Gena Raps with young guests
 Gena Raps, piano and chamber music faculty member in the Preparatory Division, created the new critically acclaimed CD, Play Bach!, a radio play and concert featuring Martha Plimpton, Chris Cesaro, and Willie Reale with performances by the Swingle Singers, Kenneth Cooper, Ms. Raps, and children from Mannes.
Declared a "Season's Best" from Sesame Street Parenting Magazine, the CD was released on Classic Raps, a label started by Ms. Raps in response to the continuing decline of support for arts education. Committed to introducing classical music to young children, Ms. Raps stressed, "One of our mandates as musicians is to get young people to fall in love with classical music. The decline in arts education budgets nationwide presents a scary prospect for musicians' careers."

In an effort to present classical music in an entertaining and interactive setting, Ms. Raps combined theatrical and musical elements to present a staged production, Look Who's Bach, with the Mannes Preparatory Division and the newly created Mannes Children's Theater. With Henry Gronnier on violin, Ms. Raps on piano, Frank Anderson as J.S. Bach, and young musicians from the Preparatory Division, children were exposed to the life and music of one of the greatest German composers from the late Baroque period. Through arrangements by Mannes alumna Alison Jones, over 100 inner-city children were present for the February performance. Both the CD and theatrical production were made largely possible through one of The New School Faculty Development Grants.

Aware of the need to create interdisciplinary projects, Ms. Raps continually "draws on members of the artistic community as a whole." Currently working on another CD, "Mother Goose for UNIFEM" (United Nations Development Fund for Women), she has arranged to have each story read by a professional actress and followed with performances by young and professional musicians. Ms. Raps hopes "to raise awareness for UNIFEM and its mission with the recording." A substantial portion of the CD sales will go toward programs at UNIFEM.