Category: Festival Blog

SEASON 5

Welcome to OJAICAST, where we pull back the curtain to take a sneak-peek at the upcoming Ojai Music Festival, June 5 to 8, in beautiful Ojai Valley, California. All are welcome here, from newcomers to long-time music fans. In-depth insights and special guests will help introduce this year’s programming and whet your musical appetites for what’s to come with host Christopher Noxon.

EPISODE 4

In our fourth and final episode of this series leading up to the 2025 Ojai Music Festival, Leilehua Lanzilotti discusses giant reverbs and how Hawaiian culture influences her music. Composer Liza Lim then talks about writing for solo flute and explains How Forests Think.

Music featured
1. ko’u inoa composed by Leilehua Lanzilotti and performed by Jordan Bak
2. ahupua’a: iii. mohala i ka wai ka maka o ka pua composed by Leilehua Lanzilotti and performed by Leilehua Lanzilotti
3. Sola: II. – composed by Anna Thorvaldsdottir and performed by Leilehua Lanzilotti
4. Hawai’i Aloha Traditional, performed by IZ
5. Ke Aloha O Ka Haku (Queen’s Prayer) performed by Kamehameha School Children’s Choir
6. Sola: I. Prologue – I. – composed by Anna Thorvaldsdottir and performed by Leilehua Lanzilotti
7.  How Forests Think: IV. The Trees composed by Liza Lim and performed by Elision Ensemble
8. How Forests Think: III. Pollen composed by Liza Lim and performed by Elision Ensemble
9. Sex Magic: III. Oracles II “Womb Bell” composed by Liza Lim and performed by Claire Chase
10. Sex Magic: IV. Oracles III “Vermillion – On Rage” composed by Liza Lim and performed by Claire Chase
11. I find you in all things composed by Jane Sheldon and performed by Jane Sheldon

Will Thomas, Writer & Producer
Christopher Noxon, Host
Leilehua Lanzilotti and Liza Lim, Guests

OJAICAST theme by Thomas Kotcheff and Louis Weeks

EPISODE 3

This week we look behind the scenes of how the Ojai Music Festival is curated with this year’s Music Director, Claire Chase and the Festival’s Artistic and Executive Director, Ara Guzelimian. Claire tells the story of this year’s Pulitzer Prize winning piece, Sky Islands by Susie Ibarra. She also demonstrates some of her exotic flute sounds and techniques.

Music featured –
1. Pan – Death of Pan composed by Marcos Balter and performed by Claire Chase
2. Pan – Pan’s Flute composed by Marcos Balter and performed by Claire Chase
3. Pan – Harmony of the Spheres composed by Marcos Balter and performed by Claire Chase
4. Holy Liftoff composed by Terry Riley and performed by Claire Chase, unreleased
5. Sex Magic: II. Oracles I “Salutations to the Cowrie Shells composed by Liza Lim, performed by Claire Chase & Senem Pirler
6. Sky Islands composed by Susie Ibarra and performed by Claire Chase, unreleased
7. Sunbird composed by Susie Ibarra and performed by Claire Chase, unreleased
8. On the Overgrown Path, JW VIII/17, Book 1: I. Our Evenings composed by Leos Janacek and performed by Rudolf Firkusny
9. Yenna performed by Ali Farka Touré
10. Horse Sings From Cloud composed and performed by Pauline Oliveros

Will Thomas, Writer & Producer
Christopher Noxon, Host
Claire Chase and Ara Guzelimian, Guests

OJAICAST theme by Thomas Kotcheff and Louis Weeks

EPISODE 2

In this episode, cellist Jay Campbell discusses the adventurous programming of the Ojai Music Festival (June 5-8) and his recurring role on the Libbey Bowl stage with the JACK Quartet. Composer Annea Lockwood then takes us on an aural journey down rivers and bayous as she shares about her decades-long trials of recording the wind.

Music featured –
1. Chambers composed by Marcos Balter and performed by the JACK Quartet, unreleased recording
2. The Holy Presence of Joan D’Arc composed by Julius Eastman and performed by Seth Parker Woods/Wild Up
3. Sky Islands composed by Susie Ibarra, unreleased recording
4. Eastre composed by Autechre
5. Bayou-Borne composed by Annea Lockwood and performed by Ensemble Maze
6. Housatonic River Recording by composer Annea Lockwood, unreleased
7. Wind by composer Cathy Lane
8. Arctic Winds by composer Maggi Payne

Will Thomas, Writer & Producer
Christopher Noxon, Host
Jay Campbell & Annea Lockwood, Guests 

OJAICAST theme by Thomas Kotcheff and Louis Weeks

EPISODE 1

We launch season five of OJAICAST as your host Christopher Noxon dives into the lineup of the 2025 Ojai Music Festival (June 5-8).   He joins composer-in-residence Marcos Balter and talks about writing music at a young age, audience participation in his music, and collaborating with this year’s Music Director and longtime friend Claire Chase.

