by John K. Blanchard (MM ’89) MSM Institutional Historian & Director of Archives
With the discovery of previously unknown artifacts and the acquisition of troves of film negatives from freelance photographers, you will now be able to experience visually many events that you had only read or heard about.
Aaron Copland with MSM students after a 1968 coaching of his Sextet
Many materials and photos that have been buried in crumbling boxes and scrapbooks for decades, are just now seeing the light of day. John Blanchard MSM Institutional Historian & Chief Archivist
Many materials and photos that have been buried in crumbling boxes and scrapbooks for decades, are just now seeing the light of day.
John Blanchard
MSM Institutional Historian & Chief Archivist
In the History section of the School’s newly redesigned website, we have recently added photos, scanned documents, and other material, greatly expanding our documentation of the breadth of the School’s legacy of music in New York and music education throughout the world.
Most alumni never had the chance to meet Janet Daniels Schenck (she died in 1976) or to experience firsthand her leadership and her immense concern for the welfare of each and every student who attended the school that she founded. Even among those who met her, few knew the full scope of her accomplishments or the details of the early days of the School.
This is why we have devoted a section of the website to an in-depth appreciation of “Mrs. Schenck,” as the older alumni will remember calling her. The Meet Our Founder section has many materials and photos that have been buried in crumbling boxes and scrapbooks for decades and are just now seeing the light of day.
An early class on “Rhythms” ca. 1922 from Janet Schenck’s personal scrapbook
An early photo of “two of the School’s first graduates” that includes a young Dora Zaslavsky, standing, who would join the faculty and teach for over 60 years
While we have presented excerpts before from Adventure in Music — the memoir Mrs. Schenck wrote and published in 1961 — a complete reproduction of the book has now been included in the Founder’s section for the first time.
A 1970 portrait of Janet D. Schenck by John Koch
The buildings of Manhattan School of Music’s current campus — some inherited from the Institute of Musical Art (1910) and Juilliard (1931), some built by MSM itself (1969 and 2001) — are excellent examples of the rich architectural history of New York City.
Our Architectural History page extols the School’s physical attributes from an outsider’s perspective, with an insider’s devotion. Illustrated with archival photos, it culls from expert sources and published commentary.
The Student’s Room, ca. 1910, also known at the Heckscher Children’s Library, next to a photo of the same room from the 1980s
Details of the evolution of the East 105th Street building are also included elsewhere on the website, as described below.
Our first Virtual Yearbooks were launched on the School’s website in 2008, with a new page for each decade. We have done a major overhaul of these, adding new and higher resolution photos that chronicle each year since the School was founded.
One of the oldest surviving items from the School’s history, showing ledger entries for receipts and disbursements from January/February 1918, when Manhattan School of Music was still known as the Union Settlement Music School
Alumni will relive their time at MSM through listings and photos of important events, beloved faculty members, guest artist master classes, and NYC musical highlights. We hope you will also explore other eras of our past, enhancing your appreciation for our traditions and taking pride in our shared yesterdays.
A drawing of proposed additions to the E. 105th Street buildings, included in a “Raise the Roof” fundraising pamphlet ca. 1957
The 1990 American Premiere of "Cornet Christoph Rilke’s Song of Love and Death" by Siegfried Matthus
Please find time to explore MSM’s storied past in ways never before available to MSM alumni. And if you find some MSM treasures on your own archaeological digs be sure and contact me (John Blanchard) at 917-493-4496 or jblanchard@msmnyc.edu.
Audio clips of select performances. Stay tuned!
Meet Our Founder Timeline Overview Architectural History Virtual Yearbooks Pre-1940s Virtual Yearbooks 1940s Virtual Yearbooks 1950s Virtual Yearbooks 1960s Virtual Yearbooks 1970s Virtual Yearbooks 1980s Virtual Yearbooks 1990s Virtual Yearbooks 2000s Virtual Yearbooks 2010s
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