Manhattan School of Music

10/19/2026

Hear MSM musicians at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York on Thursday, October 22 at 11 AM in Gallery 681, André Mertens Galleries for Musical Instruments! 🎶😁

Free with Museum admission; admission is pay what you wish for New York state residents, and free for children 12 and under with an adult. Space is limited!

10/16/2026

MSM Spotlight: Meet Ethan Burke (MM ’27), a Contemporary Performance Program student, who is playing first clarinet in the SOLD-OUT production of Steve Reich’s minimalist masterpiece at the Park Avenue Armory today through October 18: In “Music for 18 Musicians: Staged Variations,” MSM students in the ensemble Tactus play alongside members of the Steve Reich Ensemble and the Grammy-winning ensemble Alarm Will Sound. Learn more here:

We spoke with Ethan Burke (MM ’27), a current Contemporary Performance Program student, about his experience performing Music for 18 Musicians: Staged Variations, what he’s learned throughout the process as the clarinet 1 player, and his time at MSM so far.

10/15/2026

On This Date in 1987 and 2021:

A voice master class [1987] is given by German baritone Hermann Prey;

And drummer/bandleader/composer Kendrick Scott gives a Jazz Arts program master class [2021].

10/14/2026

Congratulations to violinist, violist, conductor and educator Pinchas Zukerman -- who chairs the Pinchas Zukerman Performance Program at MSM, where he pioneered the use of distance-learning technology in the arts over two decades ago -- He’s the subject of a feature-length documentary premiering on October 16 on PBS called "Pinchas Zukerman: Here to Make Music,” part of the series “Great Musicians of Our Time” that gives an intimate look at the formative years of the artist. The documentary premieres on Friday 16 October at 10pm ET on PBS with streaming on PBS.org and the PBS app. The remastered film brings together rare recordings, concert footage and candid moments to chart Pinchas Zukerman’s rise from young prodigy to internationally acclaimed violinist, violist and conductor.

https://www.pbs.org/show/great-musicians-of-our-time/

https://www.thestrad.com/video/pinchas-zukermans-formative-years-explored-in-pbs-documentary/21957.article

The remastered film brings together rare recordings, concert footage and candid moments to chart Pinchas Zukerman's rise from young prodigy to internationally acclaimed violinist, violist and conductor

10/12/2026

SOLD OUT at the Park Avenue Armory on Oct 14 to 18! The ensemble Tactus of the MSM Contemporary Performance program is taking part in a special concert “Music for 18 Musicians: Staged Variations” commemorating the 50th anniversary of Steve Reich’s minimalist masterpiece from 1976. The production is a collaboration across three musical generations—the original Steve Reich Ensemble, Grammy Award winners Alarm Will Sound, and Tactus from MSM, plus guest artist Caroline Shaw, directed and conducted by Alan Pierson. Trailblazing composer Steve Reich smashed musical boundaries by mixing together classical techniques with African drumming, jazz, and pop to pioneer minimal music. His “Music for 18 Musicians” made a massive impact, inspiring generations of musicians across experimental music, rock, and contemporary electronic music.

Learn more here: https://www.armoryonpark.org/season-events/2026-season/music-for-18-musicians-staged-variations/

10/09/2026

Congratulations to current MSM Jazz Voice student Anouk Chemla (MM ’28) (on left) and Joie Bianco (in photo on right), who studied Jazz Voice at MSM in 2025–26 — they are among the eleven semifinalists in the Herbie Hancock Institute International Jazz Vocals Competition competition taking place Oct 10 and 11 in Paris! 🎶👏

Learn more here: https://hancockinstitute.org/2026/09/semifinalists-announced-for-2026-herbie-hancock-institute-international-jazz-vocals-competition-october-10-11-in-paris/

10/08/2026

On This Date in 1970, 1993, and 2024:

The Manhattan Trio — comprised of violinist Ariana Bronne, cellist David Wells (’51), and pianist Joseph Seiger (’51) — prepares in Hubbard Recital Hall for its upcoming debut [1970] as ensemble-in-residence;

A concert by the Symphony [1993], with Sixten Ehrling conducting, features the premiere of David Noon’s "Curtain Raiser," commissioned for MSM’s 75th anniversary, and Ravel's Piano Concerto in G Major, with Carolina Flores (BM ’93, MM ’96) as soloist;

And Nduduzo Makhathini gives a Jazz Arts master class [2024].

10/06/2026

Applications now open! Jan 6 to 10, 2027— Promising North American string quartets are invited to join the Robert Mann String Quartet Institute at MSM: Up to six talented young string quartets and special guests will take part in a series of daily master classes and lessons to be taught by MSM faculty, members of the American String Quartet, and more, concluding with a showcase concert of participating quartets. Application deadline: November 16. Learn more here:

Applications now available! Six of North America’s most promising young string quartets are invited to take part in a series of master classes and concert from January 6 to 10, 2027.

10/05/2026

Congratulations to MSM violin student Koshiro Takeuchi (BM '28) who is a recipient of a 2026 Salon De Virtuosi Career Grant! 🎶👏 Koshiro Takeuchi studies at MSM with Lucie Robert and Koichiro Harada and is one of six awardees of the prestigious Salon De Virtuosi grant. Earlier this year, he was the first prize winner of the esteemed Montreal International Violin Competition. In 2025, he won first place at the Ion Voicu International Violin Competition in Bucharest.

10/02/2026

Coltrane at 100 continues TONIGHT, FRIDAY, OCT 2 at 7:30 PM in Neidorff-Karpati Hall with the MSM Jazz Orchestra, directed by Jim Saltzman, featuring guest artists Rick Margitza, saxophone, and Lewis Porter, piano. Enjoy these behind-the-scenes rehearsal photos!

Learn more about tonight's performance here:
https://www.msmnyc.edu/performances/msm-jazz-orchestra-coltrane-at-100-10-02-2026/

Anna Yatskevich, photographer