Mannes forces graduating students off campus

Composing students at Mannes pay $53,000 tuition a year. But the school won’t let them give a graduate recital on campus.

If they want to present their work, they have to pay and display somewhere else.

Here’s a leaked email from the deeply troubled school:

Date: Sat, Feb 25, 2023, 3:22 PM
From: Bill Gustafson <gustafsb@newschool.edu>
Date: Fri, Feb 24, 2023 at 1:48 PM
Subject: Space requests for required Solo Graduation Recitals
To: Bill Gustafson <gustafsb@newschool.edu>, David T. Little <littled@newschool.edu>

Dear Mannes graduating students in Composition,

We hope this message finds you well and your final semester at Mannes progressing successfully. We are sending you this message in order to share important information in regard to space requests for required Solo Graduation Recitals.

As a reminder, graduating students in Composition do not present a solo graduation recital in order to fulfill their degree requirements. In order to satisfy the performance requirement, all composers must have at least one work performed per year of residency. These experiences can include (but are not limited to) readings and performances with the Mannes Orchestra, MACE, Composers Collective Concerts, and courses such as Composing for String Quartet taught by the Jack Quartet.

Earlier this month several composition students reserved solo graduation recital dates through the Acuity reservation system. Please note that since these degree programs do not require a recital, these reservations will be removed to allow for students with the solo graduation recital degree requirement to secure a recital date and time.

In the coming week we will be confirming the dates for our next set of readings of student compositions with the Mannes Orchestra, MACE, and the Jack Quartet that will be scheduled for April and May. We will also be reaching out to graduating students in Composition to determine if additional collective or shared performance evenings may be possible.

Thank you,

William Gustafson, Associate Dean

David T. Little, Chair of Composition