May 23, 2022

Nearly 230 guests from across the globe gathered for Manhattan School of Music’s first in-person gala for the School in three years on May 18, 2022, raising more than $540,000.

The evening at the Rainbow Room on the 65th floor of the Rockefeller Center was a joyous celebration of the MSM Community. The event honored MSM Trustee Emerita and International Advisory Board Chair Carla Bossi-Comelli (HonDMA ’20) and saluted the 30th anniversary of the School’s prestigious Orchestral Performance Program (OPP).

Hosted by three-time Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano and Metropolitan Opera star Isabel Leonard (HonDMA ’21), an alumna of MSM’s Precollege and a recently appointed member of MSM’s Vocal Arts faculty, the gala featured performances by distinguished OPP faculty and alumni from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Opera Orchestra, Harlem String Quartet, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and New York Philharmonic.

The evening culminated in a performance of Carla Bossi-Comelli’s favorite aria “Un bel dì” from Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, performed by the 2022 winner of Manhattan School of Music’s prestigious Alan M. and Joan Taub Ades Vocal Competition, Jouelle Roberson (MM ’21, PS ’22), accompanied by Met Opera Director of Music Administration Thomas Lausmann (PS ’00), who recently joined the MSM Collaborative Piano faculty.

The event was MSM’s first in-person gala in three years, as the 2020 and 2021 events took place virtually. Guests included MSM trustees, International Advisory Board members, alumni, and other friends. The more-than $530,000 raised for the School made the event MSM’s highest grossing gala in the past 15 years (after the 2019 Centennial Gala).