Manhattan School of Music

On This Date in 2019: The School’s season opener features the MSM Philharmonia, conducted by Perry So, in a program of Mozart’s Symphony No. 25, Sibelius’ Violin Concerto in D Minor (with recent graduate Alexandra Lee as violin soloist), and Brahms’ Symphony No. 2.

TONIGHT! Our first concert of season 2024-25 at MSM! Watch live in person, or on Livestream:

SEPT 18 | WED
7:30 PM
ORCHESTRAL PERFORMANCE PROGRAM
OPUS130
David Chan, Conductor

UNSUK CHIN subito con forza
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67
BÉLA BARTÓK Concerto for Orchestra, Sz. 116, BB 123

Free, no tickets required

Neidorff-Karpati Hall
130 Claremont Avenue
New York, New York 10027

Orchestral Performance Program: OPUS130 - Manhattan School of Music UNSUK CHIN subito con forza LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67 BÉLA BARTÓK Concerto for Orchestra, Sz. 116, BB 123

We are thrilled to present the Performance Season Brochure for the 2024–25 season at Manhattan School of Music, featuring hundreds of classical, jazz, musical theatre, and opera performances, master classes, and more!

Visit the link below to view the season: https://issuu.com/msmnyc/docs/2425_msm_performance_calendar

MSM is very pleased to present the 20 outstanding musicians who have joined Manhattan School of Music’s prestigious faculty this fall, instructing in our Strings, Jazz Arts, Vocal Arts, Musical Theatre, Contemporary Performance, Piano, and Woodwinds programs. 🎶👏

Learn more about each one of them here: https://www.msmnyc.edu/msm-faculty/

Three MSM alumni are nominees for the 2024 International Opera Awards taking place in Munich on October 2!👏🎶

The MSM alumni named as finalists are: Tenor Jonathan Tetelman (BM ’11) in the Male Singer category, and baritone Justin Austin (BM ’14, MM ’17) along with bass William Guanbo Su (BM ’17) in the Rising Star category.

Meet the nominees here: https://www.msmnyc.edu/news/three-msm-alumni-nominated-2024-international-opera-awards/

On This Date in 1998 and 2010: The Viola Concerto of composition faculty member Giampaolo Bracali (first photo) is given its world premiere in 1998 by fellow member Daniel Avshalomov; and the American String Quartet, MSM Artists in Residence since 1984, celebrates its 35th anniversary in the first of three concerts (2010), with Allan Kozinn later writing in the New York Times that “The concert was so beautifully played and so rich in interpretive nuance… their sound could not have been more sumptuous… the musicians’ playing was the picture of ensemble unity” (the ASQ was comprised, at that time, of violinists Peter Winograd and Laurie Carney, cellist Wolfram Koessel and violist Daniel Avshalomov).

This Sunday! Join us outdoors at Verdi Square at Broadway and 72nd to hear talented MSM Vocal Arts students perform in a free concert!

For more information: https://www.msmnyc.edu/performances/verdi-square-festival-msm-opera-theatre-9-15-2024/

Congratulations to MSM alumnus and Precollege faculty member Kyle Werner (DMA ‘14)!

His composition Symphony No. 1 “Four Loves” by MSM alumnus and Precollege faculty member Kyle Werner (DMA ‘14) will receive its world premiere on September 19 with the Houston Ballet. The work is his largest to date: a 33-minute, four-movement work in the symphonic tradition.

It was commissioned by the Houston Ballet, is choreographed by Silas Farley, and will be performed by 27 dancers from the Houston Ballet, with music performed live by its orchestra conducted by Simon Thew.

Learn more about the event here: https://www.kylewerner.com/events/2024/9/19/symphony-no-1-four-loves-world-premiere

Congratulations to MSM classical trombone student Jacob Ogbu (BM ’25)!

He won the Aspen Music Festival and School Brass Concerto Competition this summer, and he’s now featured on the cover of the pamphlet for the 2025 AMFS season!

Please join us Sunday, September 8, at 3 PM in Neidorff-Karpati Hall as we honor longtime faculty member Paul Sperry. The memorial will feature remarks and performances from Paul's friends and family, including Vianca Alejandra, soprano; Marcella Calabi, soprano; Tami Petty, soprano; Darynn Zimmer, soprano; Lydia Brown, piano; Ye In Kwak (MM ’24), piano; David Sisco, piano; and Tom Cipullo, piano. Visit the link below for more information and to watch the livestream.

