Esa-Pekka Salonen, Music Director and Conductor
Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group | Colburn School | Leila Josefowicz, violin | Anthony McGill, clarinet | Attacca Quartet | Geneva Lewis, violin | Jay Campbell, cello | Conor Hanick, piano
“The Ojai Music Festival is eight decades young, and we mark this milestone year with looks back to our extraordinary history and leap future forward with the newest music. A stellar array of guest artists collaborates in ever-changing combinations that are, as always, unique to Ojai. You are part of our story – join us for what promises to be a singular and exuberant gathering of music and musicians.”
Ara Guzelimian, Artistic and Executive Director
Libbey Bowl Evening Concert Highlights
THU 06.11 8PM
Attacca Quartet | Geneva Lewis, violin | Anthony McGill, clarinet | Jay Campbell, cello | Conor Hanick, piano
An opening program that includes recent works of John Adams and Esa-Pekka Salonen, culminating with Olivier Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time, a deeply moving work written in the unimaginable conditions of a prison camp during World War II – a testament to faith and the human spirit, as well as to Messiaen’s profound connection to the natural world.
FRI 06.12 8PM
Colburn Orchestra | Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor | Anthony McGill, clarinet | Jay Campbell, cello
STUCKY Colburn Variations
ESA-PEKKA SALONEN kinēma
LUTOSŁAWSKI Grave (Metamorphoses for cello and strings)
SCHOENBERG Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night)
Esa-Pekka Salonen leads the virtuoso string players of the Colburn School, where he heads the conducting program. Steven Stucky’s touching 2002 gift to the young musicians of the Colburn school serves as prologue to Salonen’s kinēma, a deeply expressive clarinet concerto with the artistry of Anthony McGill. After intermission, the quietly reflective Lutosławski Grave (Metamorphoses for cello and strings), gives way to Schoenberg’s late Romantic 1899 masterwork.
SAT 06.13 8PM
Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group | Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor
A festive reunion as Esa-Pekka Salonen returns home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic in fall 2026 in the recently announced role of Creative Director. We celebrate this happy news with a characteristic program of music by Salonen himself, Gabriella Smith, Magnus Lindberg, and John Adams.
SUN 06.14 5:30PM
Colburn Orchestra | Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor | Leila Josefowicz, violin | vocal soloists to be announced
SALONEN FOG
LIGETI Violin Concerto
STRAVINSKY Pulcinella (complete ballet)
We go out with exuberance and dazzling virtuosity! To begin, Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Bach-inspired affectionate tribute to his great friend Frank Gehry. Ligeti’s Violin Concerto is one of the most dizzying and electrifying masterpieces of the late 20th century. And finally, we pay homage to one of the great early guiding lights of the Ojai Festival, Igor Stravinsky, with his endlessly witty and affectionate send-up of his Baroque music ancestors.
Mornings at Libbey Bowl
FRI 06.12 | SAT 06.13 | SUN 06.14 @ 10:30AM
Libbey Bowl mornings are a magical time, with soft breezes and the song of birds punctuating concerts that blend the familiar with the thrill of discovery. This year, there are several notable highlights: the world premiere of a new work by John Adams written expressly for the Attacca Quartet, the U.S. premiere of a new duo for violin and cello by Esa-Pekka Salonen played by Geneva Lewis and Jay Campbell, and the first complete performance of Salonen’s Piano Preludes with Conor Hanick, in addition to music by Olivier Messiaen and Jessie Montgomery. Complete programs will be announced in January.
Programs and artists are subject to change. Highlights as of November, 2025.