Renowned Pianist Alison Deane Joins Mannes Piano Faculty
New York, NY – November 22, 2024 – The Mannes School of Music is thrilled to announce that renowned pianist Alison Deane has joined its distinguished faculty. Alison brings a wealth of experience and talent, and her passion for music, along with her commitment to excellence, will undoubtedly contribute to the vibrant musical community at Mannes.
Alison Deane has graced stages across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Europe. Her extensive career as both a soloist and chamber musician is marked by numerous accolades, prizes, and awards. A native New Yorker, Ms. Deane holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, where she was honored with the school’s highest award, the Harold Bauer Award.
The New York Times describes her playing as “a dazzling affair…has the fingers of a really first-class technician…her performances are exhilarating.” Alison has captivated audiences in venues such as Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Hall, Carnegie Recital Hall, and Palacio des Bellas Artes. Her engagements have also included performances with prestigious orchestras such as the National Symphony, Brooklyn Philharmonic, and Buffalo Philharmonic.
“Mannes’s piano department and program has always been a point of pride, going back to the Mannes family, two of whom were pianists: Clara Damrosch Mannes and Leopold Mannes. Alison’s superb musicianship, teaching abilities, and commitment to building a positive community will continue our 108 year old traditions in piano and I have no doubt that our students will be the better for it,” said Richard Kessler, Executive Dean of the College of Performing Arts and Dean of Mannes School of Music.
Alison Deane’s artistry extends beyond the concert stage; she is also highly regarded as an educator. Prior to joining us at Mannes, she served as an Associate Professor of Music at the City College of New York and the CUNY Graduate Center, and UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music.
The College of Performing Arts at The New School was formed in 2015 and draws together the Mannes School of Music, the School of Jazz and Contemporary Music, and the School of Drama. With each school contributing its unique culture of creative excellence, the College of Performing Arts is a hub for vigorous training, cross-disciplinary collaboration, bold experimentation, innovative education, and world-class performances.
The 1,000 students at the College of Performing Arts are actors, performers, writers, improvisers, creative technologists, entrepreneurs, composers, arts managers, and multidisciplinary artists who believe in the transformative power of the arts for all people. Students and faculty collaborate with colleagues across The New School in a wide array of disciplines, from the visual arts and fashion design, to the social sciences, public policy, advocacy, and more.
The curriculum at the College of Performing Arts is dynamic, inclusive, and responsive to the changing arts and culture landscape. New degrees and coursework, like the new graduate degrees for Performer-Composers and Artist Entrepreneurs are designed to challenge highly skilled artists to experiment, innovate, and engage with the past, present, and future of their artforms. New York City’s Greenwich Village provides the backdrop for the College of Performing Arts, which is housed at Arnhold Hall on West 13th Street and the historic Westbeth Artists Community on Bank Street.
Founded in 1916 by America’s first great violin recitalist and noted educator, David Mannes, and pianist and educator Clara Damrosch Mannes, the Mannes School of Music is a standard-bearer for foundational excellence and radically progressive music education, dedicated to supporting the development of creative and socially engaged artists. Through its undergraduate, graduate, and professional studies programs, Mannes offers a curriculum as imaginative as it is rigorous, taught by a world-class faculty and visiting artists. Distinguished Mannes alumni include the 20th-century songwriting legend Burt Bacharach, the great pianists Michel Camilo, Richard Goode, Murray Perahia, and Bill Evans, acclaimed conductors Semyon Bychkov, Myung-Whun Chung, JoAnn Falletta, and Julius Rudel, beloved mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade, as well as the great opera stars of today, Yonghoon Lee, Danielle de Niese, and Nadine Sierra. As part of The New School’s College of Performing Arts, together with the School of Jazz and Contemporary Music and the School of Drama, Mannes makes its home on The New School’s Greenwich Village campus in a state-of-the-art facility at the newly renovated Arnhold Hall.