A Memorial Concert for Paul Sperry - Manhattan School of Music Featuring Vianca Alejandra, soprano Marcella Calabi, soprano Tami Petty, soprano Darynn Zimmer, soprano Lydia Brown, piano Ye In Kwak (MM ’24), piano David Sisco, piano and Tom Cipullo, piano

September 1956: Metropolitan Opera baritone John Brownlee begins his first academic term as the School’s new president (first photo), following the retirement of founder Janet Daniels Schenck; and several new faculty members begin their tenures at MSM, including violinist Samuel Applebaum, conductor Franco Autori, double bassist Robert Brennand, bassoonist Elias Carmen, French hornist James Chambers, opera singer Herta Glaz, harpist Marcel Grandjany, harpist Christine Stavrache, and bassoonist Manuel Zegler (not pictured is recent graduate Martha Pestalozzi, who is to teach Piano Minor courses).

Please join us Sunday, September 8, at 10:30 AM in Neidorff-Karpati Hall as we honor the extraordinary legacy of pianist and pedagogue Solomon Mikowsky, who taught at MSM for more than half a century.

The performance will feature MSM faculty and friends – all of whom are former students of Solomon – in a program that includes works by Franz Schubert, Frédéric Chopin, Sergei Rachmaninoff, J.S. Bach and Alessandro Marcello, Ignacio Cervantes, and Robert Schumann.

Visit the page below for more information and to watch the livestream.

A Concert Tribute to Solomon Mikowsky - Manhattan School of Music Featuring Inesa Sinkevych* (PS ’06, DMA ’10), piano Yuan Sheng (BM ’95, MM ’97), piano Wael Farouk*(PS ’06), piano Alexandre Moutouzkine* (MM ’03, PS ’05, AD ’06), piano Jiayin Li* (DMA ’23), piano and Simone Dinnerstein (PC ’89), piano

Our Fall 2025 applications are now open! Start your application today, and come join us in NYC!

Residence Life Assistants — known more familiarly as RAs — are essential to the mission of Residence Life at MSM and help build a warm, welcoming, and supportive environment for all Andersen Hall residents. Visit the link below to learn more about this year's RA!

Meet the 2024 Residence Life Assistants! - Manhattan School of Music Resident Life Assistants — known more familiarly as RAs — are MSM students who are hired and trained by staff members of MSM’s Residence Life office in Student Affairs, overseen by Director of Residence Life April Jenkins and Housing Coordinator Makila Kirchner. Get to know this year's RAs!

On This Date in 2013: New students enjoy MSM’s Orientation Cruise around lower Manhattan, an opportunity to meet new colleagues and interact with administration and staff.

Please join us Sunday, September 8, at 10:30 AM in Neidorff-Karpati Hall as we honor the extraordinary legacy of pianist and pedagogue Solomon Mikowsky, who taught at MSM for more than half a century. The performance will feature MSM faculty and friends – all of whom are former students of Solomon – in a program that includes works by Franz Schubert, Frédéric Chopin, Sergei Rachmaninoff, J.S. Bach and Alessandro Marcello, Ignacio Cervantes, and Robert Schumann.

Visit the page below for more information and to watch the livestream.

A Concert Tribute to Solomon Mikowsky - Manhattan School of Music Featuring Inesa Sinkevych* (PS ’06, DMA ’10), piano Yuan Sheng (BM ’95, MM ’97), piano Wael Farouk*(PS ’06), piano Alexandre Moutouzkine* (MM ’03, PS ’05, AD ’06), piano Jiayin Li* (DMA ’23), piano and Simone Dinnerstein (PC ’89), piano

MSM Orientation 2024 is officially underway! Enjoy these photos from New Student Move-In Day yesterday! Special shoutout to MSM Student Engagement and Residence Life for organizing a wonderful day! More photos to come — stay tuned!☀️

On This Date in 2018: Incoming resident MSM students for the Fall semester, along with friends and family, are welcomed at an event in Greenfield Hall before moving into the dorm with the assistance of staff and RAs (as well as President Jim Gandre, last photo, with tub).

August 1987, 1988, and 1989: A group of faculty members from Manhattan School of Music’s Preparatory Division (now MSM Precollege) participate in an International Summer Youth Festival in Taiwan, sponsored by the City of Tainan, its Mayor, and the China Daily News. The artist-teachers give lectures and teach master classes, as well as perform every night in a newly built cultural center to crowds of over 2,000. Director Dianne Danese Flagello (BM/MM ’52) said, “The enthusiasm of the Taiwanese students to learn, combined with their talent, made for a rewarding and memorable festival for all concerned. It was my privilege to organize this, along with Shih Min-Su, to bring the best elements of performing, teaching, and ensemble playing to the young students.”

