“[Spectrum] has become a go-to place for contemporary fare”
— Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times

“a cozy, ambitious performing-arts space”
— Steve Smith, The New Yorker

Spectrum supports a wide array of artistic practices, celebrating the robust diversity of NYC’s creative communities and the inspiring cross-section of national and international talent that chooses to make Spectrum a vehicle of expression.

Consistent with long practice, we particularly encourage participation by those bringing the sort of challenging, through-composed, “complexitist” music sometimes easier to find in European settings (e.g., Darmstadt; Donaueschingen and Huddersfield Festivals) than elsewhere.

Also, we are actively interested in performances for our Exile series, which celebrates performers and composers who have either lived in a state of exile or have enriched the US by moving here from other countries. More specifically, Spectrum Exile is a performance series exploring dislocation and refuge. It was born in response to:

• The realization that much of the music celebrated at Spectrum involves or is significantly influenced by composers and performers born outside the US who eventually settled in the US (e.g., Bartok, Stravinsky, Schoenberg), many of them fleeing persecution or instability abroad.
• A political environment that makes it increasingly difficult for many to travel (or live) internationally in order to pursue their dreams and ambitions.
• A planet on which entire species are themselves in danger of climate-geographic dislocation or irreversible, complete exile.

MISE-EN_PLACE COLLABORATION

Starting in November 2025, Spectrum is collaborating with MISE-EN_PLACE as its principal site.

MISE-EN_PLACE is located at:
45 Saint Nicholas Avenue
New York, NY 10026

Two blocks north of Central Park, and within four blocks of subway trains that directly access much of NYC:
The 2 and 3 Trains (Cathedral Parkway / 110 th Street stop)
The B and C Trains (110 th Street – Malcolm X Plaza stop)