mannes school of music announces the appointment of Dana Kelley to faculty

August 24, 2020, New York - The New School announced today that acclaimed violist Dana Kelley will join the faculty of Mannes School of Music this fall semester. Dana Kelley, praised for her rich and beautiful tone, has been a top prizewinner in the Sphinx Music Competition and the Irving M. Klein International String Competition.

“Renewal is an extremely important component of healthy and vibrant organizations. To that end, I am thrilled to welcome Dana Kelley to the faculty of the Mannes School of Music and the College of Performing Arts at The New School,” said Richard Kessler, Executive Dean, College of Performing Arts and Dean of Mannes. “Dana has a wonderful career in orchestral and chamber playing, including being a member of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and the musical collective Decoda, as well and as a former member of the Argus Quartet and Ensemble Connect. We are all eager to see how Dana will bring her own artistic viewpoint and excellence in teaching to Mannes and how our students and community will be enriched and renewed as a result.” 

At Mannes, Kelley will serve on the major lesson faculty in the String Department. She will also collaborate with students and faculty across the college in a wide range of special projects, productions, and courses.

“I am excited and honored to be joining the faculty of the College of Performing Arts and Mannes School of Music," said Kelley. "I am thrilled to join a community in which creativity and innovation are integral parts of creating a comprehensive arts education. I look forward to future collaborations with faculty and students alike!"

Kelley is a member of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and a former member of the Argus Quartet. Dana received an Artist Diploma in String Quartet Studies with Argus as the 2017-2019 Graduate Quartet in Residence at The Juilliard School. The Argus Quartet wasnamed the First Prize Winners of both of the 2017 M-Prize Chamber Arts Competition and the 2017 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition and were recipients of the 2018 Classical Recording Foundation Award and the 2018 Salon de Virtuosi Award.

Kelley’s performance schedule has brought her to many prestigious venues and festivals, including multiple recitals at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Recital Hall at New York’s Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, the Ravinia Festival, and Bravo! Vail. Recent and upcoming engagements include the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts (IL), Purdue Convocations (IN), Kravis Center for the Performing Arts (FL), Chamber Music Society of Detroit (MI), Amherst College (MA), the 92nd Street Y, the Library of Congress, the Chicago Symphony, the Cabrillo Festival, the Lucerne Festival, Philharmonie Berlin, and the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg.

Kelley has collaborated with artists such as Ralph Kirshbaum, Nobuko Imai and Miriam Fried, pianists Leon Fleisher, Anne-Marie MacDermott and Misha Dichter, and Astrid Schween of the Juilliard String Quartet. She participated in Ravinia’s Steans Musicians on Tour and frequently performs with The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble, A Far Cry, and The Knights chamber orchestras. She has attended festivals such as Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, the Lucerne Academy, the International Summer Academy of the mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, the Schiermonnikoog International Chamber Music Festival, Kneisel Hall, and the Aspen Music Festival and School.

Kelley was a 2014-2016 Fellow in Ensemble Connect - a performance and teaching program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and The Weill Music Institute. She received her Bachelor’s of Music from the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University, studying violin with Cornelia Heard and viola with Kathryn Plummer, and completed her Master’s of Music degree at the New England Conservatory as a student of Kim Kashkashian.