Vinko Globokar
From 13 to 21 years of age Vinko Globokar lived in Ljubljana (Slovenia), where he made his debut as a jazz musician. He subsequently studied trombone at the National Conservatory in Paris (diploma in trombone and chamber music). He studied composition and conducting with René Leibowitz, counterpoint with André Hodeir, and continued his studies with Luciano Berio.
Osvaldo Golijov
Osvaldo Golijov grew up in an Eastern European Jewish household in La Plata, Argentina. Born to a piano teacher mother and physician father, Golijov was raised surrounded by classical chamber music, Jewish liturgical and klezmer music, and the new tango of Astor Piazzolla. After studying piano at the local conservatory and composition with Gerardo Gandini he moved to Israel in 1983, where he studied with Mark Kopytman at the Jerusalem Rubin Academy and immersed himself in the colliding musical traditions of that city.
Michael Gordon
Michael Gordon’s music merges subtle rhythmic invention with incredible power embodying, in the words of The New Yorker‘s Alex Ross, “the fury of punk rock, the nervous brilliance of free jazz and the intransigence of classical modernism.”
Over the past 25 years, Gordon has produced a strikingly diverse body of work, ranging from large-scale pieces for high-energy ensembles to major orchestral commissions to works conceived specifically for the recording studio. Transcending categorization, this music represents the collision of mysterious introspection and brutal directness.
Lei Liang
Heralded as “one of the most exciting voices in New Music” (The Wire), Lei Liang (梁雷) is a Chinese-born American composer whose works have been described as “hauntingly beautiful and sonically colorful” by The New York Times.
Winner of the 2011 Rome Prize, Lei Liang is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and an Aaron Copland Award. He was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic and Alan Gilbert for the inaugural concert of the CONTACT! new music series.
Olivier Messiaen
Born in 1908 in Avignon into a literary family (his father, Pierre Messiaen, was a translator and his mother, Cécile Sauvage, a poet), Olivier Messiaen was marked by the idea of language. He first devised his own language (his book Technique of My Musical Language was completed in 1943) and based it on the modality that, as a child, he had discovered in Debussy, and that he later developed at the Paris Conservatory with Paul Dukas (composition), Maurice Emmanuel (history of music) and Marcel Dupré (organ). He then created his own poetic language, from which all his vocal works issue.
Apply To Be A 2015 Festival Intern
Just as the Festival nurtures emerging artistic talent on the stage and cultivates interest in music in Ojai Valley public schools, it is also committed to training the next generation of music and arts management students through its internship program.
Each year, the Ojai Music Festival Arts Management Internship Program welcomes 12-14 college students and recent graduates to go behind the scenes of a renowned summer music festival. Interns work closely with the staff and production team, providing critical support and gaining invaluable hands-on experience and skills for their future careers. Each intern receives during their 2-3 week internship:
- An immersive experience in the world of a festival and inside knowledge into the many different pieces that come together for a successful weekend of concerts
- Training for their areas of responsibility from staff and leaders in the field
- Free and discounted tickets to Festival concerts (depending on work schedule and availability)
- Housing and/or homestay in the beautiful Ojai Valley and most meals during the Festival
- Stipend
The Festival invites interested students from all fields of study to apply for an internship. The program is ideally suited for curious, motivated individuals who are interested in the diversity of possible careers in the arts, events, and the nonprofit world. Festival interns have gone on to have successful careers in both the nonprofit and for-profit sectors – those who have gone on to work in the arts have done so at organizations across the country, including Pacific Symphony, Early Music Guild of Seattle, and Voices of Change, as well as forged new paths as entrepreneurial performing artists and composers.
Q & A With Festival Producer Elaine Martone
Congratulations to Festival Producer Elaine Martone for her Grammy nomination for Producer of the Year in the classical music category!
Elaine was brought on as the Festival producer in 2012. Prior to joining us, she was executive vice president of production at Telarc Records for 29 years. As a key executive in planning and creative decision-making, she managed more than 1,500 projects and was accountable for more than $6 million annually in production costs. A world-class producer, she is a five-time Grammy Award winner in both Classical and Jazz.
Born in Rochester, New York, Elaine moved to Cleveland to study oboe with aspirations of playing with a symphony orchestra. A graduate of Ithaca College with a Bachelor of Music degree, she was taught the basics of the industry by Telarc founders Robert Woods and Jack Renner, quickly grasping what determined the famed Telarc sound and becoming an accomplished editor and an integral part of the management team. Elaine has served as producer on more than 200 recordings, both classical and jazz, including those by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra with Robert Spano and Robert Shaw, The Cleveland Orchestra with Franz Welser-Möst, the Philharmonia Orchestra with Ben Zander and jazz greats Ray Brown, Dave Brubeck, Oscar Peterson, Tierney Sutton, and McCoy Tyner to name a few.
