Spring 2026 Catalog

Wednesdays, 11:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

March 18, 25; April 1, 8, 15 (five sessions)

Description: Mozart’s extraordinary journey from child prodigy to adult master is explored through his prolific output and lasting impact on Western music. The course highlights the brilliance of his chamber works, key pieces, and stylistic traits, alongside an introduction to the early history of Western classical music in China. It also examines Mozart’s operas in their 18th-century context, revealing how his dramatic and musical innovations reshaped the genre, and considers Kierkegaard’s influential reflections on Don Giovanni and their significance for modern aesthetics. This class is a prelude to the Mozart Festival at Bard College in August 2026.

The following is a list of the distinguished Bard Faculty who will generously share their time and expertise with us and their topics.

Week 1. Wednesday, March 18. Peter Laki: Mozart the Child Prodigy, Mozart the Adult Prodigy
In the consciousness of many music-lovers today, Mozart’s works stand as supreme symbols of harmony, beauty, and perfection. One of the most astonishing child prodigies in the history of music, he wrote over 600 works before his premature death at 35, works without which Western music would simply be inconceivable.

Week 2. Wednesday, March 25. Frank Corliss: Chamber Music
Explore the fun and brilliance of Mozart’s chamber music! In this class, we will look at key pieces, learn what makes his style unique, and hopefully enjoy live performances by fellow students along with a few great recordings. A relaxed, engaging way to experience Mozart up close.

Week 3. Wednesday, April 1. Jindong Cai: The History of the Beginning of Western Classical Music in China
Western classical music entered China in the early 17th century through the activities of Christian missionaries and later developed to a more prominent role from the late 19th century within the context of treaty-port music culture. During the Cultural Revolution, Western classical music—including the works of Mozart and Beethoven—was prohibited; however, it reemerged and expanded rapidly after 1976. In the 21st century, a new generation of Chinese composers and performers has infused the field with renewed energy, positioning China as a major global center for classical music performance, education, and production.

Week 4. Wednesday, April 8. Christopher Gibbs: Opera and its Legacy
This class explores Mozart’s operas, situating them within the musical, cultural, and theatrical world of the late 18th century. Through close listening and examination of historical and modern productions, students will discover how Mozart revolutionized the operatic stage with his expressive musical language, psychological insight, and dramatic sophistication.

Week 5. Wednesday, April 15. Thomas Bartscherer: Kierkegaard and Mozart
The essay “The Immediate Erotic Stages, or The Musical-Erotic,” published pseudonymously by Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, is both an over-the-top paean to Mozart and a masterpiece of modern aesthetics. We will consider the author’s provocative (and playful) assertion that “Mozart’s Don Giovanni ought to rank highest among all the classic works.”

Class Limit: 30

Presenter: Kornelia Tamm (LLI) was born in Germany and has lived across Europe and the U.S., working in the arts and cultural institutions. A Bard literature graduate and Hudson Valley resident since 1997, she serves on the board of the Bard Conservatory and is active with the CCS Hessel Museum and the Fisher Center. With a lifelong passion for the arts and deep ties to Bard, she offers a unique, insider’s perspective on the college’s creative and institutional life.

Producer: Eleanor Wieder

Tuesdays & Wednesdays, 1:00 p.m.–2:30 p.m.

March 10, 18, 25; April 8, 14, 22 (6 sessions)

Note: Two tours are on Tuesday, four are on Wednesday. Class length will vary from 1 hour to 1½ hours. Standing is required.

If you have previously taken this class, please allow others to register during preregistration.

Description: This class takes students inside the studios of contemporary Hudson Valley artists to hear from the artists about their inspirations, processes, and careers. Students will view multiple visual art forms, including painting, sculpture, neon, photography, and installation art, and will have an opportunity to ask questions.

Week 1. Tuesday, March 10. Visit Arlene Shechet’s studio in Kingston and learn about her long and successful career as a sculptor.
Presenter: Arlene Shechet is a sculptor known for working with and combining a variety of materials, including wood, stone, metal, and clay. Shechet’s artwork is held by museums worldwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Centre Pompidou, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and many others. Click here for more information.

