• Music at Bennington

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Music at Bennington is dedicated to helping students grow in their ability to do creative work in performance and composition. Our faculty of active professional musicians and composers represent a rare diversity of musical traditions who share a belief in hands-on learning and the development of versatile, thinking musicians who are conversant with multiple musical perspectives. Courses range from ensemble classes in Filipino kulintang, North American traditional music, and percussion music from the African diaspora, to classes in counterpoint, voice, jazz improvisation, electroacoustic music, studio recording, music history, and individual instrumental study.

Guided by a principle that technique, theory, and scholarship should be pursued in tandem with the immediate experience of making, the program and its individual courses balance disciplined technical studies and practice with multiple opportunities for original work, collaboration, and creative exploration.

Learn more about studying music at Bennington by contacting our admissions office

At Bennington, students work closely with faculty to design the content, structure, and sequence of their study and practice—their Plan—taking advantage of the College's resources both inside and outside the classroom to pursue their work. 

Faculty

Bennington’s music faculty is made up of renowned musicians, composers, and performers. They represent a rare diversity of musical traditions, performing and premiering work from Portugal to the Philippines, from Lincoln Center to CBGB. 

Alumni

Bennington alumni have earned some of the biggest honors and achievements in music: Grammys, Obies, Bessies, Oscars, and Guggenheim awards. Their works have premiered on Broadway, at Lincoln Center, on television and movie scores, in the hottest experimental venues, at museums, at international festivals attended by thousands.

Chris Barron '90
Chris Barron '90
Deborah Borda '71
Deborah Borda '71
Jonathan Mann '04
Jonathan Mann '04
Amelia Meath '10
Amelia Meath '10
Molly Erin Sarlé '12
Molly Erin Sarle '12
Alexandra Sauser-Monnig '09
Alexandra Sauser-Monnig '09
Lisa Sokolov '76
Lisa Sokolov '76
Michael Starobin '79
Michael Starobin '79
Will Stratton '09
Will Stratton '09
Elizabeth Swados '73
Elizabeth Swados '73
James Tenney '58
James Tenney '58
Joan Tower '61
Joan Tower '61
Chris Barron '90

Lead singer of the Grammy-nominated Spin Doctors, best known for their album Pocketful of Kryptonite

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Deborah Borda '71

President and CEO David C. Bohnett Presidential Chair of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association

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Jonathan Mann '04

Singer-songwriter and YouTube sensation whose “Song a Day” project has made him a media darling

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Amelia Meath '10

The performing powerhouse behind Sylvan Esso and the folk trio Mountain Man

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Molly Erin Sarlé '12

One-third of the critically acclaimed indie folk rock trio Mountain Man

Alexandra Sauser-Monnig '09

Member of the critically acclaimed indie folk rock trio Mountain Man

Lisa Sokolov '76

Jazz vocalist, improviser, composer, and originator of Embodied VoiceWork, a vocal improvisation method of music therapy which she teaches at The Experimental Theater Wing at New York University

Michael Starobin '79

Tony award-winning orchestrator for some of Broadway’s most innovative musicals, including Assassins and Next to Normal, and for films including The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Tangled, and Chicago

Will Stratton '09

Songwriter, guitarist, and composer whose albums and online releases have received national attention from outlets like NPR for their vivid storytelling and compelling instrumentation

Elizabeth Swados '73

Composer, writer, and director who fashioned a unique style of socially engaged musical theatre

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James Tenney '58

Experimental composer and influential music theorist

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Joan Tower '61

Grammy-winning American composer hailed by The New Yorker as “one of the most successful woman composers of all time”

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