Originally called
The David Mannes Music School, it was founded in 1916 by
David Mannes, concertmaster of the
New York Symphony Orchestra, and his wife
Clara Damrosch, sister of
Walter Damrosch, then conductor of that orchestra, and Frank Damrosch. The Damrosch and Mannes families were perhaps the most important music families in America at that time, with David Mannes emerging as one of the first American born violin recitalists to achieve significant status. David Mannes was the director of the
Third Street Music School Settlement as well as founder of
Colored Music Settlement School, all prior to founding the Mannes School. The school was originally housed on East 70th Street (later occupied by the Dalcroze School). A larger campus was created out of four converted brownstones beginning at 157
East 74th Street, in
Manhattan's
Upper East Side. After 1938, the school was known as the
Mannes Music School in recognition of the broader course of study that expanded the school well beyond that of a community music school, including the three-year Artist Diploma. When Clara died in 1948, their son
Leopold Mannes became president, endowing the school with his fortune from co-inventing
Kodachrome film. In 1953 the school began offering a Bachelor of Science degree and changed its name to the
Mannes College of Music. In 1960 it merged with the Chatham Square Music School. In 1984 the school moved to larger quarters on
West 85th Street. In 1989 Mannes joined
The New School. In 2005, the New School administration changed the name to
Mannes College: the New School for Music. In 2015, the university renamed it
Mannes School of Music, and moved it to Arnhold Hall in the West Village. It is part of the College of Performing Arts at The New School, which also includes the School of Drama and the School of Jazz and Contemporary Music. The College of Performing Arts, including Mannes Prep, has a total of 1,450 students. The students in any of the three schools of
The New School College of Performing Arts' three schools can take courses in Drama, Jazz, and Music. == Academics ==