Week 2: Wednesday, March 18. Lite Brite Neon Studio in Kingston fuses art and electricity. Students will learn the process by which artists use neon tubes as a medium, bending the glass into sculptures, words, and designs in order to realize an artist’s vision.
Presenter: Matteline deVries-dilling (she/they) co-founded Lite Brite Neon Studio. Lite Brite receives funding from and is a project of Queer\Art, which mentors younger artists and works with Queer Elders. Lite Brite Neon Studio has worked with a broad range of artists from the queer, IBPOC, and related communities, producing luminous artworks that have been exhibited worldwide. Click here for more information.

Week 3: Wednesday, March 25. Joy Taylor‘s paintings offer a contemporary interpretation of nature, capturing its dynamic energy and ever-changing beauty. Her work features sparkling detail, daring composition, and luminous color.
Presenter: Joy Taylor paints the natural world. Her work has been commissioned by the MTA Arts for Transit Program. She is the recipient of a Pollock/Krasner Foundation grant, among other awards. Click here for more information.

Week 4: Wednesday, April 8. Phyllis Palmer focuses on figure painting. Her goal is to create intimacy and respect for the body, without regard to gender identity.
Presenter: Phyllis Palmer, a figure painter and graduate of RISD, has exhibited widely and is the recipient of numerous grants. Click here for more information.

Week 5: Tuesday, April 14. Tanya Marcuse is a photographer. Students will visit her indoor and outdoor studio. Marcuse will share her new project, Book of Miracles, and the unusual and intensive processes involved in creating this three-part series.
Presenter: Tanya Marcuse is a photographer known for large-scale, fantastical images exploring nature’s cycles of growth and decay. A Guggenheim Fellow, she teaches photography at Bard College. Click here for more information.

Week 6: Wednesday, April 22. Steven Siegel, an environmental artist, will discuss his inspirations from the sciences of geology and biology and his life’s work, which ranges from sculptures made from newspaper, plastic bags, and other recycled materials to mixed media wall pieces, large collages, and film.
Presenter: Steven Siegel is an environmental artist known for his public art commissions and site-specific installations made from recycled industrial materials, as well as large collages that combine film and photography with object making. Click here for more information.

Class limit: 16

Presenters:  see above

Producers: Suzanne Holzberg and Janet Pincus

Mondays, 9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

March 23, 30; April 6 (3 sessions)

Description: Join Laura Conner, environmental educator at Minnewaska State Park, for a series of weekly, naturalist-led outings. Each modestly paced walk will traverse level, gravel-surfaced carriage roads and will feature education served with a side of scenic views, cultural history, and signs of wildlife.

Unless otherwise noted, all walks will begin at the Lake Minnewaska Visitor Center at 5283 Rt 44/55, Kerhonkson. State residents who are 62 or older pay no parking fee during the week, except on holidays.

Note: Participants must be able to walk the distance of each outing in the allotted time frame.

Class Limit: 25

Presenter: Laura Conner began her career with New York State Parks in 2000 as a seasonal environmental educator at Grafton Lakes. Next, she was the assistant park manager at Moreau Lake, while still offering environmental education. In 2007, she became the environmental educator at Minnewaska. Laura originally pursued fine art with a BFA in photography from the School of Visual Arts, but changed careers in 1995, when she received an MS in environmental studies from Antioch New England Graduate School.

Producer: Eleanor Wieder

Wednesday, 3:30 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.

March 11 (one session)

Description: Federico Garcia Lorca: Poet, Playwright, Revolutionary was conceived by Aimeé K. Michel and Kati Garcia-Renart, with music arranged by guitarist Terry Champlin. It is a multidisciplinary performance, blending music, dance, and the poetic and dramatic texts of the Spanish writer, Lorca. The piece celebrates his artistry and courage against the rise of fascism.

Note: This class will be held at Bard’s Massena Campus.

Class Limit: 25

Presenter: Kati Garcia-Renart is a choreographer and dancer. During her dance training in Madrid, Spain, she pursued research-based studies in Flamenco dance and pedagogy. Her performance experience includes various venues in Spain and throughout the U.S. She was the director of the Kaatsbaan Academy of Dance in Tivoli, NY, and was a long-time faculty member of Kaatsbaan’s Extreme Ballet (summer intensive course). She currently serves as associate professor of dance at Simon’s Rock at Bard College.

