FULL SCHEDULE
THU, June 8
2:30PM OJAI TALKS
Greenberg Center, Ojai Valley School lower campus
2:30-3:15pm Ara Guzelimian with Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels
3:30-4:30pm John Schaefer with Festival artists and composers
8:00PM LIQUID BORDERS
Libbey Bowl
Rhiannon Giddens vocals
Kayhan Kalhor kamancheh
Attacca Quartet
red fish blue fish
Steven Schick director
The Festival opens with Gabriela Ortiz’s Liquid Borders performed by red fish blue fish, directed by Steven Schick. The second half welcomes back the Attacca Quartet performing a curated playlist made especially for Ojai audiences ranging from works of Haydn, Glass, and Adams to rapper Flying Lotus plus the music of Rhiannon Giddens and Kayhan Kalhor.
FRI, June 9
8:00AM OJAI DAWNS
Zalk Theater, Besant Hill School
Emi Ferguson flute
Ross Karre percussion
Niloufar Shiri kamancheh
Aida Shirazi electronics
Steven Schick percussion
red fish blue fish
Golfam KHAYAM Lost Wind
Aida SHIRAZI New Work World Premiere
Edgard VARÈSE Density 21.5
CHOU Wen-chung Echoes From The Gorge
The Ojai Dawns is a benefit for Festival Family Donor Circles. Learn more here>
Subscribers receive priority to purchase single tickets before going on sale to the general public beginning March 31.
10:00AM VIS-À-VIS
Libbey Bowl
Leonard Hayes piano
Michi Wiancko violin
Mario Gotoh viola
Karen Ouzounian cello
Emi Ferguson flute
Joshua Rubin clarinet
Gloria Cheng piano
Wu Man pipa
Steven Schick percussion/conductor
Shawn OKPEBHOLO mi sueño: afro-flamenco
Tyson Gholston DAVIS American Tableau (Tableau XI)
Margaret BONDS Troubled Water (Wade in the Water)
Michael ABELS Iconoclasm
Jessie MONTGOMERY Rhapsody No. 2
Nasim KHORASSANI Growth
Nina BARZEGAR Inexorable Passage
Lei LIANG vis-à-vis
3:30PM GHOST OPERA
Greenberg Center, Ojai Valley School lower campus
Wu Man pipa
Attacca Quartet
PeiJu Chien-Pott dancer/choreographer
Jon Reimer director
Nicholas Houfek lighting designer
TAN Dun Ghost Opera
Tan Dun’s Ghost Opera evokes the spirits of Bach and Shakespeare, standing with the ancient folk traditions of traditional shamanistic Chinese music. A new production, created especially for the Ojai Music Festival, brings dance into the work and re-imagines it for a new generation.
Ghost Opera is an add-on event, not included in the Libbey Bowl Series Pass. Purchase here >
8:00PM AN EVENING WITH RHIANNON GIDDENS AND FRANCESCO TURRISI
Libbey Bowl
An intimate acoustic concert with Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi with music ranging from the Baroque to Appalachian ballads and traditional Black American songs.
SAT, June 10
8:00AM MORNING MEDITATION
Chaparral Auditorium
Niloufar Shiri kamancheh
Mario Gotoh violin
FREE. Open to the public.
10:00AM THE WILLOWS ARE NEW
Libbey Bowl
Karen Ouzounian cello
Wu Man pipa
Nathan Schram viola
Gloria Cheng piano
Kayhan Kalhor kamancheh
Niloufar NOURBAKHSH Veiled
Lei LIANG Mother’s Songs
GE Gan-Ru Gong
CHOU Wen-chung The Willows are New
Kayhan KALHOR Solo Improvisation
3:30PM GHOST OPERA
Greenberg Center, Ojai Valley School lower campus
Wu Man pipa
Attacca Quartet
PeiJu Chien-Pott dancer/choreographer
Jon Reimer director
Nicholas Houfek lighting designer
TAN Dun Ghost Opera
Tan Dun’s Ghost Opera evokes the spirits of Bach and Shakespeare, standing with the ancient folk traditions of traditional shamanistic Chinese music. A new production, created especially for the Ojai Music Festival, brings dance into the work and re-imagines it for a new generation.
Repeat performance. Ghost Opera is an add-on event, not included in the Libbey Bowl Series Pass. Purchase here >
8:00PM OMAR’S JOURNEY
Libbey Bowl
Seckou Keita kora
Justin Robinson fiddle
Rhiannon Giddens soprano
Cheryse McLeod Lewis mezzo-soprano
Limmie Pulliam tenor
Michael Preacely bass-baritone
Ojai Festival Ensemble
Music from Senegal and the Carolinas
Rhiannon GIDDENS/Michael ABELS Omar’s Journey World Premiere
An Ojai-commissioned work for voices and chamber ensemble drawn from the opera Omar, by Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels, framed by traditional music that traces the journey of the real-life Omar Ibn Said from Senegal to the Carolinas.