Music featured –
1. Processional performed by Claire Chase (composer Marcos Balter)
2. Pan’s Flute performed by Claire Chase (composer Marcos Balter)
3. Harmony of the Spheres performed by Claire Chase (composer Marcos Balter)
4. Alone performed by Claire Chase (composer Marcos Balter), unreleased
5. Chambers performed by Spektral Quartet (composer Marcos Balter)
6. Sugarcane Fields Forever by Caetano Veloso
7. Processional performed by Claire Chase (composer Marcos Balter)

Will Thomas, Writer & Producer
Christopher Noxon, Host
Marcos Balter, Guest

OJAICAST theme by Thomas Kotcheff and Louis Weeks

Also available on SPOTIFY, APPLE PODCASTS and YOUTUBE
OJAICAST SEASON 4
OJAICAST SEASON 3
OJAICAST SEASON 2
OJAICAST SEASON 1

Stay tuned for Episode 4!

ABOUT OUR HOST
Christopher Noxon writes and paints in Ojai, CA. His solo show “Terra Incognita” opens at Oxford House Projects in LA on May 17. He’s on the board of the Ojai Valley Museum and the Ojai Studio Artists. He’s the author and illustrator of Good Trouble: Lessons from the Civil Rights Playbook, Plus One: A Novel and Rejuvenile: Kickball, Cartoons Cupcakes and the Reinvention of the American Grown-Up. His work has been featured in the New Yorker, the Atlantic and the New York Times Magazine.

ABOUT OUR WRITER & PRODUCER
Will Thomas is a composer, producer and sound artist based in Ojai, CA.  He has composed music for TV, Film scores, movie trailers and has released multiple albums on labels Thrill Jockey, Hydrogen Dukebox and his own Neutral Music imprint.  He is a frequent collaborator including works with Joseph Arthur, Roger Eno, Natalie Walker, and Jason Bentley.  His music has been featured in countless programs on Netflix, HBO, SyFy, NBC, and he won the award for Best Score at the Filmquest Film Festival for The Haunted Swordsman. Most recently, he has experimented with mechanical instrument making and sound art installations.  

ONE NIGHT ONLY: THU May 15
7PM-10:30PM Light and Space Yoga in Ojai

The Ojai Music Festival partners with The Listening Garden for an evening of immersive sonic exploration led by 2025 Music Director and flutist Claire Chase. The event invites attendees to participate in the legacy of experimental and electronic music pioneer, Pauline Oliveros. 

Joining Claire Chase will be sound artist Colloboh and dublab founder Mark “Frosty” McNeil to begin and end the evening.

Naom’s Kitchen bento-style Japanese dinner available for purchase, as well as complimentary tea ceremony & wine.

Tickets are $47/person. Limited seating available. Hurry now to save your spot.

About the Artists

Described by The New York Times as “the most important flutist of our time,” Claire Chase is a musician, interdisciplinary artist, and educator. One of today’s most generative forces of new music, Chase returns to Ojai later this season as Musical Director of the 2025 Ojai Music Festival.

Chase has recently performed as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Helsinki Philharmonic, BBC Scottish Symphony, Munich Chamber Orchestra, and London Philharmonia. She is currently collaborating with The Getty Center on a public offering inspired by the listening philosophies of Pauline Oliveros (PST ART x Science Collide festival, 2024-25).

Colloboh is a Nigerian-born, LA-based sound artist, producer, composer, and DJ. While known for his modular synth works, he’s broken new ground in experimental performance with recent collaborations with Los Angeles Philharmonic and The Getty Center.

Mark “Frosty” McNeil is a DJ, radio host, sonic curator, and founder of dublab radio, a pioneering web-based radio station exploring wide-spectrum music since 1999. McNeill currently serves as a Creative Producer for Los Angeles Philharmonic.

About Pauline Oliveros + Deep Listening

Pauline Oliveros was a sonic visionary; her work in composition, improvisation, and teaching was imaginative, ground-breaking and largely dedicated to accessibility.

Deep Listening describes philosophies and practices that explore the space between the physical phenomenon of hearing and the conscious practice of listening. It includes listening and sounding exercises, sonic meditations, and interactive performance. In the words of Oliveros, “Deep Listening involves going below the surface of what is heard, expanding to the whole field of sound while finding focus. This is the way to connect with the acoustic environment, all that inhabits it, and all that there is.”

Each year, the Ojai Music Festival Arts Management Internship Program welcomes a dozen 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 simultaneously gaining invaluable hands-on experience and skills for their future careers.

