Graduate Conducting Program

Performing

Chamber Ensembles

Throughout the year, students from the Graduate Conducting Program are often needed for large chamber music projects in the Conservatory. These projects may be part of the composition department's Music Alive! concert series, degree concerts, or extracurricular projects. In the past, 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 Program

The Graduate Vocal Arts and Graduate Conducting Programs have a close relationship. Conducting students assist Maestro Bagwell with the mainstage opera and, in the past, they have been given the opportunity to conduct performances. Additionally, student conductors often perform with the Vocal Arts Program in the annual Winter Songfest at the Bard Fisher Center and First Songs project at the National Sawdust in New York City.

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.

In the past, students have conducted Stravinsky's L'oiseau de feu, the overture to Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Vaughn Williams' Serenade to Music, and Beethoven's Mass in C.