So many exciting goings-on in the Mannes community. Here are just a few . . .

I used the quiet time (ha!) of the summer to work with Associate Dean of Administration Valerie Park to complete or prepare for a substantial number of improvements to the 85th Street building, including the installation of a 6-workstation computer center (giving the Classical Division students onsite access to word-processing, internet, and music compositing), and refurbishing of the Concert Hall, student lounge, and elevator.

We added important faculty and administrators: Christopher Johnson (saxophonist and ABD at NYU in American Studies) as a full-time faculty member to teach courses on American culture in the Jazz Division; Michael Sachs (formerly at Cornell, USC, and Michigan State) as the Director of Student Services; Robert Weber to run our ESL program; Carmen Serrano to the humanities faculty in the Classical Division; Arthur Levy and Beth Roberts to the voice faculty, and Lucie Robert on violin.

Mannes is already in the midst of a remarkable series of concerts. The Opera Department presented a workshop performance of Marriage of Figaro. The Orchestra performed under guest conductor Philippe Entremont in a gala concert at Alice Tully Hall on November 3. The Mannes Camerata staged Il Caffé; d'Amore, a delightful production by the newly appointed Director of the Historical Performance Program Grant Herreid. And several exciting Master Classes with singer Håkan Hagegård, opera impresario Matthew Epstein, and keyboardists Philippe Entremont and Igor Kipnis took place in The Concert Hall. During the spring season, the Opera Department will perform a fully-staged production of Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi and premieres of two one-act operas by Lang College faculty member Stefania de Kenessey. The Orchestra will be led by Mannes alumna and Music Director of the Virginia Symphony JoAnn Falletta in February.

And, of course, our new students arrived -- and what a new class it is! Both the Classical and Jazz Divisions are over enrollment targets because once again our "yield" (the number of students who enroll as a percentage of those who are accepted) continues to grow to historic highs. Each division sports some spectacular new talent that you will be hearing about during the coming year.

. . . whew!

I look forward to seeing and hearing from you.

   											---Joel Lester, Dean