The
Manhattan School of Music hosted its 2009 Music Concert Gala honoring
world renowned cellist and entrepreneur Yo-Yo Ma on Thursday,
April 30th at the Waldorf=Astoria in New York. The 280 attendees
helped raise over $500,000. Jody and Peter Robbins and Victoria and
Robert Sirota were Gala chairs.
The evening featured performances by Yo-Yo Ma, members of the Silk
Road Ensemble and students from Manhattan School of Music's College
and Precollege Division. The evening also introduced The
Indigo Initiative, a unique, new artistic endeavor. Manhattan
School of Music, collaborating with the Silk Road Project (founded
by Yo-Yo Ma), Columbia University's Teachers College, and the
Museum of Natural History, is embarking on a groundbreaking educational
initiative, the Indigo Project, geared towards a commitment to arts
in education in New York City public schools.
Established in 1918 by pianist and philanthropist Janet Daniels Schenck,
Manhattan School of Music is one of the leading conservatories in the
United States as well as the country's largest private conservatory
offering both classical and jazz training. Students come from all over
the world, drawn by the rigorous program in performance and composition,
reflecting the highest standards of musical heritage, and by the faculty,
which includes some of the world's best-known artists.
