April 9, 2026
Student-led festival brings world class film to Maine
The Bates Film Festival might at first seem like any other film festival. There are screenings, facilitated panel discussions, and featured guests. Running May 12-17,…
Music at Bates
Music is an integral part of campus life at Bates, with hundreds of students each year participating in a robust, student-led a cappella culture as well as in choirs, orchestra, jazz bands, chamber ensembles, and more.
The Department of Music gives students the opportunity to study music from cultural, historical, theoretical, psychological, creative, and interpretive perspectives. With a low student-to-faculty ratio, each participant in our program receives one-on-one attention and support from faculty to reach their individual goals.
Contact Us
Marisa C. Wickersham, Academic Administrative Assistant
75 Russell Street
Olin Arts Center, Bates College
Phone: 207-786-6135
olinarts@bates.edu
What You Will Learn
To gain familiarity with a range of different musical practices and traditions
How to create — performing, composing, or both — and analyze music
To think about cultural, historical, and cognitive dimensions of music
How to develop the ability for sustained thinking on or about music
To appreciate and understand the many global varieties of human musical expression
An understanding of Western and non-Western classical, popular, and experimental musical traditions
Life After Bates
Graduates from the Department of Music have gone on to successful careers and post-graduate degrees in a variety of topics. Alumni include Emmy-nominated sound effects designers and editors, music professors, and members of the renowned Preservation Hall Jazz Band.
94%
of 2020-2024 Bates graduates are employed and/or attending graduate school — settled into their next opportunity within 6 months of graduation.
Selected Places of Employment/Service
- Massachusetts General Hospital
- Fulbright Program
- Oak Street Health
- DIS Study Abroad
- Biden for President
- ASMPT Nexx Inc.
- Brattle Group
- Buckingham Browne & Nichols School
- Kent School
- Manhattan Psychology Group PC
Selected Graduate Schools
- Stanford University
- Northwestern University
- Dartmouth College
- University of Hawaii
- Boston University
- Cornell University
- School of the Art Institute of Chicago
- Columbia University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Why Study Music at Bates?
The music major at Bates is a hands-on, immersive program in which students learn by doing. Students who perform will have opportunities to show off their chops at regular recitals as well as to participate in community performances and concerto competitions, while student composers get to hear their music played by professional musicians. Community outreach programs allow students to share music-making with patients in local hospitals and older generations in residential homes.
Featured Courses
Meet the Faculty
Music department faculty members hold degrees from a wide range of prestigious universities and have diverse focus areas including ethnomusicology, neoclassical jazz, and computer music. In addition to their teaching work, they actively work in the field of music as composers, choral conductors, artistic directors, and accomplished soloists and accompanists.
News & Events
April 9, 2026
Bates announces 2026 Commencement honorands, including writer…
Bates will recognize four honorary degree recipients during Commencement on May 31, including Commencement speaker Deborah Harkness.
April 9, 2026
Record-breaking applications for the Class of 2030
The application pool for the Class of 2030 is the largest in Bates’ history with a total of 12,009 applicants seeking admission for the 2026-2027…