The New School’s College of Performing Arts Announces Two Distinctive Summer Festivals
Mannes Summer Piano Festival and Sandbox Percussion Seminar will overlap this July
July 14–23, 2025
MANNES SUMMER PIANO FESTIVAL
This international event in the heart of NYC features free, open-to-the-public concerts and an intensive seminar for gifted students and pre-professionals from around the world.
The Festival celebrates the next generation of pianists to watch with a Guest Concert Series featuring artists from across the globe. Participants partake in masterclasses by renowned faculty, including Richard Goode, Blair McMillen, Yunling Yang, Hyoung Joon Chang, Yun Sun, Ronan O’Hora and many others.
July 16–22, 2025
SANDBOX PERCUSSION
SUMMER SEMINAR
The New School
The tenth annual seminar features celebrated composer Andy Akiho, newly appointed to The New School faculty. The opening and final concerts are free and open to the public.
From Pavlina Dokovska, Artistic Director of the Mannes Summer Piano Festival:
“It is my great pleasure to announce the second edition of the Mannes Summer Piano Festival! As part of our festival programming, we proudly present outstanding artists of the new generation of pianists who have achieved worldwide recognition—winning prestigious international competitions, performing in major venues across the globe, and releasing acclaimed recordings.”
From Sandbox Percussion
“We cannot believe that we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of our Sandbox Percussion Seminar at The New School this year! To honor this milestone, we’ve planned something special—guest faculty member Andy Akiho will join us for the entire week, and our participants will perform two works of his: Portal and his complete Seven Pillars. This is our most ambitious programming in 10 years—we’re so excited to work with this cohort of 45 participants on this music.”
July 14 – 23, 7:30PM
Mannes Summer Piano Festival – Concert Series
All events at Tishman Auditorium, The New School (63 5th Ave) except the July 18 A Bu concert, which is at The Auditorium at 66 West 12th Street
Following the success of the inaugural 2024 festival, the Mannes Summer Piano Festival returns for its second edition. Each summer, the festival welcomes students from around the world to study with esteemed international guest faculty from Europe and Asia and celebrated Mannes School of Music piano faculty. This July, the Festival hosts 70 piano students, offering them masterclasses, private lessons, showcases, presentations, performances, and the opportunity to participate in the festival competition, which is the culminating public concert of the Festival. Cash prizes will be offered to the first, second and third prize winners. The guest concert series features an extraordinary lineup of the new generation of internationally acclaimed pianists, and is free and open to the public.
Click here to view the schedule of Masterclasses offered by Pavlina Dokovska, Christopher Elton, Richard Goode, Hyoung Joon Chang, Yuri Kim, Blair McMillen, Irina Morozova, Ronan O’Hora, Jerome Rose, Thomas Sauer, J.Y. Song, Yun Sun, Vladimir Valjarevic, Xiayin Wang, Yunlin Yang, Inessa Zaretsky. (Not open to the public, however press can attend).
Guest Concert Schedule
Monday, July 14 at 7:30PM
Korkmaz Can Sağlam
The Grand Prize winner of the 2021-2022 Vendome Prize for Piano Korkmaz Can Sağlam presents a wide range of works for piano, new and beloved.
Program:
Enrique Granados, “El amor y la Muerte” from Goyescas, Op.11 (12’)
Franz Schubert-Franz Liszt, “Aufenthalt” from Schwanengesang (4’)
Gabriela Montero, Rachtime (2025) (6’)
G.F.Handel, Suite in D minor, HWV 428
– Prelude, Fugue, Allemande, Courante, Air&5 Variations, Presto (14’)
Intermission
S. Rachmaninoff, Piano Sonata No.1 in D minor, Op.28 (37’)
1. Allegro Moderato
2. Lento
3. Allegro Molto
Wednesday, July 16 at 7:30pm
Élisabeth Pion
The innovative pianist Élisabeth Pion presents an evening of impressionist works and a composition of her own.
Program:
Mélanie “Mel” Bonis (1858 – 1937), Femmes de légende (22’)
I. Mélisande
II. Desdémona
III. Ophelia
IV. Viviane
V. Phoebe
VI. Salomé
VII. Omphale
Élisabeth Pion (1996 – ), Sept mers éparses (5’)
Grazyna Bacewicz (1909 – 1969), Sonata no. 2 (17’)
I. Maestoso – Agitato
II. Largo
III. Toccata. Vivo
Intermission
Maurice Ravel (1875 – 1937), Miroirs (28’)
I. Noctuelles
II. Oiseaux tristes
III. Une barque sur l’océan
IV. Alborada del gracioso
V. La Vallée des cloches
Claude Debussy (1862 – 1918), L’Isle Joyeuse (5’)
Friday, July 18 at 7:30pm
A Bu
The Mannes alum and Audience Prize winner of the 2015 Montreux Jazz Solo Piano Competition, A Bu, presents an evening of classical works and his own compositions.
Program:
A Bu, Invention No. 1 (World Premiere)
Ludwig van Beethoven, Sonata No. 28 in A Major, Op. 101 – 20’
I. Etwas lebhaft, und mit der innigsten Empfindung. Allegretto, ma non troppo
II. Lebhaft, marschmäßig. Vivace alla marcia
III. Langsam und sehnsuchtsvoll. Adagio, ma non troppo, con affetto
IV. Geschwind, doch nicht zu sehr, und mit Entschlossenheit. Allegro
A Bu, Improvisation
Leonard Bernstein / A Bu, Overture to “Candide” (arranged for solo piano)
Intermission
A Bu, Three Unerased Impromptus, Op. 8
I. Father
II. Like a Breeze Without a Scent
III. Sketch (at Neglia’s Piano)
Johannes Brahms, Ballades, Op. 10
I. D minor. Andante
II. D major. Andante
III. B minor. Intermezzo. Allegro
IV. B major. Andante con moto
Friedrich Gulda, Prelude and Fugue
Monday, July 21 at 7:30pm
Gabriele Strata
The internationally recognized pianist and winner of the XXXV Premio Venezia, Gabriele Strata presents poetic and commanding works.
