The five-year double-degree program combines rigorous Conservatory training with a challenging and comprehensive liberal arts program. The academic and music curriculums in the double-degree are thoroughly integrated in the supportive educational community at Bard. Conservatory students live, eat, and attend classes with non-Conservatory students, and are fully a part of the intellectual and social life of the College.
Supportive Community
Because all Conservatory students pursue the double degree, there exists a supportive community that equally serves the musical and academic goals of young musicians and provides the high level of training essential to success. Each Conservatory student has two academic advisers, one from the Conservatory and one from a field that the student is considering as a major for the B.A. degree.
Student Stories
Elizabeth Liotta '24
Elizabeth Liotta '24
What is your current year of study in the Bard Conservatory? Second year What is your primary instrument? Double Bass Who is your current instrumental instructor(s)? Leigh Mesh What is your second major? If you are undecided, which second major(s) are yu considering? Sociology Where is your hometown? Aragua, Venezuela What was the main factor(s) in your choosing to attend Bard College? The chance to have a second major! I've always wanted to pursue a music college degree, but I also considered important to have a second major in another field so that I can have more job opportunities after finishing college. What were the last three things you listened to? Egmont Overture - Beethoven Symphony no. 5, 5th movement - Mahler Academic Festival Overture - Brahms What do you do in your free time? I love Latin dance! (Bachata, Merengue, Salsa). I used to teach those genres back home, and now I really enjoy every time I dance with my friends. I also like watching movies, series and anime.
Isabela Cruz-Vespa '22
Isabela Cruz-Vespa '22
What is your current year of study in the Bard Conservatory? Fifth year What is your primary instrument? Flute Who is your current instrumental instructor(s)? Tara Helen O’Connor What is your second major? If you are undecided, which second major(s) are you considering? My second major is Psychology Where is your hometown? College Station, Texas What did you do this past summer? In the summer I traveled to Germany to make baroque music videos with my pandemic music ensemble Korona Konsort, you can view a video of our project here. I also traveled to Mexico, and finally watched Downton Abbey. What was the main factor(s) in your choosing to attend Bard College? My main factors in choosing Bard were the dual degree option, the opportunity to travel a bit, and studying with Tara of course! What were the last three things you listened to? The last three songs I listened to were: the piece I had to play in my flute lesson (Schulhoff Sonata), some old Mexican bolero from the 50s, and then probably smtg emo by November Ultra. What do you do in your free time? I love to make to-do lists for things I should do but probably won’t actually do, watch period dramas, go on long walks, and attempt to improve my Spanish!
Nathaniel Sanchez '24
Nathaniel Sanchez '24
What is your current year of study in the Bard Conservatory? Third Year What is your primary instrument? Oboe Who is your current instrumental instructor(s)? Elaine Douvas, Alexandra Knoll, and Ryan Roberts What is your second major? If you are undecided, which second major(s) are you considering? Economics Where is your hometown? Metamora, Illinois What did you do this past summer? Performed over 20 chamber music works while working at Greenwood Music Camp in Western Massachusetts. I traveled to Mexico and several major cities in the US. What was the main factor(s) in your choosing to attend Bard College? The double degree program allowed me to explore my interests outside of music, while also providing me with rigorous musical training. What do you do in your free time? Make reeds, practice Heckelphone, eat, travel
Laura Perez-Rangel '23
Laura Perez-Rangel '23
What is your current year of study in the Bard Conservatory? Fourth Year What is your primary instrument? Violin Who is your current instrumental instructor(s)? Carmit Zori What is your second major? If you are undecided, which second major(s) are you considering? My second major is Human Rights with a focus on Anthropology Where is your hometown? Maracaibo, Venezuela What were the last three things you listened to? Mahler's 4th Symphony (one of my favorites!), Sirena from the renowned Venezuelan folk music group C4 Trío and Antes de Huir, from Natalia Lafourcade (one of my favorite contemporary Latin American artists)
Rowan Swain '25
Rowan Swain '25
What is your current year of study in the Bard Conservatory? First year What is your primary instrument? Viola Who is your current instrumental instructor(s)? Molly Carr and Steven Tenenbom What is your second major? If you are undecided, which second major(s) are you considering? Undecided, but probably Literature or Historical Studies Where is your hometown? Charlotte, Vermont What was the main factor(s) in your choosing to attend Bard College? I chose Bard largely because of the opportunity to study with my dream viola teachers. But I was also compelled by the prospect of a high-quality liberal arts education, and encouraged by the school's generous financial aid offer. What were the last three things you listened to? Kathleen Ferrier and Bruno Walter performing Schubert Lieder in a live broadcast from 1952 (a hair-raisingly beautiful performance) "Lemon" by Kenshi Yonezu Shostakovich String Quartet No. 3 What do you do in your free time? I love reading, doing any kind of word puzzles, taking long walks, and swapping favorite recordings with friends.
