For my son interested in Electronic music composition and understanding music overall we are considering the above four colleges in Fall of 2018. Any inputs on this? He has gained admissions to all and is overall considering all other aspects of the liberal arts programme in addition to electronic music. But this could be the clincher…
Bard has a world renowned electronic music department with some of the pioneers in the field teaching. I’ve never heard anything about the music departments at any of the other three schools although they may have some interesting professors. But for the breadth of a music department overall - Bard wins this one hands down.
An easy way for your son to compare is to look at the course lists offered each semester. For instance here are the courses this spring semester that Bard is offering (and they just published fall semester’s offerings - which are equally rich - which you can find here: http://inside.bard.edu/academic/courses/fall2018/:
Contemporary Electronics
This course will provide an introduction to electronic and experimental music with a particular focus on hacking culture, musical sampling, and the history of recording technology. Students will participate in hands-on demonstrations of electronic music tools (microphones, transducers, piezos, etc.) as well as in-class recreations of classic experimental music pieces. The course will also include connections with other disciplines, such as sound poetry and conceptual writing. Throughout the course, there will be an emphasis on the creation of new musical works as a method of communing with the course material. Students will be expected to make several compositions in the electronic music studio. Class size: 20
Electronic Composition
This course, intended primarily for music majors, will be focused on the individual creative work of the students enrolled. Each will be expected to bring in his or her ongoing, original work in the form of recordings, scores, and/or digital realizations. These will be examined and commented on by the instructor and other class members. Installation and inter-media works will also be welcomed. Analyses and class presentations of classic works by such composers as Stockhausen, Cage, Lucier, etc., will also be expected of the students during the semester. Public presentations of student work will be made at the end of the semester. By consent of the instructor. Class size: 15
Introduction to Experimental Music
This course deals with the experimental tradition starting from Henry Cowell’s radical innovations early in the 20th century, through those of his students, pre-eminently John Cage and others of the “California School” of the 30’s and 40’s, and “The New York School” around Cage that included Feldman, Brown, Wolf and Tudor in the 50’s. The primary focus however will be on the development of new forms, media and social organizations begun in the sixties and seventies, as exemplified by: text-based “event” pieces of the international Fluxus movement; the early minimalist works of La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich and Philip Glass; live electronic music of AMM in London, Musica Elettronica Viva in Rome and Sonic Arts Union in New York; the work of Cornelius Cardew and the Scratch Orchestra in London; and the influence of “open form” “free jazz” and “creative music” in establishing improvisationally-based compositional techniques and systems in the works of Anthony Braxton, George Lewis and others. In addition to studying the works this tradition has produced and discussing their aesthetic and philosophic underpinnings, students will be encouraged to realize and perform works by these composers, and to create new ones of their own.
Electroacoustic Ensemble
Production & Reproduction
This course will focus on the theory and practice of sound recording. Students will learn the use of recording equipment including digital tape recorders, mixing consoles, signal processing devices, and microphones. A/B listening tests will be used to compare types of microphones, microphone placement and many different recording techniques. ProTools software will be available for digital editing and mastering to CD. Assigned projects will include both multitrack and direct to stereo recordings of studio and concert performances. Class size: 12
electronic music in live performance
Electronic Music in Live Performance
This seminar will address technical, practical, and critical considerations of live performance with electronic instruments. Students will learn techniques essential for live electronic performance through hands-on tutorials with common mixing consoles, speaker arrays, microphones, and audio interfaces. Using these techniques, students will develop new live electronic compositions and improvisations. Through peer response, students will refine their compositional ideas, while evaluating the technical strategies of their performance. Students will strive to develop a creative practice that matches musical ideas with possible technical realizations. The course will include weekly composition projects, reading and listening assignments, a midterm essay, and a final portfolio. Introduction to Electronic Music is required as a pre- requisite. The class is designed for upper-level electronic music and sound majors, but also available to other qualified students interested in electronic music performance.
And one of the professors listed for private lessons offers: Serge modular synthesizer
Putting aside the specifics of electronic music programs, I fear Bard will have to “face the music” sooner or later because its bond rating is well into “junk bond” status. Think twice (or three times) about how you might feel if the college you graduate from closes down in 10 or 20 years due to financial distress.
@MinnesotaDadof3 - I’ve seen you post this concern about Bard before. I actually went to a college which closed down decades after I graduated (but has since reopened.) That did not change the education I received, nor did it change the way the alumni feel about the school or their fellow alumni. There is no sign of imminent financial disaster at Bard, despite the bond downgrades. There have been no layoffs or reduction in teaching staff - as there have been at my local university - UC Berkeley. Would you advise prospective students not to consider Berkeley?
