Multicultural Music Encounters
Preserving History Through Music
The Multicultural Music Encounters (MME) series is more than concerts; it is a year-long journey of creation and dialogue. We commission BIPOC composers to research and write symphonic works that depict the emotional weight of lesser-known historical events, creating a space for reflection, understanding, and preventing the erasure of diverse narratives. A 30-year series that will last generations with the 30th Anniversary of the Multicultural Music Group Orchestra album, a tribute to each performance, which was preceded by a panel with scholars and journalists, educating and exposing our audiences to their own histories of diaspora, migration, and assimilation in the United States. Through music and personal reflection, our MME series preserves Afro-Indigenous stories and fosters a global society.
Watch Our Performances
Small Ensemble Performances
In 2022, in response to the reopening of New York City post-COVID-19, MMG introduced Small Ensemble MME performances. Fueled by new funding to support small establishments and venues that rely on live patronage, MMG served as a conduit to help bring audiences back to public spaces.
MMG integrated these Small Ensemble performances as a standard element of the MME series. This marks a new era for the organization, where the full orchestra is now featured in studio recordings that preserve the monumental orchestral works commissioned in MMG’s earlier years.
Celebrating Emerging Composers
Ray Santos
Composers:
Los Borinqueneers/2009
Eddie Palmieri
Composers:
Tribute to Charlie Palmieri
Johanny Navarro
Composers:
Daño Collateral/2012
Jason Kao Hwang
Composers:
Tiananmen Square/2015
2009: Ray Santos — Los Borinqueneers
Commissioned symphonic work honoring the 65th Infantry Regiment (The Borinqueneers), which served with distinction in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. This landmark presentation played an instrumental role in advocating for and leading to the federal recognition of these decorated veterans.
2012: Johanny Navarro — Daño Collateral
A profound musical exploration of lesser-known historical conflicts and collateral impact, expanding the dialogue around Caribbean and Latin American historical narratives.
2015: Jason Kao Hwang — Tiananmen Square
An emotionally charged, avant-garde symphonic work capturing the historical weight, courage, and memory of the events at Tiananmen Square, preventing the erasure of modern global history.
MME Impact
80+
World Premieres
45
Members in the MMG Orchestra
150
Musicians Paid per Year