<p>I am a percussionist interested in jazz, composition/songwriting, and electronic music production. I want 50% of my studies to be music and 50% studio art (maybe graphic design) and liberal arts.</p>
<p>I am most uneasy about strong divide between music departments. Conservatory classes don’t seem to be offered to college students?
I wasn’t blown away by a video I saw of the jazz drum professor either…</p>
<p>Anyone know about the studio arts there?</p>
<p>I am also looking at Oberlin, Bates, and Wesleyan to give a comparison.</p>
<p>As I learned a few months ago from my friend who was in the conservatory, conservatory classes ARE offered to non-conservatory college students, but many just aren’t aware of that. I’ve had friends who studied jazz and electronic music and loved it. Many of the moderations and senior projects that I saw at my time at Bard were incredible. I wouldn’t necessarily brush it off because of 1 video you saw, but I’m not a musician. One of my closest friends took up jazz percussion at Bard and loved it.</p>
<p>Studio arts is a great program, though it is a hard one. Students compete for physical space (studios) when moderating. I know many people who loved the program and many people who had issues with it (my brother being one of them), as is the case with most of the arts taught at Bard. The classes themselves seem to be pretty great and interesting. I’m a bit sad that I was never able to take a class in that department.</p>
<p>The conservatory performance studios are not open to the college students, and Conservatory Seminar isn’t either,as far as I know. The Music program in the college has its own instrumental music teachers, although the composition professors teach in both the conservatory and the college (though studying privately with John Halle is a bit more complicated.) The Conservatory orchestra is, indeed, open by audition to all, but in reality it’s very rare for anyone in the college to be accepted. There are very few other classes actually through the conservatory. [Bard</a> College Course List–Fall 2013](<a href=“http://inside.bard.edu/academic/courses/current/]Bard”>http://inside.bard.edu/academic/courses/current/) All percussion and electronic music is in the college and not in the conservatory.</p>