The 2024-2025 Resident Assistants (RAs) have returned to campus for training! This energetic and lively group is gearing up to welcome residents to Andersen Hall in only a few short weeks on August 26! MSM Residence Life aims to create a little magic and foster meaningful experiences for everyone living on campus! ☀️

As Manhattan School of Music continues to mourn the loss of longtime member of the College and Precollege piano faculty Nina Svetlanova – an extraordinary musician and teacher who leaves behind a profound pedagogical legacy – the School has announced that a memorial event is planned for the upcoming performance season: details to come.

Meantime, please visit the page below for some reflections from Nina’s colleagues, including President James Gandre and Provost Joyce Griggs.

IN MEMORIAM: Nina Svetlanova (1932–2024) - Manhattan School of Music Manhattan School of Music mourns the loss of longtime member of the College and Precollege piano faculty Nina Svetlanova, whose profound pedagogical legacy at MSM was forged over the course of her nearly four decades at the School.

Congratulations to MSM student Thierry de Lucas Neves (BM ‘25) — a current Bachelor of Arts violin student in the Pinchas Zukerman program at MSM studying with Patinka Kopec — who has won a New Jersey Symphony Colton Fellowship. 🎶👏

The Fellowships are excellence-based programs designed to support early-career Black and/or Latino musicians and early-career conductors representing populations that historically have been marginalized.

Learn more here: https://www.msmnyc.edu/success-stories/

On This Date in 1965: The New York Times runs a half-page pictorial essay featuring MSM students enjoying the summer on Long Island. The text reads: “All This and Music Too: During the summer months the Manhattan School of Music shifts activities to ‘Mostly Dunes [sic],’ an estate in Easthampton, L. I., where groups of its students come for two-week periods on a work-play holiday. The students receive individual or group instruction, study, rehearse, perform and relax on the nearby beaches.” Article photo captions, top to bottom: “Against a backdrop of a breaking wave, violinists Helen Carter and Istvan Mohos stroll along a deserted beach after a rehearsal.” “Barbara Blanchard, a study in concentration, vocalizes in comfort on the porch.” “Taking a break from music, three students chat on the sundeck with a fourth paints a seascape." “Wemberly Carter, a cellist, plays a little night music for a group gathered around a fire on the beach.” (Middle photo is from a print of the original shot taken by photographer Sam Faulk; a similar photo at the same location, at right, is from an MSM publication with the caption, “Brass Seminar at Mostly Dune, the ocean-front house bequeathed to the School by Dorothy Quick Mayer, author and for many years a Trustee of the School.”)

Applications are closing for the The Naumburg International Cello Competition, with finals taking place at MSM in October 2024!

Open to international cellists aged 18 to 32, the competition will accept applications until August 18. This year’s cello edition will award the first prize winner $25,000, two fully subsidized NYC recitals, and a commissioned work. Second prize is valued at $15,000, while third place is awarded with $10,000.

Learn more here!

Applications Closing for NY’s 2024 Naumburg International Cello Competition Open to international cellists aged 18 to 32, the competition will accept applications until August 18.

On This Date in 2008: Children attending Manhattan School of Music’s Summer Camp (shown in rehearsals with instructors) give concerts for a variety of ensembles, celebrating their hard work in the previous weeks.

Congratulations to MSM alumna Elaine L. Bearer (BM’70) who has been promoted to Distinguished Professor in BOTH the Department of Music and the Medical School (Health Sciences Center) at the The University of New Mexico - UNM. 👏🎶

Ms. Bearer is a highly-accomplished American neuroscientist, pathologist, and an active composer.

This year, she had two new performances of her choral and string quartet work, “L’Alma rapita” performed in Anaheim and Laguna Beach. She also recorded a new multi-movement piece, “Soliloquies”, this summer with a violinist in Norway.

More about Elaine here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elaine_Bearer

MSM SUMMER in concert this week, July 30 to August 1!

Join us for a series of performances all open to the public and free of charge, including jazz, classical, and musical theatre.

MSM Summer is MSM’s summer program for young musicians ages 8 to 17, to develop their talents, build friendships, and have fun!

Full schedule and details here: https://www.msmnyc.edu/performances/

On This Date in 2018: MSM’s Summer Camp Musical Theatre program presents performances of "Shrek" and "Little Women."