Category: Festival Blog

  • 2023 Festival Schedule

    2023 Festival Schedule

    View the 2023 program book here

    FULL SCHEDULE

    THU, June 8

    2:30PM   OJAI TALKS – SOLD OUT
    Greenberg Center, Ojai Valley School lower campus

    2:30-3:15pm Ara Guzelimian with Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels
    3:30-4:30pm WQXR’s New Sounds John Schaefer with Festival artists and composers 

    6:00PM   OJAI CHATS – FREE
    Libbey Park Gazebo

    In-depth conversation with composers Gabriela Ortiz and Aida Shirazi with host John Schaefer of WQXR’s New Sounds. 

    6:30PM   MOON VIEWING MUSIC – FREE
    Libbey Park Gazebo

    Join Steven Schick in this solo performance of Peter Garland’s Moon Viewing Music (Inscrutable Stillness Studies #1) described as a quiet and introspective six-movement work for three large Thai-style gongs and large tam-tam.

    8:00PM   LIQUID BORDERS
    Libbey Bowl

    Rhiannon Giddens vocals | Kayhan Kalhor kamancheh | Attacca Quartet | red fish blue fish percussion ensemble with Steven Schick director

    Gabriela ORTIZ Liquid Borders
    Franz Joseph HAYDN String Quartet in F major, Op. 77 No. 2 Hob. III:82
    Zakir HUSSAIN Pallavi (arr. Reena Esmail)
    Philip GLASS First Movement from String Quartet No. 3 (“Mishima”)
    Colin JACOBSEN  Beloved do not let me be discouraged
    Geeshie WILEY  Last Kind Words (arr. Jacob Garchik)
    Rhiannon GIDDENS  Lullaby
    David CROSBY/Nathan SCHRAM  Where We Are Not (arr. Nathan Schram)
    Caroline SHAW  Stem and Root from The Evergreen
    John ADAMS  Judah to Ocean, Rag the Bone from John’s Book of Alleged Dances
    S
    QUAREPUSHER   Xetaka 1

    Free live stream of this concert will be available.

    FRI, June 9

    8:00AM   OJAI DAWNS
    Zalk Theater, Besant Hill School

    Emi Ferguson flute | Ross Karre percussion | Niloufar Shiri kamancheh | Aida Shirazi electronics |Steven Schick percussion | red fish blue fish

    Golfam KHAYAM 
    Lost Wind
    Aida SHIRAZI  and Niloufar SHIRI  Yearning, Every Dawn  New Work   World Premiere
    Edgard VARÈSE  Density 21.5 
    CHOU Wen-Chung  Echoes From The Gorge

    The Ojai Dawns is a benefit for Festival Family Donor Circles.  Learn more here>
    Subscribers receive priority to purchase single tickets before going on sale to the general public beginning March 31.

    10:00AM   VIS-À-VIS
    Libbey Bowl

    Lara Downes piano | Michi Wiancko violin | Mario Gotoh viola | Karen Ouzounian cello |Emi Ferguson flute | Joshua Rubin clarinet | Gloria Cheng piano | Wu Man pipa | Steven Schick conductor/percussion

    Due to injury, pianist Leonard Hayes has had to reduce his playing commitments and has withdrawn from this concert. We are deeply grateful to Lara Downes for agreeing to step in on short notice. Please note the revised program:

    Shawn OKPEBHOLO  Amazing Grace 
    H.T. BURLEIGH On Bended Knees
    Margaret BONDS Troubled Water (Wade in the Water)  
    Michael ABELS  Iconoclasm 
    Jessie MONTGOMERY  Rhapsody No. 2 
    Nasim KHORASSANI  Growth 
    Nina BARZEGAR  Inexorable Passage 
    Lei LIANG  vis-à-vis 

    Free live stream of this concert will be available.

    11:30AM   OJAI CHATS – FREE
    Libbey Park Gazebo

    In-depth conversation with composers Nina Barzegar and Nasim Khorassani with host John Schaefer of WQXR’s New Sounds

    3:30PM   GHOST OPERA – SOLD OUT
    Greenberg Center, Ojai Valley School lower campus

    Wu Man pipa | Attacca Quartet
    PeiJu Chien-Pott dancer/choreographer | Jon Reimer director | Nicholas Houfek lighting designer 

    TAN Dun  Ghost Opera

    Tan Dun’s Ghost Opera evokes the spirits of Bach and Shakespeare, standing with the ancient folk traditions of traditional shamanistic Chinese music. A new production, created especially for the Ojai Music Festival, brings dance into the work and re-imagines it for a new generation. 