Yixin (ee-sheen) Wang '23
Yixin (ee-sheen) Wang '23
What is your current year of study in the Bard Conservatory? Third year What is your primary instrument? Guzheng Who is your current instrumental instructor(s)? Zhou Wang What is your second major? If you are undecided, which second major(s) are yu considering? Math (in the process of moderation currently) Where is your hometown? Most recently from Houston, Texas. I lived in China for the first thirteen years of my life. What was the main factor(s) in your choosing to attend Bard College? The formation of the US-China music institute! It is the first music institute in the United State that specializes in Chinese traditional instruments. Prof. Zhou Wang has also been someone I looked up to since I started playing Guzheng. The double major program also allow us to learn other knowledge, in which I think math and music is a perfect combination! This program is in corporation with the Central Conservatory of China in Beijing, which is the best conservatory in China. I feel so grateful being able to study with the teachers there, getting my western music education here at the Bard Conservatory, while I learn math from the College. What were the last three things you listened to? I listened to the Bard Conservatory Orchestra performance this past weekend, and I was listening to a CD of Guzheng pieces this morning when I was driving. What do you do in your free time? Besides music, I also love dancing (ballet, Jazz, k-pop, hip hop, etc.), singing (I used to be an opera singer!) and art (leaf crafting, ceramics, etc.).
Alumni Spotlight
Sabrina Tabby, class of 2014 BM Violin Performance; BA French Studies
"Bard is where I gained confidence in my writing, which is a precious tool, especially for my quartet. Anytime we have to write something--an application, a grant proposal, a newsletter to our fans, a delicate email--I’m the one who does it. Not to mention that I learned all about time management!"
Alumni Spotlight
What are you up to nowadays? Where are you currently based? I am currently living the nomadic life. My fiancé is in Minneapolis, soon to be Quad Cities, Iowa, so I’m there pretty often. My quartet mates live respectively in Chicago, Philadelphia (my hometown!), and Los Angeles, and so we hop around from place to place. I also play with Contemporaneous in New York City as much as I can. It’s always exciting!
You’re doing a LOT of performing with your string quartet, ATLYS. How did you all meet? We met in Chicago, and knew each other through various avenues, but we met “formally” through the Civic Orchestra of Chicago , which is the pre-professional training orchestra for the Chicago Symphony. We decided to form a quartet because all of us were interested in playing non-traditional, “crossover” string quartet music--we wanted to play indie/pop/world music and collaborate with other artists--not your typical quartet stuff. Now we’re incorporating 4-way looping pedals into our compositions! We wanted to see how far we could take the string quartet genre.
Can you describe how your group has evolved over the last few years? Well, let’s see...our very first public performance together as a quartet was at sea! We spent ten months of 2017 on a cruise ship through Lincoln Center Stage. Lincoln Center Stage is under the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center umbrella, so we were representing them all over the world. We auditioned for them as a pre-formed quartet, seeing that it was a great opportunity for us to rack up performance experience together, get tight, and to make some music videos in amazing locations all around the world. After we finished our time at sea, we decided to try out some tours on land. So, in 2018 we organized tours in Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Texas, and New Mexico. We were able to collaborate with singers, composers, dancers--really all kinds of artists. For instance, in Dallas, Texas, we worked with Das Blumlein Project . They’re two sopranos, and we did this very cool interdisciplinary project with them including dancers, videographers, and textile artists. And now we’re signed with Brave Enough Artist Agency , based in Nashville, TN!
