2023 Festival Schedule

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!