    Ghost Opera is an add-on event, not included in the Libbey Bowl Series Pass. Purchase here >

    6:00PM   OJAI CHATS – FREE
    Libbey Park Gazebo

    In-depth conversation with Lei Liang and Wu Man with host John Schaefer of WQXR’s New Sounds

    8:00PM   AN EVENING WITH RHIANNON GIDDENS AND FRANCESCO TURRISI – SOLD OUT
    Libbey Bowl

    An intimate concert with Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi with music ranging from the Baroque to Appalachian ballads and traditional Black American songs.

    Free live stream of this concert will be available.

    SAT, June 10

    8:00AM   MORNING MEDITATION – FREE
    Chaparral Auditorium

    Niloufar Shiri kamancheh | Mario Gotoh violin

    11:30AM   OJAI CHATS – FREE
    Libbey Park Gazebo

    In-depth conversation with composers Niloufar Nourbakhsh and Carlos Simon with host John Schaefer of WQXR’s New Sounds.

    10:00AM   THE WILLOWS ARE NEW
    Libbey Bowl

    Karen Ouzounian cello | Wu Man pipa | Nathan Schram viola | Gloria Cheng piano | Kayhan Kalhor kamancheh 

    Niloufar NOURBAKHSH  Veiled 
    Lei LIANG  Mother’s Songs 
    GE Gan-Ru  Gong 
    CHOU Wen-Chung  The Willows are New 
    Kayhan KALHOR  Solo Improvisation

    Free live stream of this concert will be available.

    3:30PM   GHOST OPERA – SOLD OUT
    Greenberg Center, Ojai Valley School lower campus

    Wu Man pipa | Attacca Quartet
    PeiJu Chien-Pott dancer/choreographer | Jon Reimer director | Nicholas Houfek lighting designer 

    TAN Dun  Ghost Opera

    Tan Dun’s Ghost Opera evokes the spirits of Bach and Shakespeare, standing with the ancient folk traditions of traditional shamanistic Chinese music. A new production, created especially for the Ojai Music Festival, brings dance into the work and re-imagines it for a new generation.

    This is a repeat performance. Ghost Opera is an add-on event, not included in the Libbey Bowl Series Pass. Purchase here >

    6:00PM   OJAI CHATS – FREE
    Libbey Park Gazebo

    In-depth conversation with composer Michael Abels with host John Schaefer of WQXR’s New Sounds.

    8:00PM   OMAR’S JOURNEY – SOLD OUT
    Libbey Bowl

    Limmie Pulliam tenor (Omar) | Rhiannon Giddens soprano (Julie) | Cheryse McLeod Lewis mezzo-soprano (Fatima) | Michael Preacely bass-baritone (Abdul/Abe) | Andy Papas bass-baritone (Johnson/Owen)

    Emi Ferguson flute | Joshua Rubin clarinet | Mazz Swift, Michi Wiancko violins | Mario Gotoh viola Karen Ouzounian cello | Shawn Conley bass | Leonard Hayes piano | Francesco Turrisi, Ross Karre percussion

    Justin Robinson fiddle | Seckou Keita kora

    Music from Senegal and the Carolinas
    Music by Rhiannon GIDDENS/Michael ABELS  Omar’s Journey    World Premiere
    Libretto by Rhiannon Giddens

    An Ojai-commissioned work for voices and chamber ensemble drawn from the Pulitzer-Prize winning opera Omar, by Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels, framed by traditional music that traces the journey of the real-life Omar Ibn Said from Senegal to the Carolinas.

    Free live stream of this concert will be available.

    SUN, June 11

    8:00AM   MORNING MEDITATION – FREE
    Chaparral Auditorium

    Seckou Keita kora

    10:00AM   EARLY MUSIC
    Libbey Bowl

    Francesco Turrisi curator and keyboards | Rhiannon Giddens vocals | Wu Man pipa 
    Kayhan Kalhor kamancheh | Joshua Stauffer therobo | Attacca Quartet  

    A program imagined specifically for the magical atmosphere of Sunday morning in Libbey Bowl, playing on the two ideas of very old music and music for the first hours of the day. Francesco Turrisi curates and introduces music ranging from thousand-year-old works for solo pipa, to Renaissance consort music, from ancient Persian melodies to modal jazz improvisations. 

    Free live stream of this concert will be available.

