Artist Quotes
“I like this small community, and I like the fact that this is a very compact festival.”
– Pierre Boulez
“Ojai is very different, of course. It’s really predicated upon the notion of a very intelligent, musically aware audience that is interested in hearing unusual works.”
– John Adams
“I love the town, and I admire what the festival has stood for since its inception. It has always been a very adventurous festival, one that has encouraged new artists and very interesting elements of the avant-garde. At the same time, it has focused on the qualities of the recognized masterpieces of the musical civilization. I don’t mean that to sound ponderous. Everything about Ojai is so relaxed and natural. That’s one of the great charms of being there.”
– Michael Tilson Thomas
“Looking back over Ojai history, the Festivals has a history of giving people a chance before they become really recognized for their talents. Stravinsky, Boulez, Tilson Thomas. It is an important pivotal point for a lot of artists…And there is the unusual mingling with people. Real people. The absence of slickness. No pretense. No feigning or pretending. That is refreshing”
– Kent Nagano
“Ojai’s marvelous and improbably large fan-base reacted to everything that we threw at them with visible fascination, audible excitement and a spirit of adventure that I’ve not seen elsewhere!”
– eighth blackbird
”Reports over the years had lead me to believe I would enjoy Ojai – but not to the degree I experienced last week. What an extraordinary place, what a wonderful venue to perform, what a remarkable audience…added to that, the beauty of the valley, the glory of the light, the stars and the birdsong…”
– George Benjamin
“The first time I visited, in 2001, I had no idea of the beauties to be found in this eclectic small town that has played host to some of music’s greatest luminaries. There is a very special spirit of collaboration here, fostered in part by the gorgeous natural setting and also by the friendly engagement of everyone involved. Singing the music of John Adams, Luciano Berio, and Osvaldo Golijov in three Ojai Festivals over the past decade has been a true highlight for me.”
– Dawn Upshaw
“Ojai is like a dream. For me personally, it was a great reality where my two cultures met. I couldn’t believe that I was staying right there on famous Ventura beach, the heart and soul of California surfing. And there up the hill in Ojai was the heart and soul of American great music-making.”
– Richard Tognetti (Australian Chamber Orchestra)
“I’m incredibly grateful to the town of Ojai and the place, and all the ridiculous amount of people here who help make this mildly insane weekend of music possible.”
– Jeremy Denk
“Ojai’s marvelous and improbably large fan-base reacted to everything that we threw at them with visible fascination, audible excitement and a spirit of adventure that I’ve not seen elsewhere!”
– eighth blackbird
“…Ojai has the best audience in the world.”
– Leif Ove Andsnes