Manhattan School of Music
The Centennial Project Revitalizing the Heart of the MSM Campus
President’s Message Nearly a century ago, with an annual budget of a mere $3,000, an initial enrollment of 120 students, a faculty of 23, and artistic advisors that included the likes of Pablo Casals and Harold Bauer, the Neighborhood Music School opened its doors. Could founder Janet Daniels Schenck, for all her resolve and sense of purpose, have possibly envisioned then what that modest institution has become now? Internationally recognized for the prodigious talent of its gifted undergraduate and graduate students (more than 950 of them, hailing from more than 50 countries and nearly all 50 states), a renowned faculty of 250-plus artist-teachers, and innovative curricula across a broad range of programs, this one-time settlement music school has long since taken its place among the world’s premiere music conservatories. And now, with the advent of its milestone Centennial Project, which will see a fully renovated principal performance hall and grand new entrance, MSM launches its next hundred years with an architectural revitalization that will underpin every aspect of the School’s mission. The new campus entrance on Claremont Avenue and the renovated Neidorff-Karpati Hall (formerly Borden Auditorium) will serve as this institution’s center of gravity. MSM is fortunate to be situated in a culturally vibrant neighborhood, an academic “village” of sorts that is set apart from, and yet wholly accessible to, the excitement and pace of the wider city. For our students, our audience, and our community, MSM’s Centennial Project brings the essence of New York City – as reflected in its iconic performance halls, its abundant live music, opera, and theatre scene, and its rich cultural traditions – home to Claremont Avenue and the greater Morningside Heights neighborhood. Some of the greatest singers, instrumentalists, and composers have chosen MSM for their education and consider it their artistic home in New York City. And now, as Manhattan School of Music prepares to celebrate its 100th anniversary in 1918-19, the School’s Centennial Project will provide the next generation of young artists the setting that they and this extraordinary conservatory deserve. Once again, as we have in the past, we are turning to our alumni and friends to renew the dream of Janet Daniels Schenck and those who have followed. Your steadfast support has allowed this School to grow and flourish; now we invite you to join us in securing its future.
We are so proud
to support MSM’s Centennial Project and to add our family names to a performance hall that reflects the great traditions of the past and embraces the artists of the future.
Noémi K.
(BM ’70, MM ’72, MSM Trustee)
and Michael Neidorff
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New Campus Entry Befitting its status as a world-class music conservatory, Manhattan School of Music will create a grand new entrance on Claremont Avenue. In moving the School’s entry, MSM will not only be furnishing its student body and audiences with a larger, more accessible, and secure entrance but one that is aesthetically in keeping with the School’s international stature and mission of artistic excellence.
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The Centennial Project highlights MSM’s overarching
commitment to our students.
Renovation of NeidorffKarpati Hall will provide an
exceptional venue
to showcase talent, an outstanding contribution to the neighborhood where audiences are welcomed to scores of excellent concerts every year.
Lorraine Gallard
(Chair, MSM Board of Trustees)
New Campus Crossroads The grand new Claremont Avenue entrance and lobby will be larger, and it will also be better situated, allowing students and patrons immediate access to the center of campus life, in particular MSM’s signature performance venue: the renamed and renewed Neidorff-Karpati Hall.
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I can think of no better way to celebrate MSM’s centennial than with the renovation of this beautiful hall,
a true gem that has given me a wealth of rewarding musical experiences
one of New York’s major cultural gathering places
over the years, and continues to do so.
in the heart of one of America’s most artistically fertile communities. This art deco classic will celebrate and amplify our most sacred democratic values of diversity, empathy, and creativity.
Leonard Slatkin
Stefon Harris
(Hon. DMA ’13, MSM Trustee) Music Director, Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre National de Lyon; MSM Distinguished Visiting Artist in Conducting and Orchestral Studies
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Neidorff-Karpati Hall is poised to be
(BM ’95, MM ’97) MSM Associate Dean and Director of the Jazz Arts Program
Neidorff-Karpati Hall:
A World-Class Performance Space By making critical renovations and improvements to its principal performance venue and the surrounding public spaces, Manhattan School of Music will provide greater comfort for its patrons and students, all while preserving the exceptional beauty of the facility’s art deco architecture. Among these upgrades will be new seating; improved access for the disabled; and a safer, more efficient and secure working environment for students, faculty, and staff.
Symphony The orchestral studies program at MSM forms the heart of the performing experience for orchestral instrumentalists. The fully restored Neidorff-Karpati Hall will be home to the School’s three major orchestras: the MSM Symphony, Philharmonia, and Chamber Sinfonia. These ensembles provide orchestral instrumentalists with the opportunity to perform in three separate series of concerts, which are open to the public and enriched by select guest conductors for concerts and readings. Former students in these ensembles are members of the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, and San Francisco Symphony, among dozens and dozens of other great orchestras around the world.