Program:
Frédéric Chopin, Mazurka Op.30 n.1 in C minor
Mazurka Op.30 n.2 in B minor
Mazurka Op.30 n.3 in D flat major
Mazurka Op.30 n.4 in C sharp minor
Thomas Adès, Mazurka Op.27 n.3 (2009)
Frédéric Chopin, Sonata Op.35 n.2 in B flat minor
I. Grave – Doppio movimento
II. Scherzo
III. Marche funèbre. Lento
IV. Finale. Presto
Intermission
Giacinto Scelsi, Preludi per pianoforte (1930-1940)
n.7 Molto cantato
n.8 Delicato
n.16 Lento con agitazione
Frédéric Chopin, Polonaise-Fantasie Op.61 in A flat major
George Crumb, Dream images, Makrokosmos I no.11 (1972)
Frédéric Chopin, Polonaise Op.44 in F sharp minor
Wednesday, July 23 at 7:30pm
Dmitry Yudin
The acclaimed Russian pianist performs classical works.
Program:
Mendelssohn, Fantasy in F-sharp Minor, Op. 28
Brahms, Two Rhapsodies, Op. 79
Prokofiev, Sonata No. 4 in C Minor, Op. 29
Intermission
Liszt, 12 Transcendental Études
July 16 – 22, 2025
Sandbox Summer Percussion Seminar
The New School
The Auditorium at 66 West 12th Street
and
Ernst C. Stiefel Hall at Arnhold Hall, 55 West 13th Street, 4th Floor
Sandbox Percussion, the College of Performing Arts’ GRAMMY-nominated ensemble-in-residence, is thrilled to present its 10th annual summer seminar, featuring a collaborative workshop and performances of two works by the composer Andy Akiho — newly appointed to the composition faculty at The New School’s College of Performing Arts — Portal and Seven Pillars, an 11-part, 80-minute piece for percussion quartet that The New York Times described as a “brooding, thrilling, Mahler-length taxonomy of noise.”
In this intensive experience, participants will learn, rehearse, and perform alongside Sandbox Percussion through daily rehearsals, coachings, and workshops. Akiho will coach students on the two pieces and offer masterclasses and discussions about his music and career. The program opens and concludes with free public concerts on July 16 and 22. Participants can also buy an Observation Pass, which gives them priority access to all events of the seminar.
Concert Schedule
July 16 at 7:00PM
Sandbox Percussion Summer Seminar Opening Concert
The Auditorium at 66 West 12th Street
Celebrate the opening night of Sandbox Percussion’s NYC 10th Annual Summer Seminar, featuring performances by Sandbox Percussion and Andy Akiho.
July 22 at 1:00PM
Sandbox Percussion Summer Seminar Final Concert
Arnhold Hall, 55 West 13th Street, 4th Floor
The Sandbox Percussion Summer Seminar Closing Concert features performances by Sandbox Percussion, Andy Akiho, and seminar participants.
Program:
Andy Akiho, Seven Pillars (performed by SPS participants)
Andy Akiho, Portal (performed by SPS participants, Sandbox Percussion, and Andy Akiho)
About the Artists
Sandbox Percussion
Described as “exhilarating” (The New York Times) and “utterly mesmerizing” (The Guardian), GRAMMY®-nominated ensemble Sandbox Percussion brings out the best in composers through their unwavering dedication to artistry in contemporary chamber music. Sandbox Percussion captivates audiences with performances that are both visually and aurally stunning, solidifying them as leaders in the fields of contemporary music and percussion. Brought together by their love of chamber music and the simple joy of playing together, Jonathan Allen, Victor Caccese, Ian Rosenbaum, and Terry Sweeney engage a wider audience for classical music through multidisciplinary collaborations with today’s leading artists.
The 2021 album Seven Pillars, featuring Andy Akiho’s title piece, was nominated for two GRAMMY awards. In 2024, Sandbox Percussion became the first percussion ensemble to be awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant. In 2024 the ensemble recorded music for its first feature film, the Oscar-nominated The Wild Robot (DreamWorks), scored by Kris Bowers. Don’t Look Down, the group’s most recent album (PENTATONE), celebrates its long collaboration with Christopher Cerrone. In 2025, Sandbox Percussion presented a genre-defying program on NPR’s popular Tiny Desk series.
Andy Akiho
Andy Akiho is a “trailblazing” (Los Angeles Times) Pulitzer Prize finalist and seven-time GRAMMY®-nominated composer whose bold works unravel intricate and unexpected patterns while surpassing preconceived boundaries of classical music. Called “increasingly in-demand” by The New York Times, Akiho has earned international acclaim for his large-scale works that emphasize the natural theatricality of live performance. He is the only composer to be nominated for a GRAMMY® in the Best Contemporary Classical Composition category in 2022, 2023, and 2024.
The College of Performing Arts at The New School
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 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. As part of The New School 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.
Founded in 1919, The New School was established to advance academic freedom, tolerance, and experimentation. A century later, The New School remains at the forefront of innovation in higher education, inspiring more than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students to challenge the status quo in design and the social sciences, liberal arts, management, the arts, and media. The university welcomes thousands of adult learners annually for continuing education courses and public programs that encourage open discourse and social engagement. Through our online learning portals, research institutes, and international partnerships, The New School maintains a global presence.