It’s one factor to consider. The importance this might have to a prospective student will vary.
What do you mean by" electronic music composition"? This terminology means many things Is he interested in recording technologies? Or is he a classical composer who wants to do electroacoustic (enhancing acoustic for instance) or acousmatic (using sounds from ordinary objects, manipulating them and making a piece) in the concert realm? Is he designing video games? Does he write electronic dance music? There are many variants within the term “electronic music”. It is really important to explain what your son means by this 
After looking at the info posted below, I would take Bard, Kenyon or Bates over Elon… I would choose Bard #1 as long as the place agrees with your son in other ways (location, size, vibe). Kenyon #2. Bates # 3 and Elon #4. Again unless there are other factors that are important. And it is important to realize that sometimes a college offers experiences that are not easily accessed on a website or course listing. I know a kid who went to a school with just one class in electroacoustic music but then spent two years in the lab since she got a key!
For the particular schools////
Elon separates out the Music AB (no mention of composition that I can see, I assume it is embedded in the other courses) and the recording technology programs. I would take Bard, Kenyon or Bates over Elon.
Kenyon has these:
MUSC 322 Composition
Credit: 0.5
This course offers instruction in the craft of composition. Exploring a variety of approaches and aesthetics, students will be encouraged to employ traditional formal structures, tonal and atonal materials, as well as recent techniques from the 20th and 21st centuries. Students’ work will be routinely presented and discussed during class time, and presented in a final concert at the end of the semester. Attendance at concerts in metropolitan areas such as Columbus and Cleveland will be required. This course may be repeated for credit one time. This counts as an elective for the major and minor. Prerequisite: MUSC 102, 105 or 107 and 122Y. Offered every year.
Instructor: Feller
MUSC 324 Introduction to Music Technology
Credit: 0.5
This course is designed to be a follow-up to the current introductory course in computer music. Students will continue to develop fluency with the technological tools for composing and producing original, computer-assisted music. Students will learn about algorithmic composition, advanced synthesis and processing techniques, and how to implement them, designing their own patches and applications using current software packages such as Max, ProTools and various open source programs. This counts as an elective for the major and minor. Prerequisite: MUSC 124 or permission of instructor. Offered every other year. NOTE OFFERED EVERY OTHER YEAR
MUSC 124 Introduction to Computer Music
Credit: 0.5
This course introduces students to the principles of computer music. Beginning with a historical overview and introductions to the physics of sound and digital audio, the course will provide students with an understanding of basic acoustics, tuning, synthesis techniques, musique concréte, MIDI, and the composition, processing and recording of digital audio using Macintosh-based software programs. Students will compose, edit and mix original work, as well as remix extant material, and will learn how to discuss, critique and write about issues, techniques and approaches of importance to the field of computer music. This counts as an elective for the major and minor. No prerequisite. Offered every year.
Instructor: Feller
I would take Bard over Kenyon.
Bates has:
MUS 235. Music Composition.
Composition may be pursued by students at various levels of expertise and training. The course includes a weekly seminar and private lessons, and concentrates on—without being limited to—contemporary idioms. Prerequisite(s): MUS 232. Open to first-year students. Instructor permission is required. Normally offered every year. H. Miura.
MUS 237. Computers, Music, and the Arts.
A hands-on study of music and video making with computers, using the facilities of the Bates Computer Music Studio. Topics include digital synthesis, sampling, MIDI communications, simple programming, and the aesthetics of art made with computers. No computing experience is presumed, and the course is especially designed for students of the arts who wish to learn about new tools. Work produced in the course is performed in concert. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 18. Instructor permission is required. Normally offered every year. W. Matthews.
Short Term Courses
DC/MU s13. Music in Video Games.
This course is a study of how music and sound is used in interactive media, specifically video games. We will study how to compose music for video games using simple online tools and reflect on how music and sound affect our own experiences when we play games. We will also survey the brief history of video game music and the technological innovations that drove its development and explore how music and sound fit into the science of game design. New course beginning Short Term 2018. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 30. B. Hansberry.
Also a course in the history of Electronic Dance Music.
I think for that, I would choose Bard. But some pretty different community vibes there!
Colby often has interesting music offerings during J plan (but is culturally very different from Bard.)
I don’t understand this objection. If one’s college closes down while one is a student, or during the few years following, that could be an issue, but 10-20 years down the road, surely one’s career is established–or not–and one has moved on.