Kaufman Center

Kaufman Music Center is a notable performing arts complex in New York City that houses Lucy Moses School, the Special Music School, and Merkin Concert Hall. Originally known as the Hebrew Arts School, it was founded in 1952 and is currently located on West 67th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue. More than 75,000 people use the Center annually.

Kaufman Music Center was founded by Dr. Tzipora H. Jochsberger in 1952 as a community school for pre-conservatory music training. Located at 129 W. 67th St. on Manhattan's Upper West Side, today's Kaufman Music Center is home to Merkin Concert Hall; Lucy Moses School, New York's largest community arts school; and Special Music School (PS 859), a K-8 public school for musically gifted children.

First known as the Hebrew Arts School for Music and Dance, the school moved to its permanent home, the Goodman House, on W. 67th St. in 1978. Named after Abraham Goodman, the building was designed by Ashok Bhavnani in the Brutalist style and received the Albert S. Bard Trust Award for excellence in architecture. Merkin Concert Hall opened its doors in 1978, and in 1991 the organization was renamed the Elaine Kaufman Cultural Center in recognition of a major gift by Elaine and Henry Kaufman. At that time the Hebrew Arts School was renamed Lucy Moses School. In 1996, Kaufman Music Center partnered with the New York City Department of Education to open Special Music School/PS 859, a K-8 public school for musically gifted children. Major renovations by architect Robert A. M. Stern in 2007 significantly improved Merkin Concert Hall and the exterior of the building.

During the early 1980s, the HAS benefited from a large influx of Jewish émigrés leaving the Soviet Union and arriving in New York City. Many music instructors were not allowed to take their credentials with them when they left, and having a difficult time finding equivalent positions in the United States, found a home at the Hebrew Arts School. Their former students came to the HAS to study, and the school made scholarships available for these students.

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