Dear Friends,
I’m writing at the beginning of Thanksgiving week on a brisk and brilliant autumn morning, full of anticipation for the coming days. This might be my favorite holiday, a collective pause specifically to express thanks.
The epic rains of the past week in Southern California have brought much-needed replenishment to the dry landscape, so that there is uncharacteristic November green all around us. A treasured Ojai friend wrote this morning that “maybe I should stop complaining about the rain” and enclosed a photo of an exquisite double rainbow out her window. What a reminder to cherish the world around us!
I am so enormously grateful for our extended Festival community – artists, audience members, donors, board members, volunteers, staff, and neighbors. In the face of a complex and too often a deeply troubled world, it’s the simple acts of kindness, generosity, and quiet grace that linger and enrich our lives. I’m constantly reminded of the part that each of us plays in sustaining the resources and organizations that enhance the quality of life for our communities.
And, of course, there is the company we keep. In our personal lives, we embrace the expanded circles of family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and sometimes random strangers who make the everyday better.
Since we last met at Libbey Park, these past few months have been full of intertwined planning conversations with the artists and collaborating organizations for the June 2026 Festival. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting up with Esa-Pekka Salonen for extended conversations as we dream up programs and possibilities for Ojai. In case you missed it, here is a preview of what’s to come.
Esa-Pekka has been central to the musical life of California for more than 30 years, a beacon for boundless creativity and innovation in all he touches. It is so deeply rewarding to be reunited with him and so meaningful to see what Ojai represents for him – a place where an artist can dream. One of the hallmarks of our coming festival is to provide a concentrated exploration of Esa-Pekka’s own music from recent years, with premieres of two new works as well as performances of his rich output from the past few seasons.
Esa-Pekka joins a long line of great composer/conductors who have been integral to the Festival’s eight decades – Igor Stravinsky, Aaron Copland, Lukas Foss, Pierre Boulez, John Adams, George Benjamin, and Thomas Adès, among others. So, it’s particularly fitting in this anniversary year to have a focus on his own music. A few years ago, Esa-Pekka spent a year as composer-in-residence at the Berlin Philharmonic. During that time, he recorded an extended interview about his life as a composer, a conversation that is quite personal and illuminating:
The coming Festival will celebrate another facet of Esa-Pekka’s work, his role as a mentor for the next generation, particularly as a faculty member at the Colburn School – he will lead two concerts with the Colburn Orchestra. I absolutely love marking a big anniversary year at Ojai with the exuberant talents and spirits of the next generation of musicians!
In the coming months, I will write much more about all of the glorious artists who will animate the 2026 Festival – as I said, we are very lucky in the company we keep. In the meantime, here is a playlist anticipating several of the Festival artists to come – Esa-Pekka, Leila Josefowicz, Anthony McGill, the Attacca Quartet, with a tip of the hat also to John Adams – chosen to keep you company in the coming days, whether in the bustle of travel, preparations, and meals, or even in the quiet private moment of respite.
In this season of gratitude, thank you to each of you for being a valued part of the Ojai Music Festival community. I delight in the company we keep!
With thanks and warm greetings,
Ara Guzelimian
Artistic and Executive Director