Company Profile
Five Boroughs Music Festival
Company Overview
Five Boroughs Music Festival’s mission is to enrich communities and cultivate new audiences by bringing world-class, affordable chamber music to all corners of New York City. We collaborate with local cultural institutions to present up-and-coming artists alongside the genre’s most distinguished performers. We challenge the standard definition of ‘chamber music’ by presenting a broad range of musical styles, from early music to contemporary works, world music and other non-classical forms.
Company History
Since 2007, 5BMF has presented over 60 traditional and contemporary chamber music programs in nearly twelve complete cycles around NYC. Described as “imaginative” by The New York Times, “enterprising” by The New Yorker, and “vital” by WQXR’s Operavore blog, 5BMF’s commitment to musical outreach and engaging programming has distinguished us as a standout presence in the NYC arts community from our earliest days.
5BMF’s artist roster of nearly 250 individual performers and ensembles is comprised of talented emerging artists and distinguished musicians alike, representing an incredibly diverse range of musical genres and styles. Our venues are just as eclectic, and have included historic NYC landmarks such as Federal Hall, the University Church at Fordham University, Flushing Town Hall, King Manor Museum, Brooklyn Conservatory of Music and the Snug Harbor Cultural Center, to name merely a few.
As champions of new music, 5BMF has to date commissioned more than 50 composers and presented World Premieres of their works throughout every borough of New York City, most notably the two borough-wide tours of our Five Borough Songbook Volumes I and II. Our outreach initiatives continue to expand every year, and have included program-related interactive lectures and discussions, public masterclasses, and free public programming.