Elaine was executive director of Spring for Music produced at Carnegie Hall with founding directors Thomas W. Morris, David V. Foster and Mary Lou Falcone, music industry legends.
With her husband, Robert Woods, she has formed a music enterprise, Sonarc Music, and is pursuing her passion, producing great music and musicians, as well as working with talented young people. She was a founding board member of Red {An Orchestra}, which completed seven seasons in Cleveland, Ohio.
Thank You For Attending The 2015 Launch Party
Thank you to everyone who joined us at our 2015 Launch Party on November 22. We had a wonderful time meeting Festival enthusiasts from Ojai, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles…and beyond!
Artistic Director Thomas W. Morris went through the schedule for 2015, highlighting artists and overarching programmatic themes that emerged over the course of planning the Festival with Music Director Steven Schick. As Tom said, “You can look at the Festival flow in this way: Day 1 – a sonic spectacular; Day 2 – introducing Steven Schick, percussionist; Day 3 – introducing all the artists; Day 4 – mixing everyone up. And cutting across everything is the celebration of Pierre Boulez.”
We also showed clips from the world premiere of A Pierre Dream: A Portrait of Pierre Boulez, which will be presented on June 10, and of John Luther Adams discussing Sila: The Breath of the World, which will be performed on June 11. If you were unable to attend, you can view both clips below.
See the full 2015 Festival schedule >>
Roland Auzet, director
French composer, percussionist, and theater director Roland Auzet defines himself as a stage writer. An artist and performer with many interests and talents, Auzet received the Chevalier des Arts et Lettres from the French Ministry in 2007 for his remarkable body of work in contemporary music, circus, dance, opera, and theater.
Maya Beiser, cello
Maya Beiser has captivated audiences worldwide with her virtuosity, eclectic repertoire, and relentless quest to redefine her instrument’s boundaries. The Boston Globe declares, “With virtuoso chops, rock-star charisma, and an appetite for pushing her instrument to the edge of avant-garde adventurousness, Maya Beiser is the post-modern diva of the cello.”
CalArts Ensemble
The CalArts Sila ensemble is an outgrowth of the New Century Players: the faculty, student, and alumni ensemble in residence at CalArts for over 25 years. In various configurations, the group has played at Japan America Theater, Zipper Hall, REDCAT, the Kennedy Center, and at the Dartington Center for the Arts, England. Individual members have performed nationally and internationally as founding members of ensembles Partch (2015 Grammy winner of Best Classical Compendium for Plectra and Percussion Dances), Vir2ual Cage, Formalist Quartet, Southland Ensemble, Isaura String Quartet, and [LIMINAR]. Members also perform regularly with Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, wild Up, Southwest Chamber Music, The Industry, Knoxville Symphony, Sarasota Opera, Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Blackearth Percussion Group, XTET, the Lian Ensemble, Kim Richmond Jazz Orchestra, and the LA Philharmonic.
A Design Preview by Digs Floral Designer, Lynn Malone
Lynn Malone, floral designer and owner of Digs Floral and Botanic Design in Ojai, will be making her 2014 Holiday Home Look In debut at the Schmidt home in Rancho Matilija. Lynn sat down to write us a blog about her plans and inspirations for the decor.
With the excitement of fall color in full bloom it was tempting to style the Schmidt home for Thanksgiving this year, but as a floral designer, I’m equally excited about holiday cheer and winter whites. When the homeowner and I met to plan the floral décor within this beautiful palette of a home, we decided that it would be fun to use floral designs that could be versatile for both holidays so that they could be used for the entire season. In designing the florals, we agreed upon a few priorities. While a few pieces will be works of art, designed to compliment the exquisite art collection in the home, we wanted to keep many of the floral designs simple, so that guests could easily replicate them in their own homes.
Entering the home through the massive front doors, guests will be greeted with warm traditional holiday looks designed to inspire a holiday mood. Inside, fresh, contemporary holiday designs will be showcased, along with a bit of the unexpected, and a touch of whimsy here and there for fun. Floral colors have been chosen to accent the magnificent collection of artwork displayed throughout the home.
Join Us At The 2015 Festival Launch Party – November 22
Join us at our 2015 Launch Party – Saturday, November 22 at 5pm at the Festival Lounge (201 S Signal St)
- Learn more about the 2015 Festival concerts and artists from Artistic Director Thomas W. Morris
- Meet our new Board President David Nygren
- Enjoy the company of other music enthusiasts
Light refreshments will be served.
Free and open to the Festival community.