About the Program

The Festival invites students from all fields of study to apply for our internship program. The program is ideally suited for curious, motivated individuals who are interested in the diversity of possible careers in either the arts, live event management, or 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 the AMOC* (American Modern Opera Company), International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), Pacific Symphony, Early Music Guild of Seattle, and Voices of Change, as well as forged new paths as entrepreneurial performing artists and composers.

Each intern receives during their two-week internship:

• An immersive experience within a world-renowned music festival in addition to inside knowledge into the many different pieces that come together for a successful weekend of concerts
• Training for their areas of responsibility from staff as well as leaders in the field
• Free and discounted tickets to Festival concerts (as much as work schedule and ticket availability allow)
• Housing and/or homestay in the beautiful Ojai Valley and most meals during the Festival
• Stipend

Production Fellowship

Previous experience in production and/or previous internship with Ojai Music Festival is strongly preferred. The production intern fellow will get hands-on experience in details that help create a successful experience for musicians, patrons, and other production staff.

Internship Opportunities

Each of the Festival’s internship opportunities places interns in a specific area of responsibility, enabling them to gain specialized experience. However, the multilayered nature of the Festival means that interns will often assist in many different departments, as projects require. Read the brief descriptions below to see what might best interest you and indicate your interests in order of preference when you apply. The “good fit for” is not at all a requirement, just a suggestion.

How to Apply

Applications for the 80th Ojai Music Festival (June 11 to 14, 2026) will close March 1, 2026.

• Complete the internship application (below)
  Fill out the forms, select your department interests (listed above), respond to the two essay questions, and return with a cover letter and resume. The application form is at the bottom of this page.
• Submit two letters of recommendation
  Letters from college faculty should include both how the applicant would benefit from the Internship and how the Internship would strengthen the applicant’s specific academic and career goals. Letters from college faculty must be on school letterhead. These letters may be uploaded with the application or sent to:
  
  Ojai Music Festival
  PO Box 185
  Ojai, CA 93024
  
  OR
  
  info@ojaifestival.org

Internship Requirements: Applicants must be 18 or over and current college (undergraduate or graduate) students. Knowledge of classical music is suggested but not required. Interns commit to 2 weeks in Ojai and must be available during the Festival week (June 8-14, 2026). Please indicate on your application if you have special schedule restrictions.

Have questions? Ask at lwalter@ojaifestival.org or 805 646 2094

If you are a returning intern, fill out the returning intern application by clicking this button:

At the Ojai Music Festival, we thrive on experimentation and discovery—both in the music we present and in how we engage with our community. Each year, we take creative risks to offer a unique and transformative experience. But none of this would be possible without our supporters, our passionate music lovers, our community.

Feedback from our patrons is essential to our growth and evolution. Whether it’s thoughts on a particular performance, insights into the festival experience, or suggestions for how we can better serve our audience, their perspective is invaluable.

“We enjoyed meeting new people and we enjoyed running into people we know but didn’t know that they have attended the Festival for several years (or longer).”

“Every year we wonder how we could possibly top this next year, but it happens – the magic keeps growing!”  

“An introduction for me to hear new artists perform whom  I ordinarily wouldn’t not be familiar  with  and to be awakened to new sounds and proficiency of the artists.”

“Lovely, enriching experience for the whole family.”

“It means satisfying my curiosity. It means great people. It means discovery. It means good food. It means beautiful setting. It means staggering artistry.”

Dear Ojai Festival friends,

As this year rapidly winds down, I wanted to take a moment to savor some favorite moments and glimpses of the 2024 Festival with the wondrous Mitsuko Uchida as Music Director. It was a particularly joyous and rewarding Festival, with the members of Mahler Chamber Orchestra turning up in every corner of Ojai, delighting in their California adventure. Who would have thought a European-based chamber orchestra would have a Johnny Cash cover band in their ranks! Before we let the year recede in memory, here are some personal snapshots of a few public and private moments that I cherish.

Behind the Scenes

Mitsuko Uchida, a musician of boundless curiosity and exuberance, getting an orientation on percussion instruments by Festival artist Sae Hashimoto.

Mitsuko is one of the most exacting of artists when it comes to pianos. We were very fortunate to have the superb piano technician Joel Bernache as our house piano “doctor” to look after the splendid concert Steinway. Here are both Mitsuko and Joel in action!

Joyful Moments

Violinist Alexandra Preucil (with bunny ears) with members of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra in their delightful children’s concert in Libbey Park. A few moments after the concert ended, the tiny daughter of friends spied the violinist walking through the park (without the ears!) – she pointed with delight and said, “there’s the bunny,” at which point the extraordinarily kind Alexandra Preucil came to visit with her.

One of my favorite new traditions at the Festival is the early morning free meditation concerts at Chapparal Auditorium on Ojai Avenue. Who knew that a hearty audience would turn up at 8 a.m. on a weekend morning to hear some quiet, reflective new music? Never underestimate the Ojai audience! Here’s cellist Jay Campbell with a rapt morning audience. 

