CIM has awarded more than 90 honorary doctorates since 1965 when the practice began. Recipients are recommended by the faculty and the honor is granted by CIM’s Board of Trustees. Among the musical luminaries to receive this distinction are conductors Christoph von Dohnányi, Michael Tilson Thomas, Kurt Masur and Franz Welser-Möst; composers Donald Erb, Pierre Boulez and Malcolm Arnold; violinists Jaime Laredo, Josef Gingold, Itzhak Perlman and Robert Mann; harpist Ann Hobson Pilot; vocalists Frederica von Stade and Tony Bennett; pianists Van Cliburn and Leon Fleisher; and many others.