New Musicians at The New School was a classical music concert series offered by The New School for Social Research as part of its Special Lecture courses from 1985 to 1993. The series was directed by Stefania M. de Kenessey, a composer and member of the faculty of Eugene Lang College, a division of The New School for Social Research (later, The New School). According to the course descriptions, the concerts were designed to offer “fresh interpretations of familiar and beloved works from the 18th and 19th centuries, together with a sampling of recent pieces by composers currently working in a traditional, consonant style.”

The concerts consisted of performances by both soloists and chamber ensembles, and established chamber groups in New York City such as Andiamo Chamber Ensemble, Golden Fleece Ltd. (a chamber opera company), and Eclectic Chamber Orchestra. The concert programming, while offering many works by traditional European composers, also frequently featured works by American composers such as George Gershwin, Aaron Copland, and members of the National Association of Composers USA (NACUSA), as well as women composers such as Vivian Fine, Ruth Schonthal, and de Kenessey herself. The series also offered concerts centered exclusively on women composers in 1987, 1989, and 1990.

The series consisted of four concerts per semester, on average, for the first five years it was offered, and three concerts per semester from 1991 to 1993. The New School incorporated the Mannes College of Music (as of 2024, Mannes School of Music) as one of its divisions in 1989, but continued to offer general music courses and lectures, such as New Musicians at The New School, through its continuing education division, known for many years as the Adult Division.

Stefania M. de Kenessey, director of the New Musicians at The New School series, was a graduate of The New School’s one-year course of study for advanced high school students, The Freshman Year Program, in 1972, from which she transferred to Yale University. After receiving a bachelor of arts degree from Yale and a master of arts degree in music composition from Princeton University, de Kenessey began teaching music courses in The Freshman Year Program at The New School in 1979, later completing a PhD at Princeton and continuing to teach courses at The New School. Since joining The New School faculty, de Kenessey has taught courses in music at Eugene Lang College, the Graduate Faculty (now, the New School for Social Research), the Jazz and Contemporary Music BFA program, as well as the Adult Division of the The New School for Social Research. As of 2024, de Kenessey is Professor Emeritus of the Arts and Contemporary Music at The New School. References

Course Catalogs, “New School for Social Research,” New School Course Catalog Collection, 1919-2017, The New School Archives Digital Collections, New York, New York.

Course Catalogs, “The Freshman Year Program,” New School Course Catalog Collection, 1919-2017, The New School Archives Digital Collections, New York, New York.

“Faculty: Stefania de Kenessey.” The New School: Lang. Accessed December 3, 2024, https://www.newschool.edu/lang/faculty/stefania-dekenessey/.