WESTPORT–Many venues stage concerts around Westport, but the Museum of Contemporary Art-Connecticut (MoCA\CT) offers something a little different – music among the artwork.

Starting in September, the museum will present a lineup of classical, jazz and soul acts, including MoCA/CT’s own Heida Hermanns International Music Competition, drawing musicians from around the world with its top prize of $20,000.

“I look for artists who have something to say,” said Kristen Young, the museum’s director of performing arts. “We’re trying to celebrate art that is pushing culture forward.”

This year, the museum has added a VIP experience with an early reception, complimentary wine and sparkling water and “pretty much the best view in the house,” Young said. 

MoCA/CT is located at 19 Newtown Turnpike, Westport. All shows begin at 7 p.m., with a VIP reception at 6 p.m., except for the final round of the Heida Hermans International Music Competition on Nov. 14 at 4 p.m.

Sept. 18: Heida Hermanns International Music Competition 2025 winners concert (Classical)

Last year’s competitors presented such a challenging decision for the judges that they chose two winners. Both will perform.

Ye-Eun Hyun’s achievements include the Korean Honor Award from the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, top honors at the Vienna International Piano Competition and the special contemporary music prize at the Knoxville International Piano Competition, the museum says on its website. She is pursuing her doctorate with Deborah Moriarty at Michigan State University on full scholarship.

Zhu Wang won first prize in 2020 Young Concert Artists Susan Wadsworth International Auditions. He was a gold medalist at the 2024 New Orleans International Piano Competition, a finalist at the Clara Haskil International Piano Competition and a prizewinner at the 2024 Cleveland International Piano Competition, the museum says.

Oct. 3: Morgan James \ Soul Remains Tour (R&B/Soul)

Morgan James’s four-octave vocal range has drawn more than 300 million views online, singing “vintage soul and modern grit,” the museum website says.

“’Soul Remains the Same,’ her sixth studio album, transforms the testosterone-soaked ‘80s and ‘90s radio classics of her youth into poignant, soulful, and deeply personal covers,” James’s website says, “as if Aretha Franklin went into the studio with AC/DC; it’s heavy rock songs through a feminine, soul lens.” 

The Juilliard-trained singer, songwriter and actor has performed in five Broadway shows, including “The Addams Family,” “Motown: The Musical” and “Godspell.”  

Nov. 14, 4 p.m. – 8 p.m.: The Heida Hermanns International Music Competition, Final Round (Classical)

The next winner of the prestigious competition will be chosen after three finalists face off at the museum. Started by the museum in the early 1970s, the competition is open to musicians from ages 18 to 30. This year, 50 musicians applied, Young said. The competition covers transportation costs for the finalists to travel to Westport and stay with local families, she said. The top prize is $20,000, with $10,000 for second place and $5,000 for third. The competition is supported by philanthropists Suzanne and Norman Sorensen.

“Chosen from a global pool of exceptional talent, three finalists will each command the stage in a 45-minute program of striking range and virtuosity, traversing five centuries of piano repertoire,” the museum says on its website.

The 2026 competition features a new commission by composer Samuel Adams, continuing a legacy of premieres by leading voices such as Lowell Liebermann and Timo Andres, the museum says.

“This is a high-stakes, one-night-only encounter with the future of classical music,” the museum’s website says.

Jan. 30, 2027: Dee Dee Bridgewater and Bill Charlap (Jazz)

Three-time Grammy winner, Tony Award–winning Broadway star Dee Dee Bridgewater joins with Grammy-winning pianist Bill Charlap for “an evening of pure craft, stripped to its essentials,” the museum says. Beyond Broadway, Bridgewater has performed in major concert halls around the work and was awarded a Kennedy Center NEA Jazz Masters honor. Charlap won his Grammy for “The Silver Lining,” an album of Jerome Kern songs with Tony Bennett. Bridgewater and Charalp are touring together after producing “Elemental,” their first duo album and a 2026 Grammy nominee for Best Jazz Vocal Album.

Feb. 20, 2027: Calidore String Quartet (Classical)

Formed at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in 2010, the quartet won the grand prize at the inaugural 2016 M-Prize Competition, sponsored by the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance. 

The quartet boasts a “repertoire spanning the complete quartet cycles of Beethoven and Mendelssohn to works by visionary contemporary voices such as György Kurtág, Jörg Widmann, and Caroline Shaw,” according to the museum’s website.

March 13, 2027: Jasper String Quartet (Classical)

The quartet received the Chamber Music America’s Cleveland Quartet Award and won the CMA’s 2025 Album of the Year for “Insects and Machines: Quartets of Vivian Fung” — music The Strad called “sonically delightful and expressively compelling,” the museum says. At MoCA/CT, they will preview their 2026 release “Lamenting Earth,” a meditation on humanity and the natural world.

“Expect an evening as intellectually alive as it is profoundly moving — the work of one of the preeminent American quartets of the twenty-first century,” the museum website says.

April 29, 2027: Time for Three (Crossover)

The Grammy- and Emmy-winning trio merges classical virtuosity with Americana and singer-songwriter craft to create their sound. 

Their album “Letters for the Future,” recorded with The Philadelphia Orchestra, won the Grammy for Best Classical Instrumental Solo and reached the Billboard classical top 10. Fresh from the world premiere of “Emily – No Prisoner Be” with mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, the trio – violinists Nicolas Kendall and Charles Yang and bassist Ranaan Meyer – “brings its virtuosity, original songwriting, and bold reimaginings to Westport for an evening of pure, exhilarating artistry,” the museum says.

May 8, 2027: Kate Kortum (Jazz)

Kate Kortum is one of the most acclaimed young vocalists in jazz today, the museum says. At 24, she has performed with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra alongside Wynton Marsalis and won the prestigious 2025 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition. The Juilliard graduate has also sung at the Newport Jazz Festival and Birdland. Kortum “blends bebop agility, blues feeling, and theatrical flair into something entirely her own,” MoCA/CT said. With her band, she performs music from her debut “Good Woman” and her 2025 release “Wild Woman,” reimagining the Great American Songbook through a modern, female lens.

MOCA\CT

19 Newtown Turnpike
Westport

Monday – Wednesday | Gallery Closed
Thursday | 12 – 8 p.m.
Friday | 12 – 5 p.m.
Saturday | 10a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sunday | 12 – 5 p.m.