• To download a Concert Gala 2009 fact sheet and reply form, click here.
• To download a Concert Gala 2009 invitation, click here.

Concert Gala 2009 Chairs
Jody and Peter Robbins
Victoria and Robert Sirota

The Waldorf Astoria
The Starlight Roof
301 Park Avenue, 18th Floor
New York City

Thursday, April 30, 2009
6:00 pm Reception
7:00 pm Dinner and Concert

Performances by
Yo-Yo Ma, Members of the Silk Road Ensemble
and Students from Manhattan School of Music’s
College and Precollege Division

Black Tie
R.S.V.P. by Friday, April 10, 2009
Tickets still available at $1,250.oo

For further information,
please call our Concert Gala Office
at 212-675-9474

Yo-Yo Ma, Honoree

Virtuoso cellist Yo-Yo Ma’s extraordinary career is testament to his continual search for ways to communicate with audiences and to his desire for artistic growth. He has performed all over the world with today’s leading orchestras and artists and has been awarded 16 Grammys for his discography of over 75 recordings. In 1998, he established the Silk Road Project to promote the study of cultural, artistic and intellectual traditions along the ancient Silk Road trade routes. Mr. Ma was born in Paris to Chinese parents who in 1960 moved the family to New York. There, at the age of four, he began to study the cello with Leonard Rose at the Juilliard School. In 1976, he graduated from Harvard University. His many honors include the 1978 Avery Fisher Prize, the 1999 Glenn Gould Prize, the 2001 National Medal of Arts, the 2006 Sonning Prize, the 2006 Dan David Prize, and the 2008 World Economic Forum’s Crystal Award. In 2006, he was designated a United Nations Messenger of Peace by then Secretary-General Kofi Annan, an appointment that was extended by Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in 2007. Yo-Yo Ma was invited to perform during the 2009 Presidential Inauguration ceremony.

“We live in a world of increasing
awareness and interdependence,
and I believe that music can act
as a magnet to draw people together.”

—Yo-Yo Ma

The Indigo Initiative: Bringing Music and Passion-Driven Learning to New York City’s Schools

In the coming year, Manhattan School of Music—in collaboration with the Silk Road Project, Columbia University’s Teachers College, and the American Museum of Natural History—will embark on a ground-breaking educational initiative, planned as the centerpiece of the New York City Department of Education’s Campaign for Middle School Success.

Yo-Yo Ma invited Manhattan School of Music to join the Indigo Project because of its expertise and commitment to arts-in-education. Designed to inspire a love of learning, the Indigo Project will draw from a variety of disciplines—the arts, history, and science—to explore diverse cultures around the globe. Manhattan School of Music will develop the music curriculum and send teaching-artists into the schools to bring it to life.

To read more about our current Arts-In-Education program, click here.

About Our 2008 Concert Gala

On May 6, 2008, Manhattan School of Music celebrated five of New York City’s brightest lights and their contributions to the arts: John Corigliano, Arthur Mitchell, Charles Osgood, Bruce A. Stevens, and alumna Dawn Upshaw.

The evening, held at the glorious Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Plaza, showcased performances by soprano Dawn Upshaw, pianist André-Michel Schub, and some of Manhattan School of Music’s finest emerging musicians. The support of those in attendance helped ensure that this leading conservatory of music and its many talented young artists continue to flourish.

About Our 2007 Concert Gala

Benefiting Manhattan School of Music and inaugurating the School’s 90th Anniversary, the 2007 Concert Gala was held at the Mandarin Oriental on May 1. The event honored three internationally renowned artists: Thomas Hampson, Evgeny Kissin, and Pinchas Zukerman.