I particularly love this photo as it captures the ebullient good spirits felt by all at the 2024 Ojai Festival. We are very lucky in the company we keep.

Looking Ahead

All of us here send you our wholehearted thanks for creating this very special community that is the Ojai Music Festival. I’m always fond of saying the miracle of Ojai is this improbable standard of artistic excellence and innovation that happens to take place in a lovely small town park, with perhaps the most open-eared and open-hearted audience to be found anywhere. The Festival depends to a very large degree – 75% – to contributed income. Please consider making a year-end contribution to help us start the new year with a solid foundation of support. We are grateful to each of you for your continued engagement and so look forward to seeing you in the coming year.

Ara Guzelimian
Artistic and Executive Director

Gift A Subscription

Think about surprising someone with a Libbey Bowl Pass for the Ojai Music Festival in 2025, scheduled for June 5-8 featuring Music Director Claire Chase. From Libbey Bowl passes to individual tickets, you can customize an unforgettable musical journey, perfect for your loved one’s musical tastes. This gift promises not just a fantastic event but also an immersive experience in the enchanting Ojai!

Merchandise

A cozy hoodie or blanket to stay warm. A baseball cap or t-shirt to add to your collection. Purchase your OMF merchandise as a gift for someone special or treat yourself!

The promo code MERRY automatically adds an additional 15% discount. Order soon to ensure it arrives before the holidays.

It begins with your commitment.

Because of your curiosity and adventurous spirit, Ojai becomes a gathering place where the world’s most innovative musicians connect with an inspired community. You make it possible for us to create transformational experiences year after year.

Your gift today can help sustain this extraordinary tradition.

It begins with your generosity.

Because of you, the Festival’s impact reaches far beyond its four unforgettable days.

In 2025, nearly 3,000 students and seniors in the Ojai Valley will experience the joy of music through our BRAVO Education and Community Programs. Year-round events will foster deeper connections locally, while free livestreams will bring Ojai’s magic to thousands worldwide.

Your gift today ensures that this impact will grow even further.

It begins with your adventurous spirit.

Because of you, Claire Chase will present a bold, inventive program inspired by Ojai’s natural beauty and sonic landscapes. Together, we will welcome a vibrant, multigenerational collective of composers, performers, and improvisers to create an unforgettable experience.

Your support makes all this possible. Please join us in creating another extraordinary Festival season by making your year-end gift.

It all begins with YOU.

Ara Guzelimian
Artistic & Exectutive Director

A Small Expense with a Great Impact

Throughout the year, the Ojai Music Festival prioritizes community, artistic curiosity, and innovative programs, culminating with our treasured Festival in June. The Festival’s year-round programs are made possible by donations from our loyal audience members, like you!

Recurring gifts allow you to give at the level and timing that works best with both your budget and schedule. They simultaneously allow the Festival to rely on a consistent, year-round revenue stream. 

Dear Ojai Festival friends,

I hope this Thanksgiving week finds you well, with time to reflect and savor the joys of life. This is one of my favorite times of the year – the mornings are suddenly chillier, the sweaters come out of the drawers, the afternoon light is longer and lower on the horizon, we are perhaps more keenly aware of the passing of the year.

It is also a moment to pause and express gratitude. Among life’s many joys, I am deeply grateful for my life in music, keeping company with the most inspiring of musicians and fellow listeners. I started coming to the Ojai Festival when I was barely out of my teens and the lovely community that is created each year in Libbey Park is high on my list of treasurable experiences, an annual tradition that renews and surprises at every turn.

Much of life lately has been at a high decibel level, what with a singularly contentious election year, war and devastation of loss in so many parts of the world, and more locally, the sirens signaling an unusual wildfire season from Camarillo to New York (!). Faced with so much troubling noise, my response has always been to turn to music. So, in that spirit, I offer what I call a “quiet playlist of thanksgiving,” featuring a cross-section of wondrous Ojai artists from the last ten years.

This very personal selection reminds me of beauty, a deep inner life, and the things that we cherish, and which endure apart from all the noise. The tone is set from the start by our 2025 Music Director Claire Chase with Felipe Lara’s Meditation and Calligraphy and includes such treasured Ojai artists as Víkingur Olafsson, the Attacca Quartet (playing John Adams), Julia Bullock, Vijay Iyer, Steven Schick, Mitsuko Uchida, and the JACK Quartet. I want to single out one particular track – Rainy Day from the Silk Road Ensemble’s just-released album American Railroad. One of my fondest memories of the 2023 Festival was the magical duet between Rhiannon Giddens and Wu Man at the closing concert. This is that very piece, a souvenir of a magical Ojai pairing.

I offer this music as our gift, with much gratitude to each of you for all you do to create and nurture this Festival community.

