Campus Close-Up: Bard College and Conservatory - Annandale-on-Hudson, NY
Quick Stats:
Private, Liberal Arts College & Conservatory of Music
Size: 2,173 Undergrads: 1,900
Student-Faculty Ratio: 10:1
Acceptance Rate: College- 60% Conservatory - 15%
Degrees offered: B.A., *B.M., M.M.
B.M. in Vocal performance - starting Fall, 2021!
Graduate programs in music: M.M. in Vocal Arts, Choral Conducting, Orchestral Conducting; Collaborative Piano Fellowship, Advanced Performance Studies
SAT/ACT: optional
No application fee!
Financial Aid: 75% receive financial aid (merit and need-based)
Fun Facts:
Conservatory students can pursue a double degree in 5 years — B.M. and B.A.
Bard Early College programs- offering a head start on college!
Bard Prison Initiative - must watch “College Behind Bars,” a PBS documentary!
Bard in the World study abroad programs
President Botstein conducts the Bard Philharmonic!
Excellence in Music scholarships – for students from historically underrepresented populations in classical music.
US-China Music Institute
Frank Gerry designed Fisher Center for the Performing Arts
Annual Cultural Show & Spring Fling
Campus Vibe
Riding the Amtrak from New York City towards Bard College, I instantly felt relaxed as the cityscape gave way to views of nature along the Hudson River. This bucolic campus is a pioneering liberal arts college and conservatory that walks the talk: “A private college for the public good.” Bard’s President, Leon Botstein, is a visionary in liberal arts education, establishing a top conservatory to boot, along with a curriculum and initiatives that are innovative, interdisciplinary, and global.
While visiting, I had an opportunity to observe one of the First-Year seminar classes — an engaging and stimulating discussion of Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave.” Students praise the excellent faculty, the small seminar-style classes, and the collaborative, tight knit, and supportive learning community. Whether observing a class discussion or a chamber music rehearsal, I found the students to be curious, artistic, independent, and liberal.
The Conservatory differs from other college-conservatories in that it requires all music majors to choose a second major and complete within a minimum of 5 years. Bard embraces the idea that “Music, like all art, engages the mind and heart” and their emphasis on a broad education certainly reflects this approach. Conservatory faculty are world-class performers and are former or current members of ensembles such as the New York Philharmonic and the MET Opera Orchestra; faculty also teach at other conservatories such as Juilliard and the Curtis Institute. Students have many opportunities to perform on campus, in NYC, on tours, and even in local prisons.
One current student told me that although the school is small and in a rural area, it is an ideal place to practice and focus on one’s studies. On the weekends, the College provides shuttles to nearby towns to enjoy restaurants, bars, and shopping. Want to really get away? NYC is 90 miles away with all its cultural offerings. The future looks bright for Bard with its new programs and the recent announcement of a $500 million endowment pledge from George Soros.
Learn more: Bard College and Conservatory.