SUN, June 11
8:00AM MORNING MEDITATION
Chaparral Auditorium
Seckou Keita kora
FREE. Open to the public.
10:00AM EARLY MUSIC
Libbey Bowl
Francesco Turrisi curator/host and piano/organ
Rhiannon Giddens vocals
Wu Man pipa
Kayhan Kalhor kamancheh
Attacca Quartet
A program imagined specifically for the magical atmosphere of Sunday morning in Libbey Bowl, playing on the two ideas of very old music and music for the first hours of the day. Francesco Turrisi curates and introduces music ranging from thousand-year-old works for solo pipa, to Renaissance consort music, from ancient Persian melodies to modal jazz improvisations.
1:00PM FLOWERPOT MUSIC – Free Interactive Event
Libbey Park
Steven Schick percussion
Elliot COLE Flowerpot Music
Make music with us! Everyone is invited to bring your own flowerpots to join in on this interactive community performance of Elliot Cole’s Flowerpot Music led by Steven Schick.
FREE. Open to the public.
2:30PM BETWEEN WORLDS
Greenberg Center, Ojai Valley School lower campus
Mazz Swift violin
Mario Gotoh viola
Karen Ouzounian cello
Shawn Conley bass
Ross Karre projection
Carlos SIMON Between Worlds
A complete performance of Carlos Simon’s cycle Between Worlds, four solo string works placed in visual context by their source of inspiration: the remarkable paintings of Bill Traylor (ca. 1853-1949), chronicling nearly a century of Black American life.
Festival Family Donor Circle Members receive first priority seats. Learn more here>
Subscribers receive priority to purchase single tickets before going on sale to the general public beginning March 31.
4:00PM BUILD A HOUSE
Libbey Park
A special free family event – Rhiannon Giddens does a reading and special musical performance based on her new children’s book, Build A House.
FREE. Open to the public.
5:30PM FINALE: STRINGS ATTACHED
Libbey Bowl
Mazz Swift violin
Rhiannon Giddens singer/instrumentalist
Wu Man pipa
Seckou Keita kora
Kayhan Kalhor kamancheh
Justin Robinson fiddle
Francesco Turrisi multi-instrumentalist
Members of the Silkroad Ensemble
A musical summit of Festival artists and a jam session featuring solos and collaborations bringing together bowed and plucked string instruments from the Americas, Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. An exuberant finale celebrating the many musical stories featured at this year’s Festival!
THU, June 8
2:30PM OJAI TALKS
Greenberg Center, Ojai Valley School lower campus
2:30-3:15pm Ara Guzelimian with Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels
3:30-4:30pm John Schaefer with Festival artists and composers
8:00PM LIQUID BORDERS
Libbey Bowl
Rhiannon Giddens vocals
Kayhan Kalhor kamancheh
Attacca Quartet
red fish blue fish
Steven Schick director
The Festival opens with Gabriela Ortiz’s Liquid Borders with red fish blue fish directed by Steven Schick. The second half welcomes back Attacca Quartet performing a curated playlist ranging from works of Haydn, Glass, and Adams to DJ rapper Flying Lotus, plus the music of Rhiannon Giddens and Kayhan Kalhor.
FRI, June 9
8:00AM OJAI DAWNS
Zalk Theater, Besant Hill School
Emi Ferguson flute
Ross Karre percussion
Niloufar Shiri kamancheh
Aida Shirazi electronics
Steven Schick percussion
red fish blue fish
Golfam KHAYAM Lost Wind
Aida SHIRAZI New Work World Premiere
Edgard VARÈSE Density 21.5
CHOU Wen-chung Echoes From The Gorge
The Ojai Dawns is a benefit for Festival Family Donor Circles. Learn more here>
10:00AM VIS-À-VIS
Libbey Bowl
Leonard Hayes piano
Michi Wiancko violin
Mario Gotoh viola
Karen Ouzounian cello
Emi Ferguson flute
Joshua Rubin clarinet
Gloria Cheng piano
Wu Man pipa
Steven Schick percussion/conductor
Shawn OKPEBHOLO mi sueño: afro-flamenco
Tyson Gholston DAVIS American Tableau (Tableau XI)
Margaret BONDS Troubled Water (Wade in the Water)
Michael ABELS Iconoclasm
Jessie MONTGOMERY Rhapsody No. 2
Nasim KHORASSANI Growth
Nina BARZEGAR Inexorable Passage
Lei LIANG vis-à-vis
3:30PM GHOST OPERA
Greenberg Center, Ojai Valley School lower campus
Wu Man pipa
Attacca Quartet
PeiJu Chien-Pott dancer/choreographer
Jon Reimer director
Nicholas Houfek lighting designer
TAN Dun Ghost Opera
Tan Dun’s Ghost Opera evokes the spirits of Bach and Shakespeare, standing with the ancient folk traditions of traditional shamanistic Chinese music. A new production, created especially for the Ojai Music Festival, brings dance into the work and re-imagines it for a new generation.
