The Graduate Conducting Program places particular emphasis on podium time. In addition to receiving ample podium time each week during the Conducting Seminar, all conductors have regular opportunities to conduct the various ensembles at Bard.
Performance Opportunities
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Chamber EnsemblesStudents in the Graduate Conducting Program often collaborate with various ensembles within the Conservatory for performances of large chamber music projects. These projects may be part of the Music Alive! concert series, degree concerts, or extracurricular projects. Students in the conducting program have conducted premieres by Joan Tower, Stravinsky's L'histoire du soldat, and a plethora of student compositions. -
Vocal Arts and OperaStudents in the Graduate Conducting Program often collaborate with the Vocal Arts Program for large ensemble pieces, such as Caroline Shaw's To the Hands. For conductors particularly interested in working in opera, students may assist Maestro Bagwell with the main stage Graduate Vocal Arts Program opera, and they may conduct the Undergraduate Opera Workshop which takes every spring in the Fisher Center at Bard. -
Degree RecitalThe culminating project of the Graduate Conducting Program is the Degree Recital. Given during the second year of study, students have the opportunity to conduct the repertoire of their choice on this concert. Joined by the Bard College Chamber Singers and Symphonic Chorus and members from the Bard Conservatory Orchestra and The Orchestra Now, student conductors have the opportunity to fully prepare and perform their chosen works.Degree Recital
The culminating project of the Graduate Conducting Program is the Degree Recital. Given during the second year of study, students have the opportunity to conduct the repertoire of their choice on this concert. Joined by the Bard College Chamber Singers and Symphonic Chorus and members from the Bard Conservatory Orchestra and The Orchestra Now, student conductors have the opportunity to fully prepare and perform their chosen works.
Recent degree recitals have included performances of excerpts from Strass' Der Rosenkavalier with singers from the Graduate Vocal Arts Program, the Chairman Dances by John Adams, and Vaughn Williams' Serenade to Music with the Bard Chamber Singers, as well as the overtures to Mozart's Die Zauberflöte and Die Entführung aus dem Serail.
Photo by Chris Kayden