Public Programs
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The New School is a place where education has always been interwoven with public life. Since our founding, our university has served as a meeting place where influential people and ideas intersect, where issues are debated the moment they surface, and where leaders break new ground on a diverse set of topics.
Each year, The New School hosts more than 1,000 public events with some of the most famous and engaged people, organizations, and institutions around the world. These events range from interviews to readings, performances to screenings, connecting what students learn in the classroom with what’s happening in the world.
New School public programs and events, both in person and online, offer viewers a chance to ask questions, discover new ideas, make connections, and find a community of people ready to engage. Unmatched in quality and quantity, public programs are a hallmark of the New School experience.
I saw a public program with Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart my freshman year—it was great! I learned that you really have to be thoughtful about what you want to do as an artist."
—Rafah Mahmud, BFA Dramatic Arts, School of Drama
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View past events on our YouTube channel.
Events

Mannes Sounds Masterclass: Michal Tal
Dr. Michal Tal is one of Israel’s most distinguished and influential musicians. She is the recipient of the Frank Pelleg Lifetime Achievement Award for sustained artistic contribution at the highest level, presented by the Ministry of Culture (2024)Her multifaceted career spans three continents and includes numerous performances and recordings as both soloist and chamber musician. She is regularly invited to festivals, masterclasses, and teaching residencies, and serves as adjudicator at competitions at leading festivals and conservatories worldwide.Dr. Tal educates the next generation of piano teachers at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music (Tel Aviv University).She initiated and directed the “Young Piano” program at the Jerusalem Music Centre. She is the Founder and Artistic Director of PianoWebFest, the international online piano festival, PianoFest Arad, and the “Tav HaNegev” association.

In the Footsteps of Liszt and Chopin: A Biographer’s Journey
The New York City premiere of It Takes a Life, a documentary film by director Joe Sabia exploring the life and career of Alan Walker. Featuring reflections from Alan Walker on his monumental biography of Franz Liszt, presented on Liszt’s birthday — October 22, 2026.

A Child of Our Time
What does resistance sound like? Nearly 90 years after it was written, Sir Michael Tippett’s A Child of Our Time continues to ask urgent questions about fear, injustice, division, and hope. Written in response to the rise of fascism in Europe and the violence of Kristallnacht in 1938, Tippett’s powerful oratorio for chorus and orchestra draws on African American spirituals. For Tippett, these songs expressed a universal truth: even in the face of injustice, the human spirit endures. For this one-night performance, singers from the New York Choral Society (NYCHORAL) will join the Mannes Orchestra conducted by David Hayes, with an acclaimed cast of soloists from the Mannes faculty: Laquita Mitchell, William Burden, Margaret Lattimore and Stephen Powell. Presented one week before the 2026 midterm elections, this performance invites audiences to reflect on where we have been, where we are, and the future we want to create. More than a concert, A Child of Our Time is a reminder of the power of music to bear witness, challenge injustice, and bring people together. "We are thrilled to partner with Mannes School of Music on this extraordinary performance. Bringing together the New York Choral Society’s volunteer singers with Mannes' exceptional orchestra, acclaimed voice faculty, and rising young artists is exactly the kind of collaboration that makes New York's cultural community so extraordinary. To perform a work as profound and urgently relevant as A Child of Our Time in David Geffen Hall is an incredible privilege. At a moment when many of us are searching for connection and hope, Tippett reminds us that music has the power to bear witness, challenge injustice, and bring people together. This performance lives at the intersection of art, resistance, and our shared humanity, and I can't imagine a more meaningful way to open our season." — Ellen PutneyMoore, Executive Director, New York Choral Society ABOUT THE NEW YORK CHORAL SOCIETYThe New York Choral Society (NYCHORAL) is The Voice of the City—more than 150 auditioned volunteer singers representing every borough, profession, generation, and socio-economic background that make New York unlike anywhere else in the world. Founded in 1960, NYCHORAL is entering its 69th season with a chorus that is younger than ever: today, more than half of its singers are under the age of 35, proving that the future of choral music is already here.By day, our singers are physicians, teachers, attorneys, baristas, nonprofit leaders, engineers, artists, students, and retirees. Together, they create extraordinary performances that reflect the city they call home. Through bold programming that pairs classical masterworks with contemporary voices and ideas, NYCHORAL explores the issues shaping our world while honoring the traditions that brought us here.At NYCHORAL, we believe choral music isn't a museum piece, it's one of the most immediate ways people can come together to explore difficult questions, celebrate our shared humanity, and experience the transformative power of singing with one voice.ABOUT MANNES ORCHESTRAKnown for their bold and adventurous programming, and led by maestro David Hayes, Mannes Orchestra has been hailed by The New York Times as an orchestra whose quality is “a revelation,” and for its “intensity of focus.” The orchestra performs a multitude of concerts each season at venues including Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, David Geffen Hall, John L. Tishman Auditorium at The New School, Carnegie Hall, and performances with Martha Graham Dance Company at New York City Center, and Mannes Opera at various venues throughout the city.

