The G. Chris and SungEun Andersen Residence Hall opened to Manhattan School of Music students shortly before the start of the 2001–02 academic year. A concert, a gala for major donors, and an official ribbon-cutting followed over several weeks that fall. On-campus housing had been a pressing need for the growing institution, and the new facility exceeded what many had thought possible.
Cheers to Andersen Hall at 25: November 6
To mark Andersen’s milestone, Dean of Students Dr. Monica Coen Christensen organized a celebration on November 6. As part of MSM’s Friends & Family Weekend, students and guests joined administrative leadership—including President James Gandre—for treats and a toast to mark the occasion.
Gandre was integral to the building’s progress as then-Dean of Enrollment and Alumni, appointed by President Marta Casals Istomin to be the administrative liaison to the Board of Trustees Chair, David Rahm, regarding the building. In that role, Gandre worked with internal constituencies to convey the needs of those on the staff/faculty who use the facilities daily to the architects and Trustees involved in the building. He worked very closely at that time with Monica Christensen, who was then Director of Student Life.
A Dormitory Dream Realized
When MSM bought the Juilliard building in the 1960s, it also acquired an adjacent lot to the north that had been empty for decades. Various MSM administrations considered how to develop the space. In the 1980s, a proposal for a 34-story apartment house was taking shape when the 1987 stock market crash collapsed the funding.
North end of the Juilliard building ca. 1930; same empty lot ca. 1980.
By the mid-1990s, the School had gone too long without designated housing for its students, and the need became a priority. Plans were made to build a residence hall on the site, and the necessary city and community review process began. Funding was secured for a 19-story tower — with a leadership gift by Board member and MSM graduate SungEun Andersen and her husband, Chris — and the project broke ground.
Construction on the new building ca. 2001.
By the fall of 2001, the initial phase of the project was ready, and students were able to move in before classes began. The building gave the School a vertical campus, adding 275,000 square feet of usable space, and created a true community of artists living together on campus to study and pursue music.
Architect’s proposed drawings with the realized spaces shown.
Designed by the firm Beyer Blinder Belle, the tower incorporates features of the campus’s various architectural traditions. The five-story base of the building reflects the predominantly residential neighborhood to the north, while the tower continues the high-rise development of the university and religious buildings to the south and east. The bottom façade is limestone and granite, matching the original 1910 school buildings, and the tower is clad in rich, goldenrod brick, with cast stone trim courses and windowsills.
The residence hall’s spacious lobby, with a high ceiling, combines a gracious hyperbolic curve, covered in a modified Venetian-plaster finish, with retro lighting fixtures and futuristic spherical cooling vents. Phase One delivered the residential floors, with over 500 beds, a gym, laundry facilities, a lounge, and practice rooms.
The spacious lobby of Andersen Hall is both a gathering point for students and entrance to the Residence.
To say that Andersen Hall and all of its parts transformed the artistic and educational experiences of our students would be no exaggeration. It doubled the size of our campus; ultimately tripled our practice space; brought a library we needed and deserved; gave us two new halls that we required; and, of course, allowed us to house half of our students on campus. We are indebted to those who had the vision and energy to conceive of this building and bring it to fruition. James Gandre President
To say that Andersen Hall and all of its parts transformed the artistic and educational experiences of our students would be no exaggeration. It doubled the size of our campus; ultimately tripled our practice space; brought a library we needed and deserved; gave us two new halls that we required; and, of course, allowed us to house half of our students on campus. We are indebted to those who had the vision and energy to conceive of this building and bring it to fruition.
James Gandre
President
Opening Celebrations in September, 2001
In August 2001, after years of planning for a new residence hall on the School’s campus, the doors of Andersen Hall opened to students. Fortuitously, move-in for resident students was completed just days before the tragic events of 9/11. Had construction been delayed by even a few weeks, the opening, and possibly the building’s completion, would have been impeded.
The first concert of the School’s 2001–02 season (September 21, 2001), planned to be a celebratory event, became a more somber occasion, bringing the community together as a whole for the first time that semester. A U.S. flag was hung over the stage, and the national anthem opened the concert. Zdeněk Mácal conducted the School’s Symphony with Kirill Gerstein (Class of 2000) as soloist in Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto. Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4, with its incessant fate motif, brought the emotional evening to a close.
