Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need an accompanist for my prescreening DVD/CD?

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

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

Can I apply to the Conservatory using the Common Application?

Conservatory applicants may use the Common Application to apply to Bard College. However, as a leading liberal arts college, large numbers of applicants have extensive achievements in music. Many such applicants to Bard's four-year program append music CDs or composition portfolios to their applications as a way to demonstrate well-roundedness. Most use the Common Application's Arts Supplement to do this.

With hundreds of CDs, DVDs, and Arts Supplements pouring in each year, the Bard College Office of Admission cannot identify Conservatory applicants using the Arts Supplement alone. Consequently, the Conservatory can only consider those applicants who have applied directly, using the Conservatory's Supplemental Application. Only the Conservatory supplement, in conjunction with a Bard College application (which may be sent via the Common App), constitute a complete application to the Bard College Conservatory of Music. No audition will be granted without completion of the Supplemental Application.

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.

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

Once space on a tour of the College has been arranged, please contact the Conservatory at (845) 758-7196 to arrange an individual meeting with Nathan Madsen, the Director of Conservatory Admission. Depending on the exact timing of your visit, you will also be able to observe chamber music coachings, master classes, noon concerts, orchestra rehearsals, and other musical activities. Click here for a full listing of conservatory events.

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

Is it possible to schedule a lesson with one of your faculty?

The relationship between student and mentor forms the centerpiece of any musician's education. Consequently, the Conservatory encourages and always provides advice lessons at no cost to all accepted students prior to making a commitment to attend Bard.

For prospective undergraduate students, advice lessons are available on a case-by-case basis. In most instances the student will need to submit a recent CD or DVD prior to a campus visit. The faculty member and the prospective student will also need to arrange a fee. To arrange an advice lesson contact Nathan Madsen, the Director of Conservatory Admission, at (845) 758-7196.

Applicants to the Graduate Vocal Arts Program must first be accepted in order to schedule a lesson with a member of the voice faculty.  

Click here for some advice on the process of playing for and selecting a private teacher. 

Where is Bard Located?

Bard's main campus occupies 500 acres along the Hudson River, halfway between Manhattan and Albany. Bard also has facilities in New York City, including Bard High School Early College, Bard Graduate Center, International Center of Photography, Bard Globalization and International Affairs program, and the Master of Arts in Teaching program. In addition, there is Bard College at Simon's Rock in Great Barrington, Massachussetts, Bard-Smolny College in St. Petersburg, Russia, and Al-Quds Bard in Jerusalem.

Conservatory students may travel to New York City or elsewhere in the Hudson Valley for private lessons or to give concerts, but they live and study on Bard's main campus. The following link provides area and campus maps, as well as sample itineraries to Bard's main campus from Albany and JFK airports.
Link to Additional Information

Do I have to be both Concertmaster AND Valedictorian to be admitted?

The Bard Conservatory seeks students with an already strong ability in music coupled with an interest in academic achievement.  However you do not need to be both concertmaster of your school orchestra and high school valedictorian! The students who thrive at Bard tend to be those strong musicians who also have the desire to further their academic education. Outstanding achievement in music adds strength to your overall profile, and increases your chances of admission to the College. 

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

The double degree is a requirement. While it is possible to be admitted to Bard College but not the Conservatory, it is not possible for musicians to attend Bard's 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. 

Does the Conservatory award merit scholarships?

All Conservatory applicants are automatically considered 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. 

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

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. 

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

• Studio Instruction (4 credits)
• Chamber Music (2 credits)
• Orchestral Studies (2 credits)
• English as a Second Language (4 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. 

Are your students more interested in academics or music?

The mission of the Bard College Conservatory of Music is to provide the best possible preparation for a person dedicated to a life immersed in the creation and performance of music. Every policy of the school, from highly selective admission to world-class faculty to frequent and high-profile performances, exists to fulfill this mission.

At both the undergraduate and graduate levels, academics are considered a vital component to understanding music as an art form, and contribute to a process of introspection and discovery essential to cultivating musicians as artists and human beings. 

Bard does not force students into an either/or conundrum, requiring them to choose between academic pursuits and polishing their technique in preparation for a professional career as a performer. 

How do I apply for financial aid?

All applicants to the Conservatory are automatically considered for merit-based financial aid. No separate application is required. 

In addition, Bard College administers a variety of need-based financial aid programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. 

I am homeschooled. Is that going to be a problem?

High school isn't for everyone. Many very gifted musicians opt to pursue independent study to take full advantage of their musical studies. Bard College has extensive experience reviewing the applications of homeschooled students. More information on the College's application process for homeschooled applicants can be found here.

As admission to the Conservatory is based entirely on musical promise, it does not have any separate evaluation procedure for homeschooled applicants.

Some of your faculty teach at more than one school. How does that work?

The Conservatory's faculty are first and foremost performing musicians. Few if any rely on teaching as their main source of income. As an important center of professional musical activity in the New York City region, Bard is able to attract world-class faculty who believe strongly in the special mission of the Conservatory. Given the close proximity between Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston, it is no surprise that the Conservatory's faculty are involved with several educational institutions. For instance, three of the Conservatory's faculty who also teach in Philadelphia actually live in Connecticut.

The Conservatory does not employ any teaching assistants. Because of its small size, students are given considerable individual attention.
Link to Additional Information

Do you teach guitar, jazz, organ, percussion, or voice?

While the Conservatory offers an MM degree in Vocal Arts, undergraduate voice and jazz studies are taught in the College's Music Program. There are currently no plans to offer private instruction in guitar, organ, or percussion, but each of these instruments can be taught by applied faculty in the Music Program. This may be subject to change as the Conservatory expands in the coming years.

We are now accepting applications in harp. 

Do you offer music education, music therapy, or music technology?

The educational goal of the Conservatory is to create a synergy between two pedagogical paradigms that have traditionally conflicted: those found in liberal arts colleges (which eschew professional training in favor of developing general intellectual capacities) and those found in conservatories (which specialize in vocational training of musicians).

In achieving this goal the Conservatory focuses on empowering future performers with the intellectual capacity and aesthetic awareness gained by a liberal arts education. Given this equal emphasis on performance and liberal arts, there are currently no plans to offer music education, music therapy, arts management, or music technology. However, a Bard Conservatory graduate could very well succeed in any of these fields at the graduate or post-graduate level of study. 

Bard also offers an innovative and outstanding Master of Arts in Teaching degree, which blends academic studies in a subject with guided experiences in the field of teaching. The 15-month program culminates in both a Master's degree and a New York State teaching credential. 

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, which is now completing its fourth year.

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 strictly classical and focuses on traditional orchestral instruments, composition, and piano. Music majors in the Music Program have additional options to focus on 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, take theory and history courses, and audition for ensembles. 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 very rare instances non-Conservatory students are able to enroll in private instruction with Conservatory faculty, or audition into the Conservatory orchestra, but such arrangements are the exception and are handled on a case-by-case basis. 

More information on Bard College's Music Department can be found here:
www.bard.edu/academics/programs/programs.php