Producer:  Dorothy Baran

Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. –11:00 a.m.

March 18 (one session)

Description: Ready for a workout? This class is a true, full-body exercise session designed to strengthen the muscle groups and movement patterns you use every day. Participants will learn a series of upper-body, lower-body, and core exercises, along with how to organize a personal exercise program and exercise safely and with proper form. Following the class, participants will have access to online videos demonstrating all exercises covered. Please bring a yoga mat, light dumbbells, resistance bands, and water.

Note: This class will be held at the Stevenson Athletic Center at Bard.

Class Limit: 16

Presenter: Dr. Russell Charno, a chiropractor in Rhinebeck, NY, graduated from Northeast College of Health Sciences in 1987. He has completed extensive continuing education in biomechanics, strength training, corrective exercise, movement assessment, and functional rehabilitation. Dr.Charno teaches strength-training classes to older adults and has a particular interest in helping his patients enhance and maintain their strength, balance, and mobility into later years.

Producer: Marge Moran

Wednesday, 2:00 p.m.–3:30 p.m. 

March 4 (one session)

Description: The Hidden History of Slavery in New York is a 30-minute documentary for broadcast television that digs deeply into an infamous chapter in our country that remains largely absent from history books. The film features Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative. He explains how the transatlantic slave trade was centered in the north, not the south, in the 17th and 18th centuries—with New Amsterdam as its epicenter and Wall Street as its largest slave market. The film will be shown, and there will be a Q&A.

Note: This class will be held at the Dutchess Historical Society in Rhinebeck.

Class Limit: 30

Presenter: Larry Epstein is a two-time Emmy award–winning documentary and news producer, journalist, writer, anchor, and corporate copywriter with 25 years of experience working in national media. Epstein is a former executive producer at MSNBC and a former senior-level producer at the Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network.

Producer: Dorothy Baran

X8A. Monday, April 13, 2:00 p.m.–3:30 p.m.

X8B. Tuesday, April 14, 2:00 p.m.–3:30 p.m.

X8C. Wednesday, April 152:00 p.m.–3:30 p.m.  

Note: This class will be held on three consecutive days in the Kvistad Collection Gallery in Kingston. Register for one section.

Description: This class will be held in the Kvistad Collection Gallery in Kingston, home of thousands of instruments, including many rare mechanical musical instruments. Garry Kvistad will demonstrate rhythm through class participation in drumming games, demonstrate the role of percussion in music of many styles and cultures, and discuss the creation and special tunings of Woodstock Chimes (which began with the cutting up of discarded aluminum lawn chairs in the mid 70s).

Class Limit: 20 in each session

Presenter: Garry Kvistad, ffounder of Woodstock Chimes and a member of the percussion group Nexus, has a Bachelor of Music from the Oberlin Conservatory and a Master of Music from Northern Illinois University (Distinguished Alumni Awardee). He won a group Grammy Award for the Steve Reich and Musicians recording of Music for 18 Musicians. He is on the faculty of the Bard College Conservatory of Music and was inducted into the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame, an honor he shares with John Cage, Evelyn Glennie, and Ringo Starr.

Producer: Dorothy Baran

Tuesday, 12:00p.m. – 1:30 p.m.

March 17 (one session)

Description: This workshop will include an hour-long presentation, including guided movement and stretch breaks. We will discuss an anti-inflammatory diet and the foods to avoid, the ingredients to promote bone density and meet calcium requirements, and the common mistakes most people make with their diet. We will also discuss the types of exercise that stimulate bones most efficiently while being mindful of joint pain. During the presentation, the class will experience three different rounds of balance work and very light body-weight strength work.

Note: This class will be held at the Starr Library in Rhinebeck.

Class Limit: 30

Presenter: Sydney Nitzkorski, MS, RD, CSSD, has been a registered dietician and fitness instructor for over 20 years. She has a BA from Brown University and MS from Columbia University in nutrition and exercise physiology. She has a private practice and has taught fitness classes for all levels on Zoom since 2020. She has co-written The Complete Bone and Joint Health Plan: Help Prevent and Treat Osteoporosis and Arthritis (May 2025), which features education, recipes, and exercises.

Producer: Dorothy Baran