With all good wishes,

Ara Guzelimian
Artistic and Executive Director

Join us for a special occasion featuring former Artistic Director Thomas W. Morris and now published author. “Always the Music” is the fascinating story of Tom Morris’ personal metamorphosis through the highest levels of the world of classical music, his learning and insights into how storied musical institutions function, great artists create, and audiences engage. The final chapter synthesizes Morris’ career lessons into an unequivocal but thoughtful prescription for the American orchestra. Mostly, though, this is the entertaining story of one man’s lifelong love affair with great music and the people who make it.

THU December 5.2025 | 5:30-7PM | Ojai Music Festival Lounge (201 S. Signal Street)

5:30PM: Enjoy a complimentary wine bar

6:00PM: Book reading and interview with Tom Morris and host Jeremy Turner, followed by a book signing.

We look forward to sharing this special evening with you!

This event is free to Ojai Music Festival friends. Limited seating. RSVP by clicking the link below.

The 79th Ojai Music Festival, June 5 to 8, 2025, welcomes as Music Director one of today’s most vital artists flutist Claire Chase. Reflecting on Ojai’s natural and sonic environment, 2025 Festival programming offers responses to landscape, as caretakers and participants, and welcomes a multi-generational collective of composers, performers, composer-performers, and improvisers, as well as multimedia artists whose works defy categorization. 

2025 Festival Highlights

• The 79th Ojai Music Festival, June 5 to 8, 2025, welcomes as Music Director one of today’s most vital artists flutist Claire Chase. Reflecting on Ojai’s natural and sonic environment, 2025 Festival programming offers responses to landscape, as caretakers and participants, and welcomes a multi-generational collective of composers, performers, composer-performers, and improvisers, as well as multimedia artists whose works defy categorization.
• West Coast Premieres of Liza Lim’s Sex Magic, Craig Taborn’s Busy Griefs and Endangered Charms, Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s Ubique, Susie Ibarra’s Sky Islands, and Terry Riley’s Pulsefield
• The Festival celebrates multiple generations of composers, including residencies by Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Tania León, Annea Lockwood, Liza Lim, and Marcos Balter; composer-performers include Craig Taborn (piano), Leilehua Lanzilotti (viola), and Susie Ibarra (percussion)
• An all-star “meta-ensemble” of Festival musicians including Seth Parker Woods, cello; Wu Wei, sheng; Steven Schick, conductor and percussion; the JACK Quartet (violinists Christopher Otto and Austin Wulliman, violist John Pickford Richards, and cellist Jay Campbell); Katinka Kleijn, cello; Cory Smythe and Alex Peh, piano and keyboards; Ross Karre, percussion; Joshua Rubin, clarinet; M.A. Tiesenga, saxophone and electronic hurdy-gurdy; and members of Australia’s ELISION Ensemble

THU November 7.2024 | 5-7PM | Museum of Ventura County (100 East Main St, Ventura)

It was a mesmerizing evening with flutist Emi Ferguson, a favorite of Ojai Music Festival audiences, on November 7 at the Museum of Ventura County.

After enjoying the company of others and exploring the museum’s latest exhibits, Emi led attendees through a beautiful journey of the flute through time and place. Special thanks to Emi for creating a playlist of the program and other fun resources to come back to time and time again when we need the beauty of music to give us comfort and joy.

THE PROGRAM

Improvisation (2021)
Seyfollah Shokri

Puis qu’en oubli (~1350)
Guillaume de Machaut (arr. Michael Hersch)
with the Flux Quartet

Syrinx (1913)
Claude Debussy

Fantasia in A Major (1733)
G.P. Telemann

Huitzitl (2007)
Gabriela Ortiz

Air (1995)
Londonderry Air (1977) arr. Emi Ferguson (2024)
Tōru Takemitsu

Kembang Suling, Mvt II (1996)
Gareth Farr

Allemande & Sarabande from BWV 1013 (1719)
J.S. Bach

​Fantasia in E Minor (1733)
G.P. Telemann

​Handkerchief Scene, from Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)
John Williams

Relive your favorite Libbey Bowl moments from the 2024 Ojai Music Festival. Watch either whole concerts or individual pieces from each concert. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to stay up-to-date with new video releases.

“The Ojai Music Festival has always meant a wonderful blend of tradition and modernism. I look forward to hearing new and exciting modern and contemporary artists and works always followed by a beautiful and reliable classic. Over the years I have met new people and celebrated new friendships with people I may never have met if not for the festival. I look forward to this event each year.”

“An introduction for me to hear new artists perform whom  I ordinarily wouldn’t not be familiar with and to be awakened to new sounds and proficiency of the artists.”

