Ukrainian Contemporary Music Festival (UCMF) announces 2026 festival “Mosaics” March 19–21, 2026 at The DiMenna Center for Classical Music in NYC

Ukrainian Contemporary Music Festival (UCMF) announces
2026 festival “Mosaics” March 19–21, 2026
at The DiMenna Center for Classical Music in New York City

Co-presented by the Ukrainian Institute in Kyiv and in special partnership with Ukraïner cultural media archive, three concerts will explore Places (March 19), Peoples (March 20), and Practices (March 21) with music by 17 Ukrainian composers, including 14 U.S. premieres, ranging from Crimean jazz to Ukrainian Jewish folk traditions

International Contemporary Ensemble opens festival on March 19, featuring a new co-commissioned world premiere arrangement by 2026 Composer-in-Residence
Alla Zahaykevych, whose works receive U.S. premieres across all concerts,
including String Quartet No. 2 by The Rhythm Method on March 21

The festival concludes with UCMF Afterdark on March 21, a cross-cultural jazz collaboration and community gathering led by Crimean Tatar composer-pianist Usein Bekirov

(Click for digital press kit)

NEW YORK, NY — The Ukrainian Contemporary Music Festival (UCMF) returns to New York City March 19–21, 2026 with its seventh edition, Mosaics, a three-day celebration of contemporary Ukrainian classical music at The DiMenna Center for Classical Music.

This year’s theme, Mosaics, highlights the rich diversity of peoples, landscapes, and musical practices that make up Ukraine’s cultural identity today. Through a series of concerts, conversations, and multimedia presentations, the festival invites audiences to experience Ukraine’s living musical tapestry — from Austrian waltzes to Crimean jazz to Jewish folk traditions and cutting-edge chamber works — revealing the vibrant intersections between past and present, tradition and innovation. A complete list of programs and performers appears below.

Alla Zahaykevych is the UCMF 2026 Composer-in-Residence. An acclaimed composer, IRCAM (Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music) alumna, and pioneer of Ukrainian electroacoustic music, Zahaykevych has been a central figure in shaping Ukraine’s contemporary sound world. Her works appear across all three concerts, embodying the spirit of Mosaics through her deep engagement with cultural hybridity, technology, and tradition.

Three Concerts, Three Perspectives: Places, Peoples, and Practices

The festival launches with Places on Thursday, March 19, 2026, presented in collaboration with the International Contemporary Ensemble. This opening program explores the relationship between geography and imagination, portraying how Ukraine’s vast and varied landscapes — from the Carpathian Mountains to post-industrial mining towns — shape the sonic imagination of its composers. Featured works include Vela Invecti by Alla Zahaykevych, Branching by Ostap Manulyak, Voice of the Mountains by Victor Kaminsky, Terricone by Anna Korsun (new arrangement co-commissioned by International Contemporary Ensemble and UCMF), and Five Minutes After Leaving the Bomb Shelter by Ivan Nebesnyy.

On Friday, March 20, 2026, the festival continues with Peoples, a program celebrating the many ethnic and cultural voices that form Ukraine’s social fabric. The concert traces connections between traditional sources and contemporary reinterpretations, highlighting works that reflect Ukrainian, Crimean Tatar, Hutsul, and Jewish influences. Repertoire includes Anna Hurina’s Narod for electronics, Renata Sokachyk’s Crimean Songs for voice and piano, Julia Gomelskaya’s Hutsulka Dance, Yuri Ishchenko’s Six Jewish Melodies, Oleksandr Shchetynsky’s Music for Kharkiv and Józef Koffler’s Variations on a Waltz by Johann Strauss for solo piano, and Alla Zahaykevych’s Rituel for voice and electronics.

The final concert, Practices, on Saturday, March 21, 2026, features the acclaimed string quartet The Rhythm Method. Ranging from the pioneering voice of Stefania Turkevych, Ukraine’s first female symphonic composer, to contemporary innovators such as Ihor Zavhorodnii and Boris Loginov, the program showcases how experimentation, reflection, and spirituality coexist in Ukrainian musical practice. Works include Turkevych’s String Quartet No. 1, Zahaykevych’s String Quartet No. 2, Loginov’s sleep during insomnia, Zavhorodnii’s Music That Leaves Itself, Valentyn Sylvestrov’s Icon, and Hanna Havrylets’s For Maria.

Curated to accompany the musical works, all UCMF 2026 performances will feature projected photos and video from the Ukra?ner archive that showcase the rich variety of Ukrainian landscapes and the people who call them home.