    11:30AM   OJAI CHATS – FREE
    Libbey Park Gazebo

    In-depth conversation with Francesco Turrisi with host John Schaefer of WQXR’s New Sounds.

    1:00PM    STONES AND STARS: LISTENING TO (AND BEYOND) THE WORLD – FREE
    Libbey Park

    Steven Schick percussion  

    Make music with us! Join in on this interactive community performance led by Steven Schick.  

    2:30PM   BETWEEN WORLDS
    Greenberg Center, Ojai Valley School lower campus

    Mazz Swift violin   Mario Gotoh viola | Karen Ouzounian cello | Shawn Conley bass
    Ross Karre projection designer 

    Carlos SIMON  Between Worlds  

    A complete performance of Carlos Simon’s cycle Between Worlds, four solo string works placed in visual context by their source of inspiration: the remarkable paintings of Bill Traylor (ca. 1853-1949), chronicling nearly a century of Black American life.

    Text related to Bill Traylor and the project title “Between Worlds” are borrowed from, and organized in relation to, Between Worlds: The Art of Bill Traylor, by Leslie Umberger for the Smithsonian American Art Museum, (book and exhibition), 
    2018.

    Festival Family Donor Circle Members receive first priority seats. Learn more here>
    Subscribers receive priority to purchase single tickets before going on sale to the general public beginning March 31.

    4:00PM   BUILD A HOUSE – FREE FAMILY EVENT
    Libbey Park

    A special free family event – Rhiannon Giddens does a reading and special musical performance based on her new children’s book, Build A House

    5:30PM   FINALE: STRINGS ATTACHED
    Libbey Bowl

    Amy Schroeder violin | Kayhan Kalhor kamancheh | Seckou Keita kora | Rhiannon Giddens singer/instrumentalistWu Man pipa | Justin Robinson fiddle | Francesco Turrisi multi-instrumentalist | Members of Silkroad Ensemble

    Michael ABELS   Isolation Variation
    Duo Improvisation with Kayhan Kalhor and Seckou Keita
    Nassim KHORASSANI  Lullaby 
    Followed by a selection of music announced from the stage — an exuberant finale celebrating the many musical stories featured at this year’s Festival!

    Free live stream of this concert will be available.

    THU, June 8

    2:30PM   OJAI TALKS – SOLD OUT
    Greenberg Center, Ojai Valley School lower campus

    2:30-3:15pm Ara Guzelimian with Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels
    3:30-4:30pm WQXR’s New Sounds John Schaefer with Festival artists and composers

    6:00PM   OJAI CHATS – FREE
    Libbey Park Gazebo

    In-depth conversation with composers Gabriela Ortiz and Aida Shirazi with host John Schaefer of WQXR’s New Sounds.

    6:30PM   MOON VIEWING MUSIC – FREE
    Libbey Park Gazebo

    Join Steven Schick in this solo performance of Peter Garland’s Moon Viewing Music (Inscrutable Stillness Studies #1) described as a quiet and introspective six-movement work for three large Thai-style gongs and large tam-tam.

    8:00PM   LIQUID BORDERS
    Libbey Bowl

    Rhiannon Giddens vocals | Kayhan Kalhor kamancheh | Attacca Quartet | red fish blue fish percussion ensemble | Steven Schick director 

    Gabriela ORTIZ Liquid Borders
    Franz Joseph HAYDN String Quartet in F major, Op. 77 No. 2 Hob. III:82
    Zakir HUSSAIN Pallavi (arr. Reena Esmail)
    Philip GLASS First Movement from String Quartet No. 3 (“Mishima”)
    Colin JACOBSEN  Beloved do not let me be discouraged
    Geeshie WILEY  Last Kind Words (arr. Jacob Garchik)
    Rhiannon GIDDENS  Lullaby
    David CROSBY/Nathan SCHRAM  Where We Are Not (arr. Nathan Schram)
    Caroline SHAW  Stem and Root from The Evergreen
    John ADAMS  Judah to Ocean, Rag the Bone from John’s Book of Alleged Dances
    S
    QUAREPUSHER   Xetaka 1

    Free live stream of this concert will be available.