RSVP by emailing [email protected] to RSVP or calling 805 646 2094. Hope to see you there!
MMDG Music Ensemble
The MMDG Music Ensemble, formed in 1996, performs with the Dance Group throughout the season at home and on tour and has become integral to the company’s creative life. The core group of accomplished musicians is supplemented by a large roster of regular guests, including cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Emanuel Ax. While in Brooklyn, members of the ensemble participate in the Mark Morris Dance, Music and Literacy Project in the New York City public school system.
Fluid Borders: The Boundless World of Percussionists
Percussionists are different. Their musical world has no fixed boundaries; there is no limit to the instruments they play and the sounds they make. There are no pretentious barriers between nature and artifice, no strictures on performing indoors or out. Their precursors reach back to the dawn of time and members of their guild are found in every culture. Hand a percussionist a random rock or the most exquisitely forged gong and he or she will make it speak, sometimes with breathtaking virtuosity born of the simplest gestures by which we interact, though touch, with our material world. So what does it mean that Ojai’s 2015 music director is a percussionist? Quite a lot if that percussionist is Steven Schick.
No one has done more to champion, interpret, and expand the repertory of contemporary percussion music than Steven Schick. Not only has he mastered the entire solo repertory – and more than doubled its size through commissions – but as a conductor, educator, and author he has deepened our understanding of the role of percussion in music’s past, present, and future. More importantly, as an artist of broad interests and deep convictions he has explored cultural issues well beyond the already boundless frontiers of his chosen specialization.
Gloria Cheng, piano
Pianist Gloria Cheng is acclaimed as a discerning artist whose performances tap the emotional core of contemporary music. In recitals that explore significant interconnections amongst composers, Cheng has been presented by the Ojai Festival, Chicago Humanities Festival, William Kapell Festival, and the Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music. She has appeared on leading concert series including Carnegie Hall’s Making Music, Cal Performances, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra’s Engine408, Stanford Lively Arts, and at (le) Poisson Rouge.
Sandeep Das, tabla
Two-time Grammy nominated tabla player Sandeep Das is considered one of the leading tabla players in the world today. One of the disciples of legendary tabla maestro Pandit Kishan Maharaj ji of the Benaras Gharana, his initiation into tabla was with Pt. Shiv Kumar Singh of Patna and he made his debut at age 15 with Sitar Maestro Pt. Ravi Shankar.
Peter Evans, trumpet
Peter Evans has been a member of the New York musical community since 2003, when he moved to the city after graduating from the Oberlin Conservatory with a degree in classical trumpet performance. He currently works in a wide variety of areas, including solo performance, chamber orchestras, performance art, free improvised settings, electro-acoustic music and composition.
Jacob Greenberg, piano
Jacob Greenberg’s work as a soloist and chamber musician has earned worldwide acclaim. As a longtime member of the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), he has performed throughout North and South America and Europe. His solo concert series, Music at Close Range, shows his equal commitment to classics of the repertoire.
Mellissa Hughes, soprano
Hailed by The New York Times as “a versatile, charismatic soprano endowed with brilliant technique and superlative stage instincts…indispensable to New York’s new-music ecosystem,” Mellissa Hughes enjoys a busy international career in contemporary and early music.
Jacob Nissly, percussionist
Jacob Nissly is the Principal Percussionist of the San Francisco Symphony under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. Prior to his appointment in San Francisco, Nissly was the Principal Percussionist of the Cleveland Orchestra for two seasons and the Principal Percussionist of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra for one season. Previously, he was a member of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach for two seasons. He has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera, Houston Symphony, and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. He can be heard on recordings with the San Francisco Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, and St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.
Joseph Pereira, percussion
Joseph Pereira (1974), enjoys a multi-faceted career as a composer, timpanist/percussionist, and teacher. His work in all areas has been widely hailed for his creativity and virtuosity. As a composer, Pereira’s most recent commissions have come from Piano Spheres, for pianist Vicki Ray, percussionist Colin Currie, the Miro Quartet, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Percussion Quartet, pianist Joanne Pearce Martin, and the Manhattan School of Music.
Vicki Ray, piano
Described as “phenomenal and fearless” Vicki Ray is one of the leading interpreters of contemporary piano music. A long-time champion of new music she has worked with some of the most prominent composers of our time, including figures as diverse as Gyorgy Ligeti, Pierre Boulez, Steve Reich, Elliot Carter, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Oliver Knussen, Louis Andriessen, Steven Stucky, David Lang, Julia Wolfe, Michael Gordon and Chinary Ung.