Ghost Opera is an add-on event, not included in the Libbey Bowl Series Pass. Purchase here >
8:00PM AN EVENING WITH RHIANNON GIDDENS AND FRANCESCO TURRISI
Libbey Bowl
An intimate acoustic concert with Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi with music ranging from the Baroque to Appalachian ballads and traditional Black American songs as well as excerpts from Songs of Flight by Shawn Okpebholo.
SAT, June 10
8:00AM MORNING MEDITATION
Chaparral Auditorium
Niloufar Shiri kamancheh
Mario Gotoh violin
FREE. Open to the public.
10:00AM MORNING CONCERT
Libbey Bowl
Karen Ouzounian cello
Wu Man pipa
Nathan Schram viola
Gloria Cheng piano
Kayhan Kalhor kamancheh
Niloufar NOURBAKHSH Veiled
Lei LIANG Mother’s Songs
GE Gan-Ru Gong
CHOU Wen-chung The Willows are New
Kayhan KALHOR Solo Improvisation
3:30PM GHOST OPERA
Greenberg Center, Ojai Valley School lower campus
Wu Man pipa
Attacca Quartet
PeiJu Chien-Pott dancer/choreographer
Jon Reimer director
Nicholas Houfek lighting designer
TAN Dun Ghost Opera
Tan Dun’s Ghost Opera evokes the spirits of Bach and Shakespeare, standing with the ancient folk traditions of traditional shamanistic Chinese music. This new production, created especially for Ojai, introduces dance into the work and re-imagines this landmark piece for a new generation.
Repeat performance. Ghost Opera is an add-on event, not included in the Libbey Bowl Series Pass. Purchase here >
8:00PM OMAR’S JOURNEY
Libbey Bowl
Seckou Keita kora
Justin Robinson fiddle
Rhiannon Giddens soprano
Cheryse McLeod Lewis mezzo-soprano
Limmie Pulliam tenor
Michael Preacely bass-baritone
Ojai Festival Ensemble
Music from Senegal and the Carolinas
Rhiannon GIDDENS/Michael ABELS Omar’s Journey World Premiere
An Ojai-commissioned work for voices and chamber ensemble drawn from the opera Omar, by Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels, framed by traditional music that traces the journey of the real-life Omar Ibn Said from Senegal to the Carolinas.
SUN, June 11
8:00AM MORNING MEDITATION
Chaparral Auditorium
Seckou Keita kora
FREE. Open to the public.
10:00AM EARLY MUSIC
Libbey Bowl
Francesco Turrisi curator/host and piano/organ
Rhiannon Giddens vocals
Wu Man pipa
Kayhan Kalhor kamancheh
Attacca Quartet
A program imagined specifically for the magical atmosphere of Sunday morning in Libbey Bowl, playing on the two ideas of very old music and music for the first hours of the day. Francesco Turrisi curates and introduces music ranging from thousand-year-old works for solo pipa, to Renaissance consort music, from ancient Persian melodies to modal jazz improvisations.
1:00PM FLOWERPOT MUSIC – Free Interactive Event
Libbey Park
Steven Schick percussion
Elliot COLE Flowerpot Music
Make music with us! Everyone is invited to bring your own flowerpots to join in on this interactive community performance of Elliot Cole’s Flowerpot Music led by Steven Schick.
FREE. Open to the public.
2:30PM BETWEEN WORLDS
Greenberg Center, Ojai Valley School lower campus
Mazz Swift violin
Mario Gotoh viola
Karen Ouzounian cello
Shawn Conley bass
Ross Karre projection
Carlos SIMON Between Worlds
A complete performance of Carlos Simon’s cycle Between Worlds, four solo string works placed in visual context by their source of inspiration: the remarkable paintings of Bill Traylor (ca. 1853-1949), chronicling nearly a century of Black American life.
Festival Family Donor Circle Members receive first priority seats. Learn more here>
4:00PM BUILD A HOUSE – Free Family Event
Libbey Park
Rhiannon Giddens does a reading and special musical performance based on her new children’s book, Build A House.
FREE. Open to the public.
5:30PM FINALE: STRINGS ATTACHED
Libbey Bowl
Mazz Swift violin
Rhiannon Giddens singer/instrumentalist
Wu Man pipa
Seckou Keita kora
Kayhan Kalhor kamancheh
Justin Robinson fiddle
Francesco Turrisi multi-instrumentalist
Members of the Silkroad Ensemble
A musical summit of Festival artists and a jam session featuring solos and collaborations bringing together bowed and plucked string instruments from the Americas, Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. An exuberant finale celebrating the many musical stories featured at this year’s Festival!