    FRI, June 9

    8:00AM   OJAI DAWNS
    Zalk Theater, Besant Hill School

    Emi Ferguson flute
    Ross Karre
    percussion
    Niloufar Shiri kamancheh
    Aida Shirazi electronics
    Steven Schick percussion
    red fish blue fish


    Golfam KHAYAM  Lost Wind
    Aida SHIRAZI and Nioufar SHIRI   Yearning, Every Dawn   New Work   World Premiere
    Edgard VARÈSE  Density 21.5 
    CHOU Wen-Chung  Echoes From The Gorge

    The Ojai Dawns is a benefit for Festival Family Donor Circles. Learn more here>

    10:00AM   VIS-À-VIS
    Libbey Bowl

    Lara Downes piano | Michi Wiancko violin | Mario Gotoh viola | Karen Ouzounian cello |Emi Ferguson flute | Joshua Rubin clarinet | Gloria Cheng piano |Wu Man pipa | Steven Schick conductor/percussion 

    Due to injury, pianist Leonard Hayes has had to reduce his playing commitments and has withdrawn from this concert. We are deeply grateful to Lara Downes for agreeing to step in on short notice. Please note the revised program:

    Shawn OKPEBHOLO  Amazing Grace

    H.T. BURLEIGH  On Bended Knees
    Margaret BONDS  Troubled Water (Wade in the Water)  
    Michael ABELS  Iconoclasm 
    Jessie MONTGOMERY  Rhapsody No. 2 
    Nasim KHORASSANI  Growth 
    Nina BARZEGAR  Inexorable Passage 
    Lei LIANG  vis-à-vis 

    Free live stream of this concert will be available.

    11:30AM   OJAI CHATS – FREE
    LIBBEY PARK GAZEBO

    In-depth conversation with composers Nina Barzegar and Nasim Khorassani with host John Schaefer of WQXR’s New Sounds.
    FREE. Open to the public. 

    3:30PM   GHOST OPERA – SOLD OUT
    Greenberg Center, Ojai Valley School lower campus

    Wu Man pipa
    Attacca Quartet
    PeiJu Chien-Pott dancer/choreographer
    Jon Reimer director 
    Nicholas Houfek lighting designer 

    TAN Dun  Ghost Opera

    Tan Dun’s
    Ghost Opera evokes the spirits of Bach and Shakespeare, standing with the ancient folk traditions of traditional shamanistic Chinese music. A new production, created especially for the Ojai Music Festival, brings dance into the work and re-imagines it for a new generation. 

    Ghost Opera is an add-on event, not included in the Libbey Bowl Series Pass. Purchase here >

    8:00PM   AN EVENING WITH RHIANNON GIDDENS AND FRANCESCO TURRISI – SOLD OUT
    Libbey Bowl

    An intimate concert with Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi with music ranging from the Baroque to Appalachian ballads and traditional Black American songs as well as excerpts from Songs of Flight by Shawn Okpebholo.

    Free live stream of this concert will be available.

    SAT, June 10

    8:00AM   MORNING MEDITATION – FREE
    Chaparral Auditorium

    Niloufar Shiri kamancheh
    Mario Gotoh violin

    10:00AM   MORNING CONCERT
    Libbey Bowl

    Karen Ouzounian cello
    Wu Man pipa
    Nathan Schram viola
    Gloria Cheng piano
    Kayhan Kalhor kamancheh


    Niloufar NOURBAKHSH Veiled
    Lei LIANG  Mother’s Songs
    GE Gan-Ru  Gong
    CHOU Wen-Chung  The Willows are New
    Kayhan KALHOR  Solo Improvisation

    Free live stream of this concert will be available.

    11:30AM  OJAI CHATS – FREE
    Libbey Park Gazebo

    In-depth conversation with composers Niloufar Nourbakhsh and Carlos Simon with host John Schaefer of WQXR’s New Sounds.

    3:30PM   GHOST OPERA – SOLD OUT
    Greenberg Center, Ojai Valley School lower campus

    Wu Man pipa
    Attacca Quartet
    PeiJu Chien-Pott dancer/choreographer
    Jon Reimer director
    Nicholas Houfek lighting designer

    TAN Dun  Ghost Opera

    Tan Dun’s Ghost Opera evokes the spirits of Bach and Shakespeare, standing with the ancient folk traditions of traditional shamanistic Chinese music. This new production, created especially for Ojai, introduces dance into the work and re-imagines this landmark piece for a new generation. 

    Repeat performance. Ghost Opera is an add-on event, not included in the Libbey Bowl Series Pass. Purchase here >

    6:00PM   OJAI CHATS – FREE
    Libbey Park Gazebo

    In-depth conversation with composer Michael Abels with host John Schaefer of WQXR’s New Sounds.