What kind of collaborations and projects do you have coming up this season? Well, the next big thing we have coming up is another cruise contract, through the Lincoln Center Stage, on the Holland America Line. We are actually going to be with them for this ship’s inaugural voyage, and Oprah is going to be there! We definitely thought it was an opportunity that we shouldn’t pass up. We’ll get back from the cruise in early 2019, and after that, we actually have about twelve performances lined up with different colleges and universities around the US, which is pretty exciting. We’re looking forward to really honing our own identity as a string quartet. I also just won a job with the Quad City Symphony in the violin section, so I’ll be playing with them for about six concerts a year. And, I still play with Contemporaneous in NYC as much as I can. I feel very lucky!
What was your non-music degree in, and how has that influenced what you do currently? I was a French studies major, and I found that it complimented my violin and musicological studies quite effortlessly. I was able to take a lot of French music history classes, and I was even able to incorporate my music studies into my French senior project. Bard is where I gained confidence in my writing, which is a precious tool, especially for my quartet. Anytime we have to write something--an application, a grant proposal, a newsletter to our fans, a delicate email--I’m the one who does it. Not to mention that I learned all about time management!
What is your favorite memory from your time at Bard and why? It’s hard to choose one! The orchestra and chamber music tours to China and Eastern Europe were incredible, and I got to study abroad in Paris. But, I have to say one of my favorite memories from Bard is from my sophomore year when the Conservatory basically took over an entire floor in the Village F Dorm. Every Thursday, just about the entire conservatory would come over after the orchestra rehearsal, and celebrate an early start to the weekend! The tradition continued through graduation! It’s definitely one of my quintessential Bard memories.
What is the most important piece of advice that you would give to current students and recent alumni? For current students, I know this is controversial--but I think my most important piece of advice is to just say “yes” to opportunities. I know that the double-degree is busy, and it feels like you need to safeguard your time, but because I just said “yes” to performing at such a formative stage in my musical life, I graduated with what I feel like is unparalleled performance experience, an ability to prepare for multiple concerts (and different genres!) simultaneously, and a feeling of comfort and confidence in front of an audience. That’s how I got involved with Contemporaneous, and I am still working with them and getting paid to do it! You might not even realize how unique Bard is in that there is so much art happening on campus, not just in the Conservatory, so take advantage of it all! For recent alums, I think the same thing goes. Say “yes” to what you can--it’s how you network. And you should treat every performance, no matter what it is, like the most important performance you’ll ever give. Come prepared to rehearsals, put in the practice time, because you never know who could be listening! And, it’s just good practice because then that kind of playing will become your habit, your default. When a performance comes along that feels important, you’ll have the experience of preparing and performing at your best!
Alumni Spotlight
Claire Brazeau, class of 2010 BM Oboe Performance; BA Asian Studies
"It's tough to put into words the full extent that Bard influenced me, but those five years were certainly some of the most formative, productive, and motivating years of my life. Creative skills, entrepreneurial skills, time management, critical thinking, writing and public speaking skills, etc., these are all skills that have led me to where I am now and I am certain that my time at Bard was essential to their cultivation."
Alumni Spotlight
What are you up to nowadays? Where are you currently based? I've been in Los Angeles ever since I graduated from Bard and I'm loving it. My work here varies from the concert stage, to teaching at university, to recording for movies in Hollywood.
You do a ton of performing--you’re the principal oboist for the LA Chamber Orchestra, you organize Bach Marathons, play oboe with Hanson, and you recently were the soloist with Sofia Philharmonic in the Martineau Concerto. What has been your favorite performance in the last season, and why? As much as my inner preteen was squealing when I played “Mmmbop” with the Hanson brothers, I’d have to say that performing as a soloist in Europe was definitely a highlight for me. The orchestra was fantastic and the Martinu is one of my favorite concertos.
You’re also a member of Wildup, a new music collective in LA. How long have you been involved with them? Can you talk about a particular experience that you’ve had with them that was impactful? I've been playing in Wildup for the past 7 years. Some of the most impactful work we do is when we workshop pieces with composers. It's a valuable experience for the composers to try things and better understand how certain techniques work. As the performer, I love having that immediate communication with the composer so I can better interpret her or his intentions.
