The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a major music conservatory located on the Upper West Side of New York City. The school offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition. With a faculty of 275 and over 800 students from 40 countries, the school also has a pre-college division which trains 500 students per academic year.
Founded in 1917, the school is located on Claremont Avenue in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of New York City, adjacent to Broadway and West 122nd Street (Seminary Row). The MSM campus was originally the home to The Juilliard School, until Juilliard migrated to the Lincoln Center area of Midtown Manhattan. The campus of Columbia University resides close by, where it has been since 1895. Many of the students live in the school's residence hall, Andersen Hall. At the present time, 75 percent of the students come from outside New York State and 31 percent from outside the United States.
The School was founded in 1917–1918 by Janet D. Schenck, pianist and philanthropist, as the Neighborhood Music School. Initially located at the Union Settlement Association on East 104th St in Manhattan's East Harlem neighborhood, the school moved into a brownstone building at East 105th St.[1] Pablo Casals and Harold Bauer were among the first of many distinguished artists who offered guidance to the School. Eventually, its name was changed to Manhattan School of Music.
In 1943, the artistic and academic growth of the School resulted in a charter amendment to grant the bachelor of music degree. Two subsequent amendments authorized the offering in 1947 of the master of music degree and, in 1974, the degree of doctor of musical arts. In 1956, Dr. Schenck retired and John Brownlee, noted Metropolitan Opera baritone, was appointed director, a title later revised to president. President Brownlee initiated the idea of relocating the School to the Morningside Heights neighborhood; his death occurred only months before his efforts were realized. In 1969, George Schick, Metropolitan Opera conductor, accompanist, and distinguished opera coach, succeeded Brownlee as president and led the School's move to its present location. He created the opera program, while all other major school functions are managed by Senior Director Stanley Bednar.
John O. Crosby, founder and general director of the Santa Fe Opera, was appointed president in 1976. He was followed by Gideon W. Waldrop, who was appointed in 1986, and Peter C. Simon in 1989. On July 1, 1992, Marta Casals Istomin was named President, a position which she held until October 2005 when she retired.
Dr. Robert Sirota, former director of the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, who took over the presidency of the Manhattan School in 2005 has announced that he will be stepping down from the position.
The Manhattan School contains multiple performance spaces, each dedicated to separate ensemble requirements. The largest is the John C. Borden Auditorium, where all orchestral and large jazz ensemble concerts are held. The smaller Greenfield Recital Hall and Miller Recital Hall are used for solo and small ensemble recitals, especially for graduation-required recitals. The Ades Performance Space is the newest of MSM's venues, and is dedicated more toward small jazz ensemble performances and contemporary music. Additionally, the Mitzi Newhouse Pavilion (the school's cafeteria) is the chosen performance venue for the school's jazz combos.