    8:00PM   OMAR’S JOURNEY – SOLD OUT
    Libbey Bowl

    Seckou Keita kora 
    Justin Robinson fiddle
    Rhiannon Giddens soprano
    Cheryse McLeod Lewis mezzo-soprano 
    Limmie Pulliam tenor
    Michael Preacely bass-baritone
    Ojai Festival Ensemble

    Music from Senegal and the Carolinas
    Rhiannon GIDDENS/Michael ABELS  Omar’s Journey   World Premiere

    An Ojai-commissioned work for voices and chamber ensemble drawn from the opera Omar, by Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels, framed by traditional music that traces the journey of the real-life Omar Ibn Said from Senegal to the Carolinas.

    Free live stream of this concert will be available.

    SUN, June 11

    8:00AM   MORNING MEDITATION – FREE
    Chaparral Auditorium

    Seckou Keita kora  

    10:00AM   EARLY MUSIC
    Libbey Bowl

    Francesco Turrisi curator and keyboards | Rhiannon Giddens vocals | Wu Man pipa 
    Kayhan Kalhor kamancheh | Joshua Stauffer therobo | Attacca Quartet  

    A program imagined specifically for the magical atmosphere of Sunday morning in Libbey Bowl, playing on the two ideas of very old music and music for the first hours of the day. Francesco Turrisi curates and introduces music ranging from thousand-year-old works for solo pipa, to Renaissance consort music, from ancient Persian melodies to modal jazz improvisations. 

    Free live stream of this concert will be available.

    11:30AM   OJAI CHATS – FREE
    Libbey Park Gazebo

    In-depth conversation with Francesco Turrisi with host John Schaefer of WQXR’s New Sounds.

    1:00PM   STONES AND STARS: LISTENING TO (AND BEYOND) THE WORLD – FREE
    Libbey Park

    Steven Schick percussion  

    Make music with us! Join in on this interactive community performance led by Steven Schick.  

    2:30PM   BETWEEN WORLDS
    Greenberg Center, Ojai Valley School lower campus

    Mazz Swift violin 
    Mario Gotoh viola
    Karen Ouzounian cello
    Shawn Conley bass
    Ross Karre projection designer  

    Carlos SIMON  Between Worlds  

    A complete performance of Carlos Simon’s cycle Between Worlds, four solo string works placed in visual context by their source of inspiration: the remarkable paintings of Bill Traylor (ca. 1853-1949), chronicling nearly a century of Black American life.

    Text related to Bill Traylor and the project title “Between Worlds” are borrowed from, and organized in relation to, Between Worlds: The Art of Bill Traylor, by Leslie Umberger for the Smithsonian American Art Museum, (book and exhibition), 2018.

    Festival Family Donor Circle Members receive first priority seats. Learn more here>

    4:00PM   BUILD A HOUSE – FREE FAMILY EVENT
    Libbey Park

    Rhiannon Giddens does a reading and special musical performance based on her new children’s book, Build A House 

    5:30PM   FINALE: STRINGS ATTACHED
    Libbey Bowl

    Amy Schroeder violin | Kayhan Kalhor kamancheh | Seckou Keita kora | Rhiannon Giddens singer/instrumentalistWu Man pipa | Justin Robinson fiddle | Francesco Turrisi multi-instrumentalist | Members of Silkroad Ensemble

    Michael ABELS   Isolation Variation
    Duo Improvisation with Kayhan Kalhor and Seckou Keita
    Nassim KHORASSANI  Lullaby 
    Followed by a selection of music announced from the stage — an exuberant finale celebrating the many musical stories featured at this year’s Festival! 

    Free live stream of this concert will be available.

  • New Sounds: Ojai On The Air

    New Sounds: Ojai On The Air

    We are delighted to announce a renewed partnership with WQXR Radio and its remarkable New Sounds program, which just celebrated its 40th anniversary with John Schaefer, one of the most adventurous guides to creative and innovative music anywhere.

    This week-long series of programs will connect audiences with the many facets of the Festival’s 2022 collaboration with the discipline colliding collective AMOC*, Ojai’s 2022 Music Director.  Imagined as a vehicle to connect audiences and artists who engage deeply with the world’s most adventurous, new music, WQXR/New Sounds Presents: Ojai On The Air looks toward ongoing programming leading up to and during the 2023 Festival with Music Director Rhiannon Giddens.

    CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE
    Check out the episodes below along with featured clips:

    EPISODE 1>>
    Davóne Tines and New Sounds host John Schaefer discuss Julius Eastman’s work, Tines’ connection to Eastman’s lineage, and how the program Tines and AMOC* prepared honors Eastman as a complete human, exploring the breadth and depth of his life and influence.

    EPISODE 2>>
    Listen to members of AMOC* performing Little Jimmy by violinist and composer Andrew McIntosh (of new music band Wild Up), and songs of drummer/composer Tyshawn Sorey and American composer Margaret Bonds, performed by bass-baritone Davóne Tines.

    EPISODE 3>>
    AMOC* member and pianist Conor Hanick plays and discusses The Book of Sounds by the late German pianist, composer, and broadcaster, Hans Otte.

    EPISODE 4>>
    Listen to a program of J.S. Bach which upends expectations, as arranged by AMOC* member, flutist and composer Emi Ferguson and the period instrument band Ruckus. Plus, from the 2022 Festival Finale, a performance of Julius Eastman’s work of resistance as an act of joy, Stay On It.

  • Rhiannon Giddens, 2023 Music Director

    The acclaimed musician Rhiannon Giddens uses her art to excavate the past and reveal bold truths about our present. A MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient, Giddens co-founded the Grammy Award-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops. She most recently won a Grammy Award for Best Folk Album for They’re Calling Me Home, and was also nominated for Best American Roots Song for “Avalon” from They’re Calling Me Home, which she made with multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi. Giddens is now a two-time winner and eight-time Grammy nominee for her work as a soloist and collaborator.

    They’re Calling Me Home was released by Nonesuch last April and has been widely celebrated by the NY Times, NPR Music, NPR, Rolling Stone, People, Associated Press and far beyond, with No Depression deeming it “a near perfect album…her finest work to date.” Recorded over six days in the early phase of the pandemic in a small studio outside of Dublin, Ireland – where both Giddens and Turrisi live – They’re Calling Me Home manages to effortlessly blend the music of their native and adoptive countries: America, Italy, and Ireland. The album speaks of the longing for the comfort of home as well as the metaphorical “call home” of death.

    Giddens’s lifelong mission is to lift people whose contributions to American musical history have previously been erased, and to work toward a more accurate understanding of the country’s musical origins. Pitchfork has said of her work, “few artists are so fearless and so ravenous in their exploration,” and Smithsonian Magazine calls her “an electrifying artist who brings alive the memories of forgotten predecessors, white and black.”

    Among her many diverse career highlights, Giddens has performed for the Obamas at the White House and received an inaugural Legacy of Americana Award from Nashville’s National Museum of African American History in partnership with the Americana Music Association. Her critical acclaim includes in-depth profiles by CBS Sunday Morning, the New York Times, the New Yorker, and NPR’s Fresh Air, among many others.

    Giddens was featured in Ken Burns’s Country Music series, which aired on PBS, where she spoke about the African American origins of country music. She is also a member of the band Our Native Daughters with three other black female banjo players, Leyla McCalla, Allison Russell, and Amythyst Kiah, and co-produced their debut album Songs of Our Native Daughters (2019), which tells stories of historic black womanhood and survival.

    Giddens is in the midst of a tremendous 2022. She announced the publication of her first book, Build a House (October 2022),  Lucy Negro Redux, the ballet Giddens wrote the music for, had its premiere at the Nashville Ballet (premiered in 2019 and toured in 2022), and the libretto and music for Giddens’ original opera, Omar, in collaboration with Michael Abels, based on the autobiography of the enslaved man Omar Ibn Said, premiered at the Spoleto USA Festival in May. Giddens is also curating a four-concert Perspectives series as part of Carnegie Hall’s 2022–2023 season. Named Artistic Director of Silkroad Ensemble in 2020, Giddens is developing a number of new programs for that ensemble, including one inspired by the history of the American transcontinental railroad and the cultures and music of its builders.

    As an actor, Giddens had a featured role on the television series Nashville.

    photo by Ebru Yildiz

  • 2023 Festival Highlights

    2023 Festival Highlights

    Rhiannon Giddens Named Music Director of 77th Ojai Music Festival: June 8 to 11, 2023
    “I am so excited to get to work with the Ojai Music Festival as Music Director for 2023. My experience as a performer there last year was one of the best festival experiences I’ve had – I was able to sit at the crossroads of all that I am artistically and feel fully supported by Ara and the staff and audience of Ojai each time. I look forward to building on that feeling with the