Mannes Chamber Music Festival Fall 2026
Join us for the 2026 Fall season of the MANNES CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL!November 5-12, 2O26Presented by the Mannes School of Music, the Mannes Chamber Music Festival is a special weeklong series celebrating students’ accomplishments in chamber music throughout the semester, as well as showcasing our faculty and guest performers. This fall, the festival will feature an opening-night performance by our brand-new graduate quartet-in-residence, The Dolphins Quartet, a chamber music lecture by Prof. Frank Oteri, a Grand Finale featuring numerous faculty members performing alongside students, and so much more.Join us in celebrating the artistry, collaboration, and vibrant tradition of chamber music that makes this festival truly unforgettable. All events are free and open to the public. Register once for your CHAMBER PASS to access the entire festival EXCEPT for the following two events, which require individual registration:• Opening Night: The Dolphins Quartet (Thursday, 5 November from 7:00-9:00pm)• Grand Finale: Faculty and Student Joint Chamber Music Ensembles(Thursday, 12 November from 7:00-9:00pm)Free reservation is required in advance for these events. Space is limited, reserve your spot today!PROGRAMMING:Opening Night: The Dolphins QuartetThursday, 5 November from 7:00-9:00pm in Stiefel Hall(*Not included in CHAMBER PASS. Free reservation required in advance for this event.)Join us for the opening night performance of the Chamber Music Festival, which will feature our brand-new graduate quartet-in-residence, The Dolphins Quartet. Featuring an eclectic music by Villa-Lobos and Brahms, in addition to a self-composed piece written by the quartet, this program represents our school’s intention to connect the music of the past with the music of the present.Student Showcase No. 1: Piano Extravaganza - A Night of Keyboard-Only EnsemblesFriday, 6 November from 7:00-9:00pm in Stiefel HallComing back by popular demand: a fun-filled night of keyboard-only student ensembles! Featuring music for 1-piano/4-hands, 1-piano/6-hands, and 2 pianos, and spanning from Saint-Saëns and Tchaikovsky through Gershwin and Bolcom, this will surely be a night to remember.Student Showcase No. 2: A Celebration of StringsSaturday, 7 November from 7:00-8:30pm in Stiefel HallFor the first time ever, joining us for a night completely devoted to string instruments! Featuring string duos and string quartets, this evening will feature a diverse repertoire spanning from Mozart and Beethoven to Bartók and Isang Yun.Student Showcase No. 3: Modernism, Part 1 - Music from 1900-1960Sunday, 8 November from 2:00-3:30pm in Stiefel HallFor our first concert devoted to modernism, we will focus on the beginnings of the movement within the first six decades of the twentieth century. Featuring some of the most famous chamber classics, as well as some quite rare masterpieces, this will be a fun-filled afternoon!Student Showcase No. 4: Modernism, Part 2 - Music Since 1960Sunday, 8 November from 7:00-8:30pm in Stiefel HallFor our second concert devoted to modernism, we will feature music written over the last six decades by well-known composers, living composers, and even music written by our own students! This night will be a special treat, in which we will be hearing music written as far back as 1965 to music written in just the last few weeks! Student Showcase No. 5: Pre-Romantic MasterpiecesMonday, 9 November from 7:00-8:30pm in Stiefel HallJoin our students in a special showcase devoted to the music of four of the most foundational composers in classical music: Soler, Mozart, Haydn and Schubert. From piano duos all the way through a grand quintet, this concert will feature a wonderful collection of some of the greatest works by these four beloved composers.The Chamber Music Lecture Series: The Semantics of Chamber Music Which Make It the Most Malleable Music of Our TimeTuesday, 10 November from 4:00-5:15pm in Stiefel HallGiven by our own Prof. Frank Oteri, this lecture discusses how the 19th-century chamber music tradition continued as well as transformed in the early 20th-century, as well as some centuries-old non-Western classical music traditions which operate within the chamber music paradigm. This will be a fascinating overview of some of the most important and special historical music genres and traditions that have led us to where we are today.Student Showcase No. 6: A Celebration of Brahms, Mendelssohn, and SchumannTuesday, 10 November from 7:00-9:30pm in Stiefel HallJoin us as we host a special night devoted to some of the most important figures of the Romantic movement: Brahms, Mendelssohn, and Robert Schumann! Featuring duos, trios, and quartets, this concert will feature some of the greatest masterpieces ever composed within the 1800s.Student Showcase No. 7: An Evening of French MusicWednesday, 11 November from 7:00-9:30pm in Stiefel HallFor our final student showcase of the festival, this night will bring us back to the same theme as the first-ever concert within our first iteration of the Chamber Music Festival: An Evening of French Music. Highlighting some of the greatest compositions by Debussy, Poulenc, Ravel, and more, this evening will be a wonderful exploration of the sounds of France.Chamber Music Masterclass: Jia KimThursday, 12 November from 2:00-4:00pm in Stiefel HallJoin us for our third-ever chamber music masterclass, which will be taught by our own Jia Kim, a cello and chamber music faculty member at Mannes. Prof. Kim will share her years of experience with the students, and this will be a special opportunity to see students from Mannes be coached on their chamber music repertoire. Grand Finale: Faculty and Student Joint Chamber Music EnsemblesThursday, 12 November from 7:00-9:00pm in Stiefel Hall(*Not included in CHAMBER PASS. Free reservation required in advance for this event.)In our grand finale of this semester’s Chamber Music Festival, we have a special presentation: a night entirely performed by our students and our faculty together! We have had limited experiences in the past in which students were afforded the opportunity to perform alongside faculty, so we are thrilled that we are able to grant our students the chance to perform with some of the leading and most renowned musicians within the United States: their own professors! The evening will feature music by Beethoven, Brahms, Stravinsky, and our own composition faculty member Christopher Cerrone. Faculty artists for this event will include bassoonist Rebekah Heller; trombonist Jack Schatz; violinists Miranda Cuckson, Wen Qian, and David Southorn; violist Daniel Panner; and cellists Michael Nicolas and Jeffrey Zeigler. Please join us for this wonderful final performance of this semester’s Chamber Music Festival series - this night will be a true celebration of chamber music as a whole, and it will act as a stepping stone into the Chamber Music Festival’s future.

