William Bares, Ph.D.

Pianist, composer, scholar, and educator William Bares earned a B.A. In Political Science from Amherst College in 1994, a M.M. in Jazz Piano Performance from the University of Miami in 1999, and a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from Harvard University in 2009. Before joining UNC Asheville, he taught at Harvard, Brown University, Berklee College of Music, and New England Conservatory. He is Professor and Chair of the Department of Music at UNC Asheville.

Bares’s research focuses on transatlantic jazz and environmental music. His work has appeared in Jazz Perspectives, Jazz Research Journal, American Music, and other publications. His book, Jazz and the European Dream, is forthcoming from Routledge. He has also directed two major interdisciplinary conferences: Ecomusicologies 2014: Dialogues and, as UNC Asheville’s NEH Distinguished Professor in the Humanities, Post-Helene: Remembering, Rebuilding, Reimagining in 2025.

Bares is also an active performer. He spent much of his professional career in New York, Boston, and Europe. Since moving to Asheville in 2011, he has become an active member of the region’s musical community. He was the piano soloist for the Blue Ridge Orchestra’s inaugural performance of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and curated the Sunday Jazz Showcase at Asheville’s celebrated Isis Music Hall. He has released five albums as a leader or co-leader, and his modern jazz ensemble, The Core, was named Best Jazz Group in the Mountain Xpress Best of Western North Carolina awards.

Courses Taught

• Styles 1: American Music Styles (MUSC 393)
• Styles 2: Global Music Styles (MUSC 394)
• Senior Capstone (MUSC 411)
• Jazz History (MUSC 357)
• Music and Environmental Consciousness (MUSC/HON 178)
• Music Experimentalism at UNC Asheville (MUSC 373)
• African American Music: Slavery to Swing (MUSC 343)
• African American Music: R&B to Hip Hop (MUSC 344)
• Transatlantic Jazz (MUSC 373)
• Music Business and Industry I (MUSC 382)
• Harmony and Improvisation II (MUSC 392)
• Applied Music: Piano (MUSC 191-491)

Ensembles

• Jazz Ensemble: Experimental Music Ensemble (MUSC 129)
• Jazz Ensemble: UNCA Scholarship Quintet (X-Tet) (MUSC 129)
• Jazz Band: Big Band (MUSC 122)
• Jazz Band: Saxophone Quintet (MUSC 122)
• Jazz Ensemble: Thelonious Monk (MUSC 129)
• Jazz Ensemble: Eco-Music Ensemble (MUSC 129)
• Jazz Ensemble: Trio Ensemble (MUSC 129)
• Jazz Ensemble: ECM Ensemble (MUSC 129)

Personal Website

www.billbaresmusic.com