Enjoy Concerts From The Festival With Our Live Stream Library
Use the drop-downs to view program information:
[wpcol_1half id=”” class=”” style=””] [reveal heading=”%image% Thursday Talks – June 12, 2014 – coming soon!”] 1:00 PM – Ojai Community ChurchPart I: Festival Overview with Jeremy Denk
Part II: An Ensemble for the 21st Century: The Musician’s View
with Eric and Colin Jacobsen, founders of The Knights
Ara Guzelimian, Ojai Talks director
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[reveal heading=”%image% Thursday Evening Concert – June 12, 2014″]
8:00 PM – Libbey Bowl, Ojai, CA
Jeremy Denk, piano
Uri Caine Ensemble
Selections from Janáček’s On An Overgrown Path interwoven with short works by Schubert
URI CAINE: Mahler Re-Imagined – The music of Gustav Mahler viewed through Uri Caine’s lens of transformation and improvisation
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[reveal heading=”%image% Friday Talks – June 13, 2014″]
1:00 PM – Ojai Community Church
The Classical Style: Impact and Implications
Part I: Jeremy Denk on Charles Rosen
Part II: An in-depth panel discussion on the award-winning book, The Classical Style, with Timo Andres and Don M. Randel
Part III: Mary Birnbaum, director, and Steven Stucky, composer
HAYDN: String Quartet in G minor, Op. 74, No.3, “Rider”
JEREMY DENK / STEVEN STUCKY: The Classical Style: An Opera (of Sorts)– WORLD PREMIERE
Uri Caine Sextet
The music of George Gershwin, including Rhapsody in Blue, reimagined and improvised by Uri Caine
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[reveal heading=”%image% Saturday Morning Concert – June 14, 2014″]
11:00 AM – Libbey Bowl, Ojai, CA
Jennifer Frautschi, violin
Jeremy Denk, piano
IVES: Sonatas for Violin and Piano, Nos. 1-4 (complete)
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[reveal heading=”%image% Saturday Evening Concert I – June 14, 2014 – coming soon!”]
6:00 PM – Libbey Bowl, Ojai, CA
Jeremy Denk, piano
Timo Andres, piano
Alex Sopp, flute
Colin Jacobsen, violin
Miranda Sielaff, viola
Eric Jacobsen, cello
The Knights
Eric Jacobsen, conductor
ANDREW NORMAN: Light Screens
MOZART / TIMO ANDRES: Coronation Concerto Re-composition
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[reveal heading=”%image% Saturday Evening Concert II – June 14, 2014 – coming soon!”]
8:00 PM – Libbey Bowl, Ojai, CA
Storm Large, vocalist
Hudson Shad Quartet
The Knights
Eric Jacobsen, conductor
BOCCHERINI (arr. The Knights): String Quintet in C major Op. 30, No. 6 – “La musica Notturna delle Strade di Madrid”
IVES: Three Places in New England (1930 version)
FELDMAN: Madame Press Died Last Week at Ninety
STOCKHAUSEN (arr. Caroline Shaw): Tierkreis – Leo
WEILL: Seven Deadly Sins (in English)
Jennifer Frautschi, violin
Members of The Knights
– Max Mandel, viola
– Joseph Gramley, percussion
– Steven Beck, celesta
Ojai Festival Singers
Robert Spano, conductor
J.S. BACH: Violin Sonata No. 3 in C major, BWV 1005
FELDMAN: Rothko Chapel
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[reveal heading=”%image% Sunday Morning Concert – June 15, 2014″]
11:00 AM – Libbey Bowl, Ojai, CA
Timo Andres, piano
Jeremy Denk, piano
Lisa Kaplan, piano
Uri Caine Ensemble
Hudson Shad
The Knights
Eric Jacobsen, conductor
MOZART: Symphony No. 41 in C major, K. 551, “Jupiter”
Canonade: A “mélange of musical canons and canon-esque miscellaney” with selected works by Josquin, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Kurtág, Purcell, P.D.Q. Bach, Uri Caine, and J.S. Bach
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[reveal heading=”%image% Sunday Evening Concert – June 15, 2014″]
5:30 PM – Libbey Bowl, Ojai, CA
Jeremy Denk, piano
Ojai Festival Singers
The Knights
Kevin Fox, Eric Jacobsen, conductors
LIGETI: Piano Études Books I & II
IVES: Psalm 90
BEETHOVEN: Fantasy in C Minor for Piano, Chorus, and Orchestra, Op.80, “Choral Fantasy”
red fish blue fish, percussion ensemble
The New York Times calls red fish blue fish a “dynamic percussion ensemble from the University of California.” Founded fifteen years ago by Steven Schick, the San Diego-based ensemble performs, records, and premieres works from the last 85 years of western percussion’s rich history.