Watch Entire Concerts

Watch Individual Pieces

Saturday & Sunday, November 16 & 17

How to purchase tickets:

• The Box Office
  • Located at the Holiday Marketplace at Libbey Park (210 S. Signal Street), one is at the fountain area and another is at the building closest to the Libbey Bowl. Look for red signs reading WILL CALL
  • Tickets are $50. Credit card purchases only
  • Hours are 10PM-4PM on Saturday and 10AM-3PM Sunday
• Ticket Outlets
  • Attitude Adjustment in Ojai
  • Fox Fine Jewelry in downtown Ventura (Closed Sundays)
  • For ticket outlets, cash or check only

Preview the Four Homes and Florists

Villa Valencia

Have you ever driven by a home and instantly been enamored of it, yearning to see inside and out? Here is your opportunity to indulge your curiosity, with a house both elegant and livable. Exuding French vibes, you feel transported to that wine country, although this property is
surrounded by fragrant orange groves. Inside the main house, with its massive ceilings, postcard-worthy views from every window, generous rooms, and simplicity abounding, one can only imagine how beautiful a stay in this home would be. Of course, the pool and guest house complete the picture, with areas of restful quiet and tranquility in between.

Floral Desginer: Louesa Roebuck

“The way of the flowers” has been studied for centuries. As an artist, floral designer and author, Louesa Roebuck demonstrates that one needs to understand the rules in order to bend them. In her two critically acclaimed books, Foraged Flora and Punk Ikebana, Louesa has composed stunning arrangements and installations that unite cultural influences with an exhilarating freedom from conventional floral design using regionally foraged and gleaned materials.

After moving to California from Ohio in 1998, Louesa worked at the influential Chez Panisse, which profoundly shaped the direction of her career.  She continued her education of California culture and beauty working with clothing and textile designer Erica Tanov, then opened “August,” a seminal fashion, art, and community hub illustrating the intersection of luxury apparel and environmentally and socially responsible textile practices. In 2008, Louesa returned to her lifelong love of foraged floral work.

In addition to creating floral art, arrangements and installations for many illustrious clients, her work has been featured in several national and international media including Vogue, GOOP, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Wired Magazine, Los Angeles Times, Architectural Digest, C Magazine, Gardenista, Sunset, Martha Stewart Living and more.

Working with locally seasonal foraged and sourced flora to bring Ojai’s ever-evolving abundance into Casa Valencia, Louesa has revealed how floral art, sculpture and Holiday designs can be created by embracing the flora right outside your door, inspiring you to cultivate your own vision by inviting the wonders of the natural world into your home.

Louesa lives with her partner Curtis and their three dogs in the hills above Ojai, and considers all of California her home. She, and her autographed books can often be found in their local gallery showroom, Art Port. Her books are also available at your local bookstore and online booksellers.

Visit Louesa Roebuck’s Website

Sespe Creek Sanctuary

When two artists, who work from home, design their dream house, you can be sure the creative space will be fabulous. Combining Spanish modern, farmhouse, and bohemian elements, it is an eclectic delight! Location is key, close to town but at the end of a cul-de-sac, built into a hillside surrounded by nature. Art and personal touches give each space dramatic personality, with several sets of stairs separating the many levels. Hand-painted Moroccan tiles are found throughout the kitchen. The living room with vaulted ceiling and prodigious windows offers the perfect place to entertain with the home theater system, showcasing the owner’s successful career as a television writer. The muse of her father inspires her in the dramatic deep green office with perfectly chosen wallpaper. The poolside wooden deck is surrounded by urban greenery and the sounds of Sespe Creek with a perfect view of the Pink Moment. A professional recording studio is an impressive bonus.

Floral Designer: Emily Denver – Fleur Ojai 

The owner of two sustainable floral businesses, Emily Denver is a pioneer in the field to vase, sustainable floristry movement. Fleur Ojai offers luxury florals for small gatherings and events, set design and home staging. Fleurie Florals is a tiny, traveling floral experience contained in a custom-made teardrop trailer, perfect for parties, workshops, and get togethers of all kinds.

Emily is known for her luxurious and natural style, beautifully blending colors and textures that honor the flowers. Mentored by a master florist from France at the age of 17, her design philosophy has become rooted much deeper than traditional floral technique. Emily has been fortunate to have traveled, worked, designed and taught around the world. Along the way, she has created everything from Shakespearean landscapes and English gardens, to becoming an expert on floriography, The Language of Flowers.

Emily has also lent her design aesthetic to her own line of jewelry, handbags, resort wear, and interior design. From shop windows on Melrose, to custom designing jewelry to match evening gowns for Award Season, her motto has continued to be: Good design is good design.

Born in Ventura County and raised all over the United States, Canada and Europe, Emily opened her floral studio and shop in Los Angeles in 2008. After a decade of running her successful floral business, she returned home to Ventura county’s jewel, Ojai, to create a home base of art and poetry, nature and music, creativity and passion, and of course, flowery goodness for herself, her family and her community. Creating Holiday designs for Sespe Creek Sanctuary for this year’s Holiday Home Tour has been a joy and a pleasure for her.

