Student Spotlight
As a post-baccalaureate fellow at Bard's Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, Jewel Evans ’18 works to create awareness of the Center’s performances on campus and in the community. Her outreach supports the Fisher Center’s Passloff Pass—an initiative to remove economic barriers to participation in the arts. Named for Aileen Passloff, Bard professor of dance emeritus, the Pass makes Fisher Center tickets available to all Bard students for just $5. Prior to graduation, Jewel performed as a member of the ensemble in the Fisher Center’s SummerScape 2018 production of Peter Pan. These are among the many intersections of student learning, professional artistic practice, and community engagement that take place at the Fisher Center.
Bard Music Connects
Bard Music Connects fosters connection with local communities in the sharing of music. Bard Conservatory undergraduate and graduate students present outreach performances and participate in engagement events. Students have the opportunity to experience, first-hand, the deep and healthful benefits of musical communication. Partnerships with local health care and educational institutions, underserved communities, and civic organizations train participants to meet the needs of a variety of audiences and to engage in public service with the musical skills they hone at Bard.
Artists in the Community
Bard Fisher Center works frequently with the Center for Creative Education in Kingston, New York. The CCE provides high quality arts programs with a special emphasis on serving low-income, minority, and at-risk children and youth. Fisher Center guest artists conduct masterclasses and workshops there as part of their engagements at the Fisher Center. Class participants are then invited to attend the artist’s performances at the Fisher Center free of charge, often with transportation provided. World-renowned choreographer Ronald K. Brown conducts a community class at CCE Kingston as part of his Fisher Center residency to create a new work for SummerScape 2019.
Project Spotlight
Cuerdas Para Cali (Strings for Cali) is a student-led Trustee Leader Scholar project. This group of classically trained Bard College musicians work to inspire students and celebrate cultural exchange through music education. Each summer, CPC travels to Colombia to work with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Siloé, a youth orchestra based in the Siloé barrio of Cali. The Orquesta de Siloé was founded by Fundación Sidoc to give disadvantaged youth in Siloé the opportunity to study music by providing them with instruments, education, and performance outlets. CPC's goal is to support the Siloé students in their musical growth, and to have a positive impact throughout their community. The project involves teaching and performing along with intense interpersonal engagement and exchange.
CCE Arts on Campus
CCE Fellow Jonathan Naito '13 performs during a welcome event for new students.