Mannes College has presented a remarkable series of concerts this year. The Mannes Orchestra received high praise in a New York Times review of the Alice Tully Hall concert honoring Felix Galimir (a concert that also featured Mannes alumnus Richard Goode, the artist-in-residence Orion String Quartet, faculty members Judith Mendenhall and William Blount, and guest Benita Valente), played challenging programs under guest conductors Lukas Foss and Raymond Harvey, and performed exciting programs under Orchestra Director Michael Charry.

The Mannes Opera attained a new level of excellence under its new director John Norris, performing Mozart's Magic Flute to packed houses at the 900-seat Tribeca Performing Arts Center. The Mannes Camerata produced the first staged performance of Handel's youthful opera Agrippina and a staged version of 17th-century Italian operatic scenes and monodies drawn together by Grant Herreid. The Jazz and Contemporary Music Division has been energized by its exploration of the possibilities of its new facilities with such programs as Jazz At The New School and its enriched administration led by Associate Dean Chuck Iwanusa and Assistant Dean Martin Mueller.

Numerous artists presented master classes, including violinist Glenn Dicterow, soprano Elly Ameling, Cleveland Orchestra members Lynne Ramsey (viola) and John Mack (oboe), bassist Eddie Gomez, clarinetist Charles Neidich, cellist Andre Emelianoff, saxophonist Dewey Redman, pianists Claude Frank and Carlo Levi-Minzi, and singer Patricia Sage.

But perhaps my greatest satisfaction at Mannes this year was a quiet one: the steady stream of students explaining to me how their experiences here at Mannes are so fulfilling--solo-wind players thrilled at performing in every Orchestra concert, an undergraduate singer relishing the abundance of opportunites to perform staged roles, and students in all majors enjoying the supportive non-cutthroat atmosphere for which Mannes is famed.

   											---Joel Lester, Dean