Emily’s floral design and styling has been featured in The Knot, Town & Country, Country Living, Vogue, Martha Stewart, Wedding Chicks, Style Me Pretty, Magnolia Rouge, and Green Wedding Shoes.

Visit Emily Denver’s Website

Signal Vista

A magnificent hilltop minimalist masterpiece, designed by the owners themselves. Beyond the stainless-steel front doors, sleek contemporary lines are accented with impressive original artwork displayed throughout. Floor to ceiling windows and glass doors maximize the stunning views of the East End and the Topa Topas. The primary bedroom has two glass walls to take in the gorgeous beauty, and the huge his and hers bathrooms and wardrobes alone are worth the visit. The large outdoor terrace is “bounded” by a sparkling pool with infinity edges on three sides and leads to gorgeous desert and South African landscaping.

Floral Designer: Lynn Malone

Floral design has always been a passion for Lynn, from picking and making Mother’s Day flowers as a child, to working for nearly three decades at local nonprofit and government organizations who needed florals for their events, always within a tight budget. A self-taught designer, Lynn spent twenty years learning to create beautiful florals affordably, primarily by incorporating seasonal and foraged flowers, foliage and other natural elements.

In 2013, Lynn semi-retired to open her own flower shop, Digs, which quickly became one of Ojai’s “go to” flower shops and later evolved into three different floral design studios after the shop was sold. After five years in retail floristry, she decided it was time to REALLY retire. Soon afterward, she realized she missed the flowers and floral interactions with friends and clients. Lynn currently designs for friends, an occasional wedding, and local organizations, including the Ojai Music Festival, the Ojai Land Conservancy and Rotary Clubs, creating unique florals for events and fundraisers on a budget. She occasionally leads floral workshops for local groups to help facilitate community gatherings around floral design.

Lynn serves as the design liaison for the Holiday Home Tour, matching designers and their unique styles with the homes on the tour and providing support for designers, homeowners and committee members. Having spent most of her floral career designing for multitudes of clients with their own unique styles and needs, Lynn has learned to be flexible in her approach to floral design in keeping with different needs and aesthetics of clients and friends. She has enjoyed working with the homeowners of two of this year’s Holiday Homes, each with very diverse styles, and each themed around different holidays.

Collector’s Cottage

A charming storybook cottage, right out of a Snow White fairy tale, houses a local mini-museum of myriad collectibles. Each themed room is full to the brim with delights from bears to Barbies to Beanie Babies, from Elvis to Alice in Wonderland, and so much more. See if you can guess the names of all the costumed Bears. Be mesmerized by the train set that fills a large room, as it chugs around the Disneyland village. You’ll feel like a child again as you revisit fantasy favorites from your youth and be impressed with many significant items of sophisticated one-of-a-kind memorabilia.

Floral Designer: Lynn Malone

Floral design has always been a passion for Lynn, from picking and making Mother’s Day flowers as a child, to working for nearly three decades at local nonprofit and government organizations who needed florals for their events, always within a tight budget. A self-taught designer, Lynn spent twenty years learning to create beautiful florals affordably, primarily by incorporating seasonal and foraged flowers, foliage and other natural elements.

In 2013, Lynn semi-retired to open her own flower shop, Digs, which quickly became one of Ojai’s “go to” flower shops and later evolved into three different floral design studios after the shop was sold. After five years in retail floristry, she decided it was time to REALLY retire. Soon afterward, she realized she missed the flowers and floral interactions with friends and clients. Lynn currently designs for friends, an occasional wedding, and local organizations, including the Ojai Music Festival, the Ojai Land Conservancy and Rotary Clubs, creating unique florals for events and fundraisers on a budget. She occasionally leads floral workshops for local groups to help facilitate community gatherings around floral design.

Lynn serves as the design liaison for the Holiday Home Tour, matching designers and their unique styles with the homes on the tour and providing support for designers, homeowners and committee members. Having spent most of her floral career designing for multitudes of clients with their own unique styles and needs, Lynn has learned to be flexible in her approach to floral design in keeping with different needs and aesthetics of clients and friends. She has enjoyed working with the homeowners of two of this year’s Holiday Homes, each with very diverse styles, and each themed around different holidays.

Information

Described as the best holiday home tour in the region, guests visit four exceptional homes during the 2024 Ojai Holiday Home Tour & Marketplace. The tour offers a diverse array of homes that reflect the unique charm of Ojai, and it celebrates the festive seasons adorned with floral inspirations by local Ojai designers.

Marking 28 years in 2024, the Holiday Home Tour & Marketplace welcomes visitors from Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties. Tours are guided by a team of volunteer docents in each home.