Mannes Sounds: A Celebration of the Life of Ann Schein
An all-Chopin program celebrating the life and legacy of legendary American pianist and pedagogue Ann Schein (November 10, 1939–April 16, 2026).ANN SCHEIN Ann Schein was an internationally acclaimed pianist whose remarkable career spanned more than six decades. Praised by The Washington Post for her ability to “reach right into the heart” of the music she performed, she was celebrated for her powerful interpretations of the Romantic repertoire, particularly Chopin.Following her Carnegie Hall debut as a young artist on the Sol Hurok roster, Schein performed in more than 50 countries with leading orchestras and conductors, including the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, George Szell, James Levine, Seiji Ozawa, and Sir Colin Davis. She appeared frequently at London’s BBC Proms and performed at the White House during the Kennedy administration.A distinguished educator as well as performer, Schein served on the piano faculty of the Peabody Conservatory for more than two decades and was an artist-faculty member of the Aspen Music Festival and School. She joined the piano faculty of Mannes School of Music in 2017, where she inspired generations of students with her artistry and mentorship.Her acclaimed discography included recordings of works by Chopin, Schumann, Carter, Copland, Debussy, and Ravel. In recognition of her contributions to music, Schein received numerous honors, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Museum of Women in the Arts in 2018 and a Distinguished Alumni Award from Peabody Conservatory in 2012.Ann Schein passed away in 2026, leaving behind a lasting legacy as a pianist, educator, and mentor whose influence continues through the many musicians she inspired.

India and China in the Making of Global Orders: Past and Present
While much attention has been centered on “China in Africa” and “Global China” as a lens through which to examine changing patterns of investment and infrastructure in Africa, this panel puts the China in Africa paradigm in a comparative perspective with India, which has longstanding commercial and trade ties with East and South Africa.This online panel will assess Indian and Chinese engagements in Africa through the lens of technology transfers, skills upgrading, educational exchanges, and knowledge flows. Participants will explore patterns of expertise and technology transfer, higher education partnerships, cross-border research collaborations, and supply chains, among other forms of engagement between Chinese and Indian organizations with African counterparts.SPEAKERSRaphaelle Khan: Assistant Prof. of Political Science, City University of New York- City CollegeLucas Tse: Historian of Modern China and International Order, All Souls College, University of Oxford, London