Jazz MSM’s restored principal hall will continue to house myriad jazz performances by jazz greats and guest soloists performing with the MSM Jazz Orchestra, Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, Jazz Philharmonic, Chamber Jazz Ensemble, and more than 20 small combos. The Jazz Arts Program combines rigorous training and myriad performance opportunities (at prestigious venues such as Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Jazz at Lincoln Center; Birdland; and Bar 55) to make this program one of the richest of its kind in the world. Alumni of this program include greats such as Max Roach, John Lewis, and Ron Carter, and younger stars such as Jason Moran, Stefon Harris, and Jane Monheit.
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Neidorff-Karpati Hall:
A World-Class Performance Space Opera MSM offers one of the world’s foremost opera and voice training programs, attracting some of the most talented young singers from around the globe. In addition to the School’s many operatic performances – opera scenes, semi-staged operas, workshops, and community outreach – MSM Opera Theater’s two fully produced, critically hailed mainstage operas are performed each fall and spring in Neidorff-Karpati Hall. Graduates of this program include Catherine Malfitano, Dawn Upshaw, Susan Graham, Anthony Roth Costanzo, and many more notable artists.
Musical Theatre In fall 2016, MSM inaugurated New York City’s first-ever conservatory-based degree program in Musical Theatre. Each fall and spring, the students in this exciting new program will perform fully staged musicals in Neidorff-Karpati Hall for the general public as well as an invited guest list of New York theatre professionals.
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This wonderful hall launched me into New York opera, which opened the door to the rest of the world. I am thrilled that MSM is committing to its renewal, just in time for the School’s 100th anniversary and for future generations of young opera singers.
MSM was the start of my theatre dreams,
and this beautiful Art Deco performance space housed those dreams. Its transformation will inspire future generations of theatre artists to shoot for the stars.
Shuler Hensley (BM ’90, Hon. DMA ’14) Tony Award-winner
Susan Graham
(MM ’87, Hon. DMA ’08) Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Royal Opera House, Vienna State Opera, many more
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BROADWAY
DRESSING ROOMS
ADES PERFORMANCE SPACE STAGE
STAGE LIFT ORCHESTRA SEATING
SOUND & LIGHT LOCK
MILLER RECITAL HALL RENOVATED LOUNGE & RESTROOMS
ENTRANCE AND EXPANDED LOBBY
MAIN LEVEL
BALCO CLAREMONT AVENUE
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STAGE
ORCHESTRA SEATING
BALCONY SEATING SOUND & LIGHT LOCK ENTRANCE AND EXPANDED LOBBY
BALCONY LEVEL 11
Join the Celebration:
Support the Centennial Project Today! As Manhattan School of Music celebrates its first 100 years, we eagerly look forward to working with our community of Alumni, Donors, and Friends to continue building on our rich history and securing a sound future for this and coming generations of students. Your support of the Centennial Project, in any amount, will enable us to do so, and we ask all those whose lives have been touched by MSM to contribute at a level that is meaningful to them.
Giving Has Never Been Easier Flexibility: Manhattan School of Music is pleased to offer a variety of ways to give that can be tailored to you and include: • Gifts over time, including monthly, quarterly, or yearly payments • Gifts of stock • Planned gifts, including retirement plans, life insurance, and irrevocable bequests
Special Giving Opportunities There are a number of naming opportunities associated with the Centennial Project, including auditorium seats ($5,000 orchestra/$3,000 balcony) and other items ranging from dressing rooms to lobby areas. To learn more about naming opportunities, please contact: Stephen Jacobsohn, Vice President for Advancement call: 917-493-4487 email: sjacobsohn@msmnyc.edu
To Give visit: call: mail a check:
MSMNYC.EDU/SUPPORT-MSM (to make an online donation using our secure website) 917-493-4434 Manhattan School of Music Advancement Office 120 Claremont Avenue New York, NY 10027
Thank you for playing such an important part in the life of Manhattan School of Music and for considering a gift to the Centennial Project! 12
ARCHITECT Holzman Moss Bottino Architecture, New York, NY
PRE-CONSTRUCTION MANAGER Yorke Construction, New York, NY
CONSULTANTS MECHANICAL ENGINEER Kohler Ronan Consulting Engineers New York, NY
ACOUSTICAL/AUDIOVISUAL Jaffe Holden Norwalk, CT
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER Robert Silman Associates New York, NY
THEATRE CONSULTANT Schuler Shook Minneapolis, MN
Manhattan School of Music
120 CLAREMONT AVENUE, NEW YORK, NY 10027
those who excel reach the stars