Musical Performance

This course provides a vibrant introduction to the traditional West African rhythms and movements of the Mandingo and Wolof communities. Students will embark on a journey through both drumming and dancing disciplines, mastering intricate rhythms that will expand their musical vocabulary and enhance their dance techniques.

The Alexander Technique invites students to engage with how they move through the world. Students will learn to notice what it is they are doing in their everyday movement, dance practice, performance, & an overall deeper engagement with the body. 

This course supports a students ability to notice how they allow a letting go of unnecessary tensions,

This performance ensemble will immerse students in the distorted lutes, fuzzy guitars, swirling electronic effects, driving percussion, and soulful vocals of rock music in Turkey. Inspired by the music of artists like Elvis Presley and Fats Domino, the earliest Turkish rock musicians began to explore the sonic possibilities of adapting western instruments and amplification

Balkan music is fierce brass, complex harmonies, and mind-bending asymmetrical dances. It is spirited Macedonian wedding music, dissonant village songs, devastating Bosnian love ballads, Greek polyphonic songs, and heart-pounding Turkish rhythms. In the Bennington Balkan Ensemble, we will learn to perform a variety of traditional, urban, village, and popular music from

Beginning, intermediate, or advanced group lessons on the 5-string banjo in the claw-hammer/frailing style. Students will learn to play using simple song sheets with chords, tablature, and standard notation. Using chord theory and scale work, personal music-making skills will be enhanced. History of the African origins of banjo and its introduction to the western world will

Advanced studies in theory relating to performance.

Students must be enrolled in Bass with Bisio (MIN4417) simultaneously, no exceptions. This class is only for advanced students and by permission of instructor.

Advanced studies in theory relating to performance.

Students must be enrolled in Bass with Bisio (MIN4417) simultaneously, no exceptions. This class is only for advanced students and by permission of instructor.

Beginning to advanced lessons in bass technique and appropriate theory.

Beginning to advanced lessons in bass technique and appropriate theory.

The BC American Jazz Combo explores jazz standards that have become signature works by some of America’s most innovative and enduring composers within the jazz lexicon. Students will explore works by Ornette Coleman, Bill Evans, John Coltrane, Thelonius Monk, Chick Corea, Charles Mingus, and others. Students will develop their sight-reading, improvisation,

This ensemble-based course explores the intersection of live performance, experimental soundscapes, and dub aesthetics. Rooted in the traditions of dub music—including remix culture, delay and reverb manipulation, and bass-driven textures—students will create immersive sonic environments using a mix of acoustic instruments, electronic

This ensemble and class-based course explores the intersection of live performance, experimental soundscapes, and dub aesthetics. Rooted in the traditions of dub music—including remix culture, delay and reverb manipulation, and bass-driven textures—students will create immersive sonic environments using a mix of acoustic instruments,

How do performing musicians develop their personal voices? The Swiss pedagogue Emile Jaques-Dalcroze (1865-1950) invented Eurhythmics to address this question. Specifically, we’ll focus on plastique animée, a movement practice that Dalcroze created for analyzing sound through movement. We’ll attempt to feel with our arms and legs what a

Dalcroze Eurhythmics: what does a conductor do?

What can embodiment, proprioception, and attention to nuance teach us about how we express ourselves and interpret the expression of others? How do conductors lead groups of musicians without making a sound?

For the experienced (3+years of playing) violinist/violist. Lessons in traditional styles of fiddling – Quebecois, New England, Southern Appalachian, Scandinavian, Cajun, Irish, and Scottish. This course is designed to heighten awareness of the variety of ways the violin is played regionally and socially in North America (and indeed around the world) and to give practical

For the experienced (3+years of playing) violinist/violist. Lessons in traditional styles of fiddling – Quebecois, New England, Southern Appalachian, Scandinavian, Cajun, Irish, and Scottish. This course is designed to heighten awareness of the variety of ways the violin is played regionally and socially in North America (and indeed around the world) and to give practical

This course will focus on the learning of traditional Scottish and Irish melodies on the harp as well as developing foundational technique. This will include looking at body posture, the importance of relaxation and its relationship to developing good tone, and finger placement. In group lessons, students will learn melodies and exercises the traditional aural way, by ear,

Instrumental Study on Guitar. Continued studies from Beginning Guitar. Advanced study in fret-board harmony and theory, play in different tunings, increase chord vocabulary and repertoire.

Instrumental Study on Guitar. Continued studies from Beginning Guitar. Advanced study in fret-board harmony and theory, play in different tunings, increase chord vocabulary and repertoire.

Interstellar is defined as a vast region within galaxies and between stars. How do we as musicians connect to this interstellar region metaphorically, spiritually, or sonically through our music? Many musicians, such as John Coltrane, David Bowie, Sun Ra, Pink Floyd, Kraft Work, Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix,

This class uses the lens of the Alexander Technique to teach principles of mindfulness and awareness in action. The Alexander Technique is a method for cultivating awareness and creating the conditions for change to emerge in our movement patterns, thought processes, and sensory experiences. Using these principles one can discover movement possibilities that are supportive

A practicum in playing and hearing the gamelan, the Central Javanese percussion orchestra. Students will learn about court and local traditions of Indonesia while playing classic works of karawitan (loosely translated as “weaving”), the multilayered repertoire of Central Java. Weekly rehearsals will focus on navigating the intricate levels of irama

This course will focus on the performance of Latin American music from all over the Americas, including South, Central, and North America, the Caribbean, and beyond. The ensemble will combine hands-on learning of diverse vocal and instrumental repertoire, traditional instruments (particularly percussion), and performance practices. Students will receive a thorough background

Mallet Percussion Ensemble offers an environment for students to explore several mallet keyboard instruments, including the marimba, xylophone, glockenspiel, vibraphone, and African balafon. MPE's coursework is designed to link music theory, improvisation, and composition through the bi-weekly practice of playing scales, arpeggios, modes, and chord progressions while

Beginning, intermediate and advanced group lessons on the mandolin will be offered. Students will learn classical technique on the mandolin and start to develop a repertoire of classical and traditional folk pieces. Simple song sheets with chords, tablature, and standard notation, chord theory, and scale work will all be used to further skills. History of the Italian origins