Dr. 詹姆斯·甘德是一位教育家和音乐家，对学生和美国音乐学院学习的发展有着深刻的承诺. He returned to Manhattan School of Music (MSM) to assume the presidency in 2013, having served the School previously for 15 years (1985–2000), concluding that first phase of his time at MSM as Dean of Enrollment and Alumni. In 2000, Dr. Gandre became Dean of Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, where he went on to serve concurrently as the Interim Dean of the College of Education, and ultimately as Provost and Executive Vice President.
Working with his colleagues on the MSM Board of Trustees, faculty, and staff, 甘德雷校长自2013年回到男同性恋者担任校长以来，领导学校取得了几项深远的成就. 其中包括对校园本身的广泛重新构想，已经完成了3000万美元的改善. The most significant of these was a sweeping $16.5-million renovation of Neidorff-Karpati Hall, the School’s primary performance hall, and a related campus transformation that included the School’s grand new entrance, patron lounge, and three new entry lounges. Other campus improvements have included the upgrade and 30- percent expansion of practice rooms; the creation of two dance studios and several new teaching studios and offices; and the creation of a new Student Union and Lounge.
Additionally, President Gandre has overseen the launch of several innovative new programs, including:
- an undergraduate degree program in musical theatre, the only one of its kind offered by an independent music conservatory in this country;
- the Professional Performance Diploma, 为拥有音乐硕士学位或同等学历的古典音乐家开设的为期两年的个性化课程，将于2021年秋季推出;
- the Global Conservatoire, a pioneering virtual learning environment conceived by President Gandre and comprising MSM, the Royal College of Music (London), Royal Danish Academy of Music, and University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, launched in fall 2021;
- and, launching soon, 一个新的美术学士学位完成课程，允许艺术家在异步在线学习的同时将专业经验转换为学分，以完成他们的本科学习.
In 2018–19, 甘德雷总统带领男同性恋者成功度过了为期一年的百年庆典，庆典围绕着三场主播表演(开幕日)而展开, multi-venue music festival, including Beethoven’s 9th Symphony; a fall gala reopening of Neidorff-Karpati Hall; a spring gala at Carnegie Hall) and hundreds of other performances throughout a season that celebrated MSM history.
When the COVID-19 pandemic emerged the following year, under Dr. Gandre’s leadership, MSM effectively pivoted to online learning (in March 2020), 在2020-21学年成功完成了校内和在线学习的混合学习，并于2021年秋季完全返回校园. And despite the ongoing pandemic, in 2020–21, 甘德雷校长主持了该机构历史上筹款最多的一年, an expansion of the School’s Board of Trustees, significant growth in its endowment, and, in fall 2021, its highest-ever enrollment (while sustaining its selectivity).
Throughout the School’s response to the global public health crisis, 甘德雷主席监督了男男性接触者文化包容倡议的创立和发展, which was launched in 2019. 在众多的项目中，有一个项目是由该项目的启动和主流媒体对“黑人的命也是命”运动的紧迫性的充分接受而产生的，那就是“黑人创造者倡议”. 该倡议要求在2020-21学年期间，所有男同性恋者的表演都必须由非裔美国人创作者或散居海外的非洲人创作. Going forward, building from the Black Creators commitment, 男同性恋者制定了一项政策，要求每个部门都纳入特定学科的工作, 并确保文化包容渗透到课程和每场演出的各个方面.
甘德雷校长对美国音乐学院的历史和话语有着广泛的了解, the subject of his doctoral dissertation, 然后有七个:七个独立音乐学院的历史案例研究，幸存于20世纪. 他还在《newbb电子》中撰写了关于音乐学院和音乐学校的文章, Styles, Stars, and Stories that Shaped Our Culture (ABC-CLIO, 2013) and in the 2014 Musical America Directory. In addition to music schools, 他还撰写了关于高等教育管理的两本书:教务长手册(2015年)和高等教育中的LGBTQ领导(2022年)。.
As a performer, James Gandre has appeared as a tenor soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra, London Classical Players, Philharmonia Baroque, and members of the San Francisco Symphony. 他的专业合唱演出包括与纽约爱乐乐团合作超过175场, Aix-en-Provence Festival, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw, Israel Philharmonic, Warsaw Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, Voices of Ascension, New York Chamber Symphony, American Symphony, and Opera Orchestra of New York. He appears on more than 20 commercial recordings on EMI/Angel, EMI/Capital, Teldec, Delos, MusicMaster, and Warner Records, and has made appearances on NBC’s The Today Show, PBS’s Live from Lincoln Center, ABC, and CBS. In these performances, he has worked under such conductors as Leonard Bernstein, Zubin Mehta, Sir Colin Davis, James Levine, Mstislav Rostropovich, Riccardo Chailly, Robert Shaw, Edo de Waart, Christopher Hogwood, Roger Norrington, Dennis Russell Davies, John Nelson, Carlos Kalmar, Giuseppe Patane, Dennis Keene, and Eduardo Mata.
Gandre总统是Misty Copeland基金会顾问委员会的成员，也是Avery Fisher艺术家计划推荐委员会的成员. 他是美国国家录音艺术与科学学院(格莱美)的投票成员，并曾担任大都会歌剧院国家委员会海选地区决赛的评委. 他是威廉·伦道夫·赫斯特基金会/新世界交响乐团未来多元文化招募研讨会的小组成员. 梅隆基金会/阿斯彭音乐节关于连接音乐培训和未来音乐表演世界的小组讨论. More than two decades ago, 他领导了全国大学入学咨询协会举办的全国表演和视觉艺术大学博览会，并担任咨询委员会的第一届和第三届主席.
President Gandre has lectured at institutions including the Curtis Institute of Music, New England Conservatory, Oberlin College, University of Michigan, Peabody Institute, Mannes School of Music, Stanford University, University of Michigan, Royal Danish Academy of Music, National Orchestral Institute at the University of Maryland, China Conservatory of Music, University of the Arts, University of New Mexico, and Interlochen Arts Academy. 四年来，他担任澳大利亚墨尔本大学音乐学院毕业表演考试的外部评委. 他还在教育会议上就影响LGBTQ青年和大学/高中专业人员的问题提出了许多小组讨论.
He has served on the Board of Directors of Chicago’s Grant Park Music Festival, Chicago High School for the Arts, and the Auditorium Theatre. He has also served on the Board of Visitors of the Walnut Hill School for the Arts, the Board of Advisors for Music in the Loft (Chicago), 以及由伊丽莎白·莫尔斯和伊丽莎白·莫尔斯天才慈善信托基金赞助的多元化工作组.
甘德雷总统曾担任加拿大皇家音乐学院等各种机构的顾问, Chicago’s Institute for Clinical Social Work, and the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, 并曾担任纽约城市大学美国律师协会认证部门的现场团队成员, University of Pittsburgh, University of North Dakota, and Indiana University–Purdue University.
A Wisconsin native, President Gandre earned a Bachelor of Music degree with honors from Lawrence University, a Master of Music degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and a Doctor of Education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. 他还曾就读于哈佛大学教育管理与领导学院，并在肯特州立大学和newbb电子的Blossom Festival音乐学院攻读研究生音乐课程.
He is married to Dr. Boris Thomas, JD, PhD, a psychotherapist and executive coach in private practice.
