Cultura y noticias hispanas del Valle del Hudson
La Voz Invites You: Music to Enjoy This Fall at the Fisher Center
Por Elisvanell Celis
November 2026 November and December bring plenty of music to the Sosnoff Theater at the Fisher Center at Bard College. And you don’t have to be an expert on Beethoven, Brahms, Gershwin, or classical music to enjoy it. Some events are free for our readers, so here are a few that might be a good excuse to visit Bard and listen to something different.
Concerto Competition
On November 8 at 12 p.m., students from the Bard Conservatory of Music will take the stage for the final round of the Fall 2026 Concerto Competition. Students compete for the opportunity to perform as soloists alongside the Bard Conservatory Orchestra and The Orchestra Now (TŌN). Audience members will have the chance to hear some of the Conservatory’s young musicians while a jury decides who will have the opportunity to take center stage in future concerts. Free and open to the public.
TŌN: Gershwin, Jazz, and the Music of Jewish Émigrés
On November 14 at 7 p.m. and November 15 at 2 p.m., The Orchestra Now, conducted by JoAnn Falletta, presents Gershwin, Jazz, and the Music of Jewish Émigrés, a concert exploring what happened when jazz began transforming the musical landscape of the early twentieth century. The program brings together five Jewish composers, several of whom emigrated from Eastern Europe to the United States, whose works reveal different responses to the arrival of jazz. The music ranges from pieces written before the genre reached widespread popularity to compositions that began incorporating its rhythms into the orchestra. Tickets start at $15 and are free for Bard students. There will also be a livestream with a “Pay What You Wish” option.
Bard College Community Orchestra
On November 23 at 7:30 p.m., the stage will be dedicated to the Bard College Community Orchestra, an ensemble that brings together Bard students, faculty, university staff, high school students, and musicians from different parts of the Hudson Valley. Under the musical direction of Zachary Schwartzman, they will perform selections from Beethoven’s The Creatures of Prometheus and Johannes Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 2, featuring Conservatory professor and pianist Ryan McCullough as soloist. This is an opportunity to see musicians of different ages and backgrounds sharing the same stage, united by something in common: making music as a community. Admission is free, but reservations are required.
Bard Conservatory Orchestra: Hansel and Gretel
To close out the semester, one of the most famous childhood fairy tales comes to the Fisher Center stage. On December 11 at 7 p.m. and December 13 at 2 p.m., the Bard Conservatory Orchestra presents Engelbert Humperdinck’s opera Hansel and Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel), conducted by James Bagwell.
Yes, they are the same siblings from the Brothers Grimm fairy tale: two children lost in the forest, a tempting house, and a witch who definitely has bad intentions. But this time, the story is told through a full orchestra, singers, and choruses. The production will bring together the Conservatory Orchestra, singers from the graduate vocal arts program, members of the Bard Chamber Singers, and children and young people from the Conservatory’s Preparatory Division. Although the opera will be sung in German, English subtitles will be provided so audiences can follow the story.
Humperdinck transformed the fairy tale into an opera filled with melodies inspired by folk songs and orchestration that takes the audience from the familiarity of home into a forest that can feel magical and, at times, unsettling. For those who have never seen an opera, a familiar story like Hansel and Gretel can be a good way to discover the genre.
Free Tickets for La Voz Readers
Would you like to see Hansel and Gretel live? La Voz has complimentary tickets for its readers.
To request your tickets, email [email protected] with the subject line “Hansel and Gretel: Bard Conservatory Orchestra.” In your message, let us know how many tickets you need, your name, and the names of anyone accompanying you, so we can reserve your complimentary tickets. See you there!
COPYRIGHT 2026
La Voz, Cultura y noticias hispanas del Valle de Hudson
On November 8 at 12 p.m., students from the Bard Conservatory of Music will take the stage for the final round of the Fall 2026 Concerto Competition. Students compete for the opportunity to perform as soloists alongside the Bard Conservatory Orchestra and The Orchestra Now (TŌN). Audience members will have the chance to hear some of the Conservatory’s young musicians while a jury decides who will have the opportunity to take center stage in future concerts. Free and open to the public.
TŌN: Gershwin, Jazz, and the Music of Jewish Émigrés
On November 14 at 7 p.m. and November 15 at 2 p.m., The Orchestra Now, conducted by JoAnn Falletta, presents Gershwin, Jazz, and the Music of Jewish Émigrés, a concert exploring what happened when jazz began transforming the musical landscape of the early twentieth century. The program brings together five Jewish composers, several of whom emigrated from Eastern Europe to the United States, whose works reveal different responses to the arrival of jazz. The music ranges from pieces written before the genre reached widespread popularity to compositions that began incorporating its rhythms into the orchestra. Tickets start at $15 and are free for Bard students. There will also be a livestream with a “Pay What You Wish” option.
Bard College Community Orchestra
On November 23 at 7:30 p.m., the stage will be dedicated to the Bard College Community Orchestra, an ensemble that brings together Bard students, faculty, university staff, high school students, and musicians from different parts of the Hudson Valley. Under the musical direction of Zachary Schwartzman, they will perform selections from Beethoven’s The Creatures of Prometheus and Johannes Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 2, featuring Conservatory professor and pianist Ryan McCullough as soloist. This is an opportunity to see musicians of different ages and backgrounds sharing the same stage, united by something in common: making music as a community. Admission is free, but reservations are required.
Bard Conservatory Orchestra: Hansel and Gretel
To close out the semester, one of the most famous childhood fairy tales comes to the Fisher Center stage. On December 11 at 7 p.m. and December 13 at 2 p.m., the Bard Conservatory Orchestra presents Engelbert Humperdinck’s opera Hansel and Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel), conducted by James Bagwell.
Yes, they are the same siblings from the Brothers Grimm fairy tale: two children lost in the forest, a tempting house, and a witch who definitely has bad intentions. But this time, the story is told through a full orchestra, singers, and choruses. The production will bring together the Conservatory Orchestra, singers from the graduate vocal arts program, members of the Bard Chamber Singers, and children and young people from the Conservatory’s Preparatory Division. Although the opera will be sung in German, English subtitles will be provided so audiences can follow the story.
Humperdinck transformed the fairy tale into an opera filled with melodies inspired by folk songs and orchestration that takes the audience from the familiarity of home into a forest that can feel magical and, at times, unsettling. For those who have never seen an opera, a familiar story like Hansel and Gretel can be a good way to discover the genre.
Free Tickets for La Voz Readers
Would you like to see Hansel and Gretel live? La Voz has complimentary tickets for its readers.
To request your tickets, email [email protected] with the subject line “Hansel and Gretel: Bard Conservatory Orchestra.” In your message, let us know how many tickets you need, your name, and the names of anyone accompanying you, so we can reserve your complimentary tickets. See you there!
COPYRIGHT 2026
La Voz, Cultura y noticias hispanas del Valle de Hudson
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