Manhattan School of Music, Neidorff-Karpati Hall
Manhattan School of Music is recognized as a premier international conservatory that has trained some of the world’s most important performing artists and has upheld a tradition of excellence in music education for a century. Limitations of the current performance hall hindered large group performance in the existing multi-purpose music hall, it lacked an appropriate acoustical stage environment and size. Large performance groups found themselves both behind the proscenium and in front of it. A new modifiable one-piece orchestra shell transforms the stage to accommodate a full range of musical genres. A mobile proscenium arch allows for opera and musical theater productions. The distinct neo-deco quality of the audience chamber was enhanced by featuring refurbished interior elements; textured wall moldings, brass signage and railings, and unique wood chair rails. A new grand entrance way through reconstituted existing spaces furnishes the public and the student body with a larger, more accessible, and secure entrance but also give patrons direct access to the renewed Neidorff-Karpati Hall.