September 21, 2001, concert in Borden Auditorium (now Neidorff-Karpati Hall).
About a month later on October 17, 2001, a gala to honor major donors to the capital campaign that funded the project was held at the Metropolitan Club in recognition of their outstanding commitments to Manhattan School of Music. A special tribute was given to G. Chris and SungEun Andersen for their leadership gift.
The following day, an official ribbon-cutting ceremony for Andersen Hall was held, and a new work for three brass quintets, Triple Play, by faculty member David Noon, premiered.
October 18, 2001, ribbon-cutting performers, administration, donors, and honored guests.
Room to Grow
Student housing was the priority in the planning from the start. With Phase One successfully completed, attention turned to the unfinished parts of the building. Next on the agenda was an entire floor devoted to a library.
In 2004, the Peter Jay Sharp Library opened, nearly tripling the space of the previous one and significantly updating the resources available to students. Performance spaces, an apartment for the president, a box office, and a campus store followed in 2007. A mix of performance, academic, office, and residential functions, Andersen Hall completes an architectural complex that Christopher Gray of the New York Times called “one of the richest in the city.”
New Performance Venues
The William R. and Irene D. Miller Recital Hall is an intimate, 137-seat performance space, incorporating African bosse wood at the stage and house partitions, and fabric-wrapped acoustic panels on the walls and ceiling. Miller Hall is outfitted with a sophisticated lighting system, audio amplification, and multimedia projection, and is often used for the School’s Distance Learning Program.
A flexible room for up to 215 people, the Alan M. and Joan Taub Ades Performance Space can accommodate events ranging from orchestral rehearsals and opera workshops to dinners and receptions. The space has a floating floor for dance and is equipped with multiple lighting and audiovisual positions as well as a pair of technical balconies for additional performance possibilities.
A view from the penthouse terrace at Andersen Hall.
Spectacular Views
Many of Andersen Hall’s student housing units offer wonderful vantage points over the city, Riverside Park, and the Hudson River, lifting students up out of their studies and offering an inspiring panorama as well as a constant visual reminder that they live in one of the world’s most exciting cities.
MSM President James Gandre relaxing with students on the terrace during an Ice Cream Social event for Orientation in August 2018.
And perched on Andersen Hall’s 18th floor, the Peter Jay Sharp President’s Residence provides dramatic entertaining space for the institution as well as living space for the School’s president. The beautifully appointed Residence, with its wraparound terrace and expansive vistas, functions as the School’s “living room,” hosting social, administrative, and philanthropy events throughout the year.
Students enjoying the 6th floor terrace in Andersen Hall.
Later Improvements
Under the leadership of President James Gandre, several initiatives have enhanced students’ use of the building.
Part of the bond financing of the project was contingent on income from space rented initially to Bank Street College, which maintained administrative offices in Morningside Heights. When its lease ended, the School began using that space, on the 4th and 5th floors, to consolidate administrative offices; in fall 2016, MSM offices traditionally housed in the Main Building began relocating to Andersen. In addition, three floors that were rented to other schools as student housing were reclaimed by MSM as demand for housing continued to grow.
Two dance/acting studios for MSM’s new Musical Theatre program opened in early 2017. The studios, located on the basement level of Andersen Hall, can be combined for informal performances and include a small lounge area and restrooms. A total of 28 Wenger SoundLok™ practice rooms were also installed, a much-needed resource for students.
In December 2024, the main lobby of Andersen was named in memory of alumna and Trustee Noémi Karpati Neidorff’s parents, George and Alicia Karpati. This was in recognition of Noémi’s generous gift to the endowment campaign.
The newly renovated sixth floor lounge is one of five student lounges in Andersen Hall.
Residence Life Today
Andersen Hall is home to a vibrant community of student musicians from all over the world. In addition to offering some of the best views of the city, it includes:
Andersen Hall on the right next to the main MSM building as viewed from Broadway and 122nd Street.
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