In addition to your work with Wild Up, you also do so much work with baroque music, on period instruments. What do you find to be the main difference for you between Baroque and Contemporary music, or do you actually find that they’re more similar than different? Do you enjoy playing one style more than the other? I'm equally crazy about both genres! Each era has some of the most fun solo repertoire for my instrument, so naturally I was sucked into those worlds. New music is always so exciting to be a part of, and I especially love it for the times it's taught me to push my own technical boundaries. Sometimes it's liberating to explore new sounds and techniques, and sometimes it's wickedly challenging. Frankly, in my study of baroque styles and techniques I feel exactly the same way! The main difference between baroque oboe and modern oboe is the baroque oboe only has two keys, so it's much more technically cumbersome and difficult to tune. My experience with the baroque oboe certainly makes me appreciate and understand the advancements my instrument has made over the last 300 years!
You are also on the oboe faculty of the Bob Cole Conservatory at California State University, Long Beach, in addition to being a faculty member of the Take a Stand Festival with the LA Phil. What is your favorite part of teaching? How would you say that teaching has shaped your own artistry? One of my favorite aspects about teaching is that I get to witness young people committing themselves to what they love. I'm very inspired by my students! Seeing their passion and discipline fuels my own ambition to be the best artist I can be.
What is your non-music degree in? How has that influenced what you do currently? Regretfully, I've lost a lot of the Mandarin that I learned at Bard's amazing language immersion program, but given the chance I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat. It's tough to put into words the full extent that Bard influenced me, but those five years were certainly some of the most formative, productive, and motivating years of my life. Creative skills, entrepreneurial skills, time management, critical thinking, writing and public speaking skills, etc., these are all skills that have led me to where I am now and I am certain that my time at Bard was essential to their cultivation.
What is your favorite memory from your time at Bard and why? I have way too many great memories to choose one favorite! Off the top of my head, I'm reminiscing about my last two years at Bard when I lived at Manor. My dorm room had a view of the Catskill mountains and some of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen. There was an idyllic trail out the back that went through the woods where I'd go on runs to clear my mind before a performance or to take a break from homework and reed making. The location was perfect. I'd stroll out of my little castle and before I knew it I was stumbling on stage for my concerts at the Fischer Center. And those acoustics! Talk about perfection.
What is the most important piece of advice that you would give to current students and recent alumni? To the current students: keep taking advantage of the resources you have at Bard. Lessons, chamber music coachings, classes, performance opportunities; get as much out of them as you can. Make it a priority to go to concerts. Life after school has a lot of opportunities for learning and listening, but they'll never be as readily accessible as they are now.
To the recent alumni: now is the time to focus and push yourself further than ever. Allow yourself the patience and love to succeed, especially after mistakes and failures. I've lost far more auditions than I've won, and learning my own ways of how to cope with those losses has been essential to my progress.
Since its inception, undergraduate students of the Bard Conservatory have distinguished themselves through graduate and professional school acceptances, participation in prestigious music festivals, appointments, and awards.
Graduate School Acceptances: Music Performance Boston University The Colburn School The Curtis Institute of Music Indiana University The Juilliard School Manhattan School of Music Mannes College The New School for Music New England Conservatory Northwestern University Rice University SUNY Stony Brook University of Michigan University of Southern California Yale School of Music
Other Graduate and Professional School Acceptances California Institute of Technology Cambridge University Johns Hopkins University University of California, Berkeley University of California, Los Angeles University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea - Global M.B.A. Program
Music Festival Acceptances Aspen Music Festival and School Atlantic Music Festival Banff Summer Arts Festival Bowdoin International Music Festival Castleton Festival Colorado Music Festival European American Musical Alliance Summer Composition Program Kent/Blossom Music and Arts Festival Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival Manchester Music Festival Music Academy of the West Summer Festival New York String Orchestra Seminar Pacific Rim Music Festival Pierre Monteux School Quartet Program Round Top Festival Institute Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival Steans Music Institute at the Ravinia Festival Tanglewood Music Center Verbier Festival West-Eastern Divan Orchestra Yellow Barn Music School and Festival
Competitions and Jobs Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra Young Artist’s Competition, first prize, 2011 Budapest Festival Orchestra, principal trumpet Budapest Opera Orchestra, principal trombone Detroit Symphony Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, silver medal, 2010 Honolulu Symphony, principal trumpet Houston Symphony, associate principal second violin Liszt Academy, professor Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, principal oboe Michael Hill International Violin Competition, finalist, 2011 Quebec Symphony, horn 2019 Classic Strings International Competition in Vienna, 1st Prize in the 2018 Tokyo International Viola Competition