Music Department

Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck was one of the great organists and teachers of the late 16th and early 17th centuries. His father Hans, Jan himself, and his son Dirck were organists at the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam for roughly a century. Jan established an organ school in Amsterdam that attracted pupils from England, Germany and the Low Countries. His students, who paid 200 gold florins a year for room, board and lessons, included Peter Phillips, Heinrich Scheidemann, Melchior Schildt and Samuel Scheidt. Sweelinck explored all the formal musical structures of the age: variations on hymns and folk tunes, dance music, the toccata and ricercar. His many lively and inventive sets of variations present wonderful technical challenges and great good humor for both player and listener.

If you miss the live stream, the webcast will be available online Sunday, November 29 at 3:00pm.

This hour-long recital will open with the early C-minor Piano Sonata by Beethoven, Op. 10, No. 1, followed by the premiere of short works by Robert Cuckson. The program will conclude with a group of works by Chopin, all composed during the summer of 1842: three Mazurkas Op. 50, the G-flat Impromptu Op. 51, and the F-minor Ballade Op. 52.

If you miss the live stream, the webcast will be available online on Saturday, November 21 at 8pm.

This hour-long recital will feature selections inspired by the repertoire of Ms. Polonsky’s students, including Schumann, Mozart, and others.

If you miss the live stream, the webcast will be available online on Saturday, December 12 at 8pm.

In this recital of electro-acoustic premieres, Alexander Bonus combines historically styled keyboard improvisation with the latest modular synthesizer technology. Considered “surrealistic” by the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Dr. Bonus’s compositions have been performed by professional instrumentalists across America. In these semi-structured improvisations, a neo-impressionistic sound-world emerges from themes in constant flux and transformation: Isolation Mantras echoes the indeterminate state of modern times.

If you miss the live stream, the webcast will be available online on Saturday, December 5 at 8pm.

This innovative pre-recorded webcast will feature excerpts of Antonín Dvořák's Serenade for Strings in E minor and the Sonata in D Major by Antônio Carlos Gomes. While there are current size restrictions on gatherings, the full orchestra has divided its rehearsals into sections. The strings have been rehearsing in the VC Villard Room, all players seated eight feet apart, and are ecstatic to be able to play music together during these complicated times.

Join us online for our annual Advent service which includes readings, choral anthems, and congregational carols, culminating in a candle lighting ceremony. Vassar College Choir, Chamber Singers, and Women’s Chorus, and Cappella Festiva Chamber, Treble, and Cor Capriccio Choirs. Drew Minter, Eduardo Navega, Michael Sheetz, Christine Howlett, Matthew Zydel, and Elizabeth Clifton, conductors.