From 19 to 21 March 2026, the DiMenna Center for Classical Music in New York will host the latest edition of the Ukrainian Festival of Contemporary Music — MOSAICS.
Co-organised by the Ukrainian Institute in partnership with Ukraїner, the three-day festival explores the themes of Places (19 March), People (20 March) and Practices (21 March). The programme features music by 17 Ukrainian composers, with 14 works being performed in the United States for the first time.
The MOSAICS programme brings together diverse cultural strands — from Crimean jazz to Ukrainian-Jewish folk traditions and innovative chamber compositions. The festival highlights the dynamic interplay between tradition and innovation that shapes Ukraine’s contemporary cultural identity.
The festival opened with a performance by the International Contemporary Ensemble and will feature a world premiere co-commissioned with 2026 composer-in-residence Alla Zagaykevych. Her work is presented across all three concerts, including String Quartet No. 2, which will be performed by The Rhythm Method on 21 March.
A separate event will be the third evening of the UCMF Afterdark series. Ukrainian-Crimean jazz pianist Usein Bekirov, together with musicians from New York, will present an improvisational intercultural set dedicated to interaction, dialogue and community.
The festival not only showcases music but also creates a space for discussion among researchers, composers and performers, exploring the intersection of new music, contemporary developments and Ukrainian culture.
As The New York Times notes, “the very existence of the festival is a rebuttal of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claim that Ukrainian culture does not exist”.
The festival was founded in 2020 by musicologist Leah Batstone as the public component of her research into changes in Ukraine’s music programming following the Revolution of Dignity. Composer Lyudmyla Yurina also contributed to the creation of the first programme, moderating a discussion featuring Leonid Hrabovskyy and Anna Korsun.
Since then, the Ukrainian Festival of Contemporary Music has taken place every spring, consistently revealing to international audiences the complexity and distinctiveness of the Ukrainian music scene.