The festival concludes on Saturday night at 10:00 p.m. with UCMF Afterdark at The Close-Up on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, where Usein Bekirov joins New York–based musicians for a dynamic, cross-cultural jazz collaboration. This event is free for all Festival ticket-holders.

“With Mosaics, we want audiences to discover that Ukrainian music is not a single story but a living tapestry shaped by many peoples and histories,” says Leah Batstone, UCMF’s Founder and Creative Director. “It’s a privilege to feature Alla Zahaykevych as our 2026 Composer-in-Residence: her work epitomizes the spirit of creative dialogue and resilience that defines Ukraine’s contemporary music scene. The festival’s conversations and performances reveal how these diverse threads continue to shape Ukraine’s sound world today. As the United States, with its own rich variety of landscapes, peoples and practices, celebrates 250 years of Independence, we are highlighting an important connection between our two countries.”

Prior to the opening concert, UCMF will host a free public panel bringing together leading voices in Ukrainian music and scholarship—including performers, composers, scholars, and critics (TBA)—in a discussion moderated by Leah Batstone that explores the intersections between Ukrainian and American approaches to music-making. Details to be announced.

UCMF 2026 is co-presented by the Ukrainian Institute in Kyiv, UCMF's partner since its inception. The Festival is generously supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. It is grateful for the ongoing support from community partners such as the Self-Reliance Financial Federal Credit Union and the Shevchenko Scientific Society.

All festival concerts will take place at the fully accessible DiMenna Center for Classical Music (450 W. 37th Street, New York, NY), and UCMF Afterdark will take place at The Close-Up (154 Orchard Street, New York, NY). Tickets start at $40 and full-access Festival passes are available. Pay-what-you-can tickets are available for students and military veterans with valid ID.  For tickets and full festival information, visit ucmfnyc.com.

For a preview of the season, listen to the UCMF 2026 Composer Playlist on Spotify.

Ukrainian Contemporary Music Festival 2026: Mosaics
Concert Listings

PLACES
March 19, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. | The DiMenna Center for Classical Music
in collaboration with International Contemporary Ensemble

Alla ZAHAYKEVYCH (1966–) Vela Invecti*
Ostap MANULYAK (1983–) Branching*
Victor KAMINSKY (1953–) Voice of the Mountains*
Anna KORSUN (1986–) Terricone**
Ivan NEBESNYY (1971–) Five Minutes After Leaving the Bomb Shelter*

PEOPLES
March 20, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. | The DiMenna Center for Classical Music
Featured performers: Teryn Kystasty-Kuzma, voice and bandura; Solomiya Ivakhiv, violin; Steve Beck, piano; Sean Statser, percussion; Anna Shelest, piano; Melvin Chen, piano

Anna HURINA (2003–) Narod* (for electronics)
Renata SOKACHYK (1990–) Crimean Songs* (for voice and piano)
Julia GOMELSKAYA (1964–2016) Hutsulka Dance* (for piano and percussion)
Yuri ISHCHENKO (1938-2021) Six Jewish Melodies* (for violin and piano)
Józef KOFFLER (1896–1944) Variations on a Waltz by Johann Strauss (for solo piano)
Alla ZAHAYKEVYCH (1966–) Rituel* (for voice and electronics)
Oleksandr SHCHETYNSKY (1960–) Music for Kharkiv* (for solo piano)

PRACTICES
March 21, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. | The DiMenna Center for Classical Music
in collaboration with The Rhythm Method

Stefania TURKEVYCH (1898-1977) String Quartet No. 1
Alla ZAHAYKEVYCH (1966–) String Quartet No. 2*
Boris LOGINOV (1990–) sleep during insomnia*
Ihor ZAVHORODNII (1988–) Music That Leaves Itself*
Valentyn SYLVESTROV (1937–) Icon
Hanna HAVRYLETS (1958–2022) For Maria*

UCMF AFTERDARK
March 21, 2026 at 10:00 p.m. | The Close-Up (154 Orchard Street, New York, NY)
Usein Bekirov, piano

Usein BEKIROV (1982–) selections from Eastern Kaleidoscope

*US premiere
**world premiere arrangement

For press interviews, tickets, and requests, please contact:

Dr. Leah Batstone | info@ucmfnyc.com
Jacob Slattery | jacob@orpheusbureau.com | 1 (917) 294-3590 

This press release is distributed by the Ukrainian Contemporary Music Festival, a 501(c)3 non-profit charity, dedicated to promoting contemporary Ukrainian culture.

“The Ukrainian Contemporary Music Festival’s very existence has always been a rejection of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia’s assertion that there is no real Ukrainian culture.”
–The New York Times