In addition to touring four beautiful Ojai homes, visitors to the event can do holiday shopping early at the Marketplace. On both days, 65+ vendors and artisans sell unique and handmade goods in Libbey Park from 10AM-4:30PM.

NEW! Convenient, no-hassle check-out directly at vendor booths.

The Holiday Home Tour & Marketplace is the Ojai Festival Women’s Committee‘s largest fundraiser. Proceeds benefit the Ojai Music Festival and its BRAVO Education and Community Programs.

Meet the Musicians

During the marketplace, hear performances by students of the BRAVO programs from elementary to high school grades. Throughout the home tour, enjoy live music by the following local talents.

Home Tour Musicians:

Santa Barbara Flute Ensemble
Fern Barishman
Caressa Cowan (pictured)
Kerri Climer
David and Eilam
Alex Fager (pictured)
Bonnie Griffin
George Lemire
Lyra Quartet
Madrigali
Mood Swing
Ojai Library Ukulele Club
Dori Riggs
Ray Sullivan (pictured)
Morgan Swaidan

Support the Holiday Home Tour & Marketplace

The Women’s Committee invites you to keep the Holiday Home Tour & Marketplace a part of your annual holiday tradition by becoming a sponsor or a volunteer.

As one of the largest financial supporters of the Ojai Music Festival and its BRAVO Education and Community Programs, the Women’s Committee is proud of its essential role in our community’s future through this annual staple.

Sign up as a Vendor!

The 2024 marketplace is now full, with 75 vendors. If you are a 2024 vendor and would like to check or edit your vendor information, log in to the portal below. If you would like for us to reach out to you when applications open up for the 2025 Marketplace, use the button below!

Since 2012, the Ojai Music Festival has expanded its global footprint building a worldwide audience and has deepened connections with patrons throughout the year with free Live Stream Broadcasts. The 78th Festival, June 6 to 9, continues this offering with acclaimed pianist Mitsuko Uchida as Music Director.

You can watch the free live streams of the Libbey Bowl concerts from the Festival’s home page which will begin Thu, June 6 at 8pm. The complete evening concerts will only be available at the time of the performance. UPDATE: Full morning concerts and highlights of the evening concerts are now available below and on our YouTube channel (7/1/24). 

Stay updated on new Festival videos by subscribing to our YouTube channel.

For more context on this year’s Festival, enjoy these links:

THU June 6, 2024

Selections from the 8:00PM OPENING CONCERT
Libbey Bowl  

Brentano String Quartet | Lucy Fitz Gibbon soprano 

HAYDN   String Quartet in C major, Op. 33, No. 3 (“Bird”) 
SCHOENBERG   Six Little Piano Pieces, Op. 19  
SCHOENBERG   String Quartet No. 2 in F-sharp minor, Op. 10 

FRI June 7, 2024

10:00AM 

Julie Smith Phillips harp | Jay Campbell cello | Sae Hashimoto percussion | Naomi Shaham double bass | Brentano String Quartet 

KAIJA SAARIAHO   Fall             
HELMUT LACHENMANN   Pression 
SOFIA GUBAIDULINA   Five Etudes         
BARTÓK   String Quartet No. 5 

Selections from the 8:00PM concert

José Maria Blumenschein concertmaster and leader 
Mahler Chamber Orchestra 

STRAVINSKY   Fanfare for a New Theater
WEBERN   Five Movements for Strings, Op. 5
SCHOENBERG  Chamber Symphony No. 1, Op. 9

SAT June 8, 2024

10:00AM

Ljubinka Kulisic accordion | Rick Stotijn double bass | Musicians of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra 

JOHN ZORN Road Runner       
MISSY MAZZOLI   Dark with Excessive Bright 
JOHN ADAMS   Shaker Loops 

Selections from the 8:00PM concert

José Maria Blumenschein concertmaster and leader | Aliisa Neige Barrière conductor | Vicente Alberola clarinet  

DEBUSSY (arr. Benno SACHS)   Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun 
KAIJA SAARIAHO Lichtbogen 
ESA-PEKKA SALONEN   Elegy (from kínēma) 

SUN June 9, 2024

10:00AM

Alexi Kenney violin | Sae Hashimoto percussion | Ljubinka Kulisic accordion | Brentano String Quartet 

BIBER  Passacaglia for solo violin 
KAIJA SAARIAHO  Six Japanese Gardens 
HAYDN From The Seven Last Words of Christ 
SOFIA GUBAIDULINA  In Croce 

Selections from the 5:30PM concert

José Maria Blumenschein concertmaster and leader |  
Mahler Chamber Orchestra 

HAYDN   Symphony No. 46 in B major, Hob. I:46 
JÖRG WIDMANN Chorale Quartet (Choralquartett), version for chamber orchestra