In April 2000, the school broke ground, and in October 2001 the G. Chris and SungEun Andersen Hall — a 19-story building with academic, residential and office uses — was inaugurated. The Peter Jay Sharp Library and Evelyn Sharp Performance Library then opened in the fall of 2004, doubling the size of the original library.
The Miller Recital Hall (a jewel box space seating 153) will be home to faculty and student solo and chamber music concerts, as well as master classes and concerts by visiting artists. The venue's thrust stage is flanked by seating platforms at the same level. The auditorium is appointed with African bosse wood at the stage and house partitions and fabric-wrapped acoustic panels on the walls and ceiling; it is linked to the school's central recording studio.
The Ades Performance Space (capacity 215) provides the MSM with a multi-purpose venue for more informal performances, as well as rehearsal space for large ensembles. The space has a "floating floor" for dance.
Beyer Blinder Belle has been the architectural firm spearheading the design from the beginning of the $70 million project.
"With the completion of the Miller Recital Hall, the Ades Performance Space and the president's apartment, Manhattan School of Music — for the first time in its history — is able to enjoy a fully-realized campus community," said Richard W. Southwick, project leader for Beyer Blinder Belle.
