questions

How do I arrange a tour of the Conservatory?

Undergraduate applicants should attend the tour and information session offered through the College's Office of Admission. Reservations are required and can be made by calling (845) 758-7472 or emailing admission@bard.edu.

Once space on a tour of the College has been arranged, please contact  Conservatory Director of Admission, Lily Sutton (lsutton@bard.edu) to arrange an individual meeting. Depending on the exact timing of your visit, you will also be able to observe chamber music coachings, master classes, noon concerts, orchestra concerts, and other musical activities. Click here for a listing of conservatory events.

The Conservatory's street address is 59 Blithewood Avenue, Annandale on Hudson, NY 12504. Maps and driving directions can be found here:
http://www.bard.edu/admission/visiting/travel.shtml

See below for the Conservatory's policy on advice lessons for prospective students.

Is it possible to study in the Conservatory but not the College?

The double degree is a requirement for all undergraduate students. While it is possible to attend Bard College after being denied admission to the Conservatory, it is not possible for undergraduates to attend the Bard Conservatory without concurrent enrollment in Bard College's full liberal arts curriculum. 

Graduate students are only required to enroll in those courses specifically mentioned in each program's curriculum. 

The Conservatory also offers a non-degree Advanced Performance Studies graduate certificate.

Do I need an accompanist for my prescreening recording?

With the obvious exception of works for solo instrument (eg. Bach Partita, Kopprasch etude), repertoire for the prescreening submission should be accompanied. In addition, appropriate chamber music works may be used as the "work of your choice." 

Composers should submit recordings of live performances of their works whenever possible, in place of MIDI realizations. 

Accompanists are provided free of charge at all live auditions, and come from our Postgraduate Collaborative Piano Fellowship program.

When will I hear prescreening results?

Undergraduate applicants will receive notification two weeks after the application due date. (Composition applicants will hear by the end of January or early February).
If you have not heard from the Conservatory by that time, please contact us at (845) 758-7131 or conservatory@bard.edu

Can I apply to the Conservatory using the Common Application?

Conservatory applicants may use the Common Application to apply to Bard College. 

Does the Conservatory award merit scholarships?

Conservatory applicants are eligible for merit-based financial aid. Competitive merit awards--up to and including the full-tuition Distinguished Musician-Scholar Program--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 only for merit-based aid - to submit the required Financial Aid forms.

Conservatory applicants are also considered for additional merit- and need-based aid administered by Bard College. 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. 

All financial aid is awarded for five years. 

I am an international student. How do I audition? Do you require the TOEFL?

International Applicants

International students may apply by DVD if travel to the United States for a live audition is not feasible. The live audition repertoire requirements should be used for the audition DVD. 

Information about English Language proficiency:

A TOEFL score of 100 (iBT) or 250 (computer based) or equivalent evidence of English language proficiency is expected for admission.

 * In certain circumstances international students may be granted Exception Admit status for their first year at Bard, with the understanding that by the start of the second year these students will have achieved the required level of English-language proficiency. For such students, First-Year Seminar may be postponed to year two.

Even for Exception Admit students, it is required that the TOEFL test be taken in the home country and reported to Bard before arrival in the fall. 

The purpose of this is for placement purposes in the ESL course, and to provide a baseline for measuring progress throughout the first year of the student’s study of English.   As part of the application process, each student needs to provide information about the schedule for taking the TOEFL test.

In their first year Exception Admit students' full-time course load of 12 credits will typically consist of

• Studio Instruction (4 credits)
• Chamber Music (0 credits)
• Orchestral Studies (0 credits)
• English as a Second Language (8 credits)

In order to complete the double-degree program in five years, Exception Admit students will need to carry increasingly full schedules in subsequent years. For some majors, it may not be possible for Exception Admit students to graduate in five years.

What if I'm not in the Conservatory? Can I still take private lessons?

Bard College employs two academic units for the teaching of music: the Music Program, which has always been a part of the College, and the Conservatory of Music. 

A student majoring in music in the Music Program may choose to double major in some other subject, but ultimately earns only one Bachelor of Arts degree. Students accepted into the 5-year Conservatory program are required to work toward two bachelor's degrees: a BM in performance or composition and a BA in a non-music subject. The study of music in the Conservatory is limited to orchestral instruments, composition, and piano. Music majors in the Music Program can study  jazz, electronic and experimental music, music theory and history, ethnomusicology, composition, as well as classical performance, and can study a greater range of instruments, including saxophone, guitar (electric and acoustic), and world instruments. Students may also major in voice in the Music Program at the undergraduate level, whereas the study of voice in the Conservatory is an MM degree only.

All Bard students, regardless of major, may arrange for weekly private lessons, and a full range of music couses is available. There are two orchestras on campus, numerous chamber ensembles, a contemporary music group, symphonic chorus, chamber singers, as well as a jazz big band, electro-acoustic and percussion ensembles, a student-run musical theater troupe, a Balinese gamelan and a Chinese music ensemble. In most cases private lessons and ensemble participation for Bard College students occur within the Music Program. In some  instances non-Conservatory students are able to arrange for  private instruction with Conservatory faculty by special arrangement. It is also possible for non-Conservatory students, by audition, to play in the Conservatory orchestra or Conservatory chamber ensembles.