About

Since its inception in 2013, the 501(c)3 non-profit PARMA Music Festival has dedicated itself to presenting new, innovative, and enjoyable contemporary music spanning classical, jazz, electronic, experimental, and more in venues from New York City to Havana Cuba and beyond.

LIVE MUSIC
DISCUSSION PANELS
VISUAL ART DISPLAYS
EDUCATIONAL DEMOS

From world premieres with legendary award winners (“Elegy” by composer Lukas Foss, performed by clarinetist Richard Stoltzman) to prominent debut performances by emerging ensembles (Apollo Chamber Players featured on Cuba national television) to beloved family classics in beautiful settings (seaside concerts of “Peter & The Wolf” by the Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra) the PARMA Music Festival has consistently and simultaneously broken new ground and provided high-quality, accessible experiences with its programming and concept.

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A celebration of the best in contemporary music, from classical and jazz to electronic and rock and much more.

Bob Lord, CEO of PARMA Recordings and Festival Producer

Our goal is to introduce new musicians performing new music to new audiences, and to lower the barrier to entry in every way possible – be it by offering free concerts for the public, which is a core element of our mission, to creating unusual combinations crossing genre and style in order to build connections amongst diverse listenership,” says PARMA Music Festival founder Bob Lord. “When I was growing up, every record store had different bins for every genre, and classical was usually in a glassed-in compound designed to keep out the riff-raff, so to speak. Now, with the flick of the wrist, we can hear anything we want at any time we want, and the Festival aims to reflect the new reality of how we experience music.