Manhattan School Of Music Marks 90th Anniversary

Oct 23, 2007
On NY1 Now: News All Eve


Manhattan School Of Music Marks 90th Anniversary



The Manhattan School of Music in Morningside Heights – the largest private conservatory in the nation offering training in both classical and jazz music – is celebrating 90 years of music education. NY1’s Roger Clark filed the following report.

Daniel Khalikov and Bela Horvath are doing what they do best: playing the violin. The two are honing their skills at the Manhattan School of Music.

"I am fortunate to be surrounded by great teachers and great students from all over the world,” says Khalikov.

"It has been a wonderful experience, and I think it's like a nice, big journey,” says Horvath.

The school has taken a 90-year journey from community music school on the Upper East Side to the country's largest private conservatory offering both classical and jazz training.

It moved to Morningside Heights in the 1960s. One of the more than 800 students is Norman Edwards, who can really beat those skins, but he says he has learned more than just keeping a beat here. "[I’ve learned to] pay attention to detail, most definitely.

Always articulate your thoughts, whether it be the drum set, whether it be the teaching, whether it be the composition, always pay attention to detail – that's important,” says Edwards.

Now that the Manhattan School of Music is celebrating 90 years in existence, the next step is to look to the future and come up with new and innovative ways to teach music.

Robert Sirota, a composer in his own right, is president of the school. "Audiences are shifting, concert venues aren't the same as they used to be, and we're looking at ways of creating musician entrepreneurs who will re-invent the profession for the future,” says Sirota.

Meanwhile, the school can look back on its past its and more than 10,000 alumni, including notables like Harry Connick Junior and Herbie Hancock.

"What's really nice is that we’ve been in a position where we have changed lives, where we’ve given people with outstanding talent a chance, because we believed in them as people and we believed in them as budding artists,” said Jazz Department Assistant Dean Justin DiCioccio.

To celebrate its anniversary, the school will present more than 400 public performances over the next 18 months featuring students, faculty and guests artists.

The school will pay tribute to the music of, where else, Manhattan. For more information on the school and upcoming events, log on to http://www.msmnyc.edu/. - Roger Clark


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