Music, like all art, engages the mind and the heart...

It redefines boundaries and questions limits in order to make a meaningful statement about the human condition.

The education of the mind is, therefore, as important as the education of the fingers.

The greatest musicians not only have the technical mastery to communicate effectively but also are deeply curious, and equally adept at analytical and emotional modes of thought.

In 2005, Robert Martin led the founding of Bard College Conservatory, the first (and so far only) conservatory to require all its students to pursue a Bachelor of Arts in a field other than music in addition to their specialized music studies.

Bard Conservatory was founded on the principle that the skills and attitudes fostered by an education in the liberal arts and sciences are exactly those that will make the difference between technical excellence and genuine artistry.

In a career spanning six decades, Robert Martin was cellist of a string quartet, professor of philosophy, and vice president of a liberal arts college.

Since leaving Bard, Martin continues to devote himself to the rethinking of music education, as a consultant and through authorship of Synergy: Music and the Liberal Arts.

Learn more about the founding of the Bard Conservatory