Support far-reaching music this Giving Tuesday!

The Momenta Festival X opening night, photo by John Gurrin

A Message from Emilie this Giving Tuesday:
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Dear friends,

Momenta has always championed exploration and looking outward. Our commitment to furthering the repertoire has led us as far afield as Latin America, Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia. We share the fruits of these international collaborations on our annual self-produced Momenta Festival, juxtaposing these important new works with modern standards and great music from the past. And indeed, our home base of NYC (as ever, a melting pot and beacon of possibility) is itself bursting with potential for international collaboration.

Your support of the Momenta Festival equals the support of the next generation of international composers. Momenta's vision supports not only an international avant-garde, but also a radical acceptance of all music, past and present, as being worthy of listening with fresh ears. And don't just take our word for it! The intrepid new-music critic George Grella said it best in his glowing review of the opening night of our tenth Momenta Festival, which included works by Ravel, Palestrina, and John Cage alongside the rising star Japanese composer Noel Hiyamizu:

Momenta’s curation is something different, it has an inherent understanding that playing music live means everything is contemporary, everything is alive in the moment; past, present, and future collapse into the now. . .These Momenta concerts will be some of the finest chamber music you’ll hear all season, and as another brick in the edifice of civilization, they will endure.

Last year Momenta attained its own nonprofit status. We took over the nonprofit organization of violinist/composer Cornelius Dufallo, and the official name of the organization is C.B.D. Music, Inc dba Momenta Quartet. The online link above lets you donate by credit card, PayPal or Zelle, but if you prefer to write a check, please make it payable to Momenta Quartet and mail it to:

Momenta Quartet
Attn: Stephanie Griffin
1075 Grand Concourse, Apt. 2A
Bronx, NY 10452

C.B.D. Music, Inc dba Momenta Quartet is a registered 501(C)(3), EIN: 84-1688812. Your contribution is tax-deductible within the United States to the fullest extent allowed by law.

For the past nine years, Momenta has had an affiliation with the Music From Japan Festival, now in its 51st year. Their promotion of Japanese composers has facilitated a powerful artistic exchange between the USA and Japan, and the pieces written for and premiered by Momenta have become part of our unique personal repertoire. At last year's Music From Japan Festival, I gave the US premiere of "Human Error! / Dance" (2019) for solo violin by Noel Hiyamizu (b. 1997). I had such fun with this wildly dramatic, theatrical piece that I decided to give it a second performance on my curated Momenta Festival evening on Oct. 4, 2025. I'm thrilled to have introduced our NYC audiences to an important new emerging voice. ​

Looking ahead: the 2026 Music From Japan Festival marks a new collaborative era: the Momenta Quartet will be the featured ensemble in concerts and symposia in NYC and at Binghamton University, highlighting the continuing legacy of MFJ commissions. Read the 2026 festival announcement here and join us in February!

What could be more important for the survival and enrichment of the arts in NYC and beyond right now?

Help Momenta’s mission to encourage musical inclusivity and promote international composers with a tax-deductible gift this Giving Tuesday!

Thank you and best wishes for the holiday season,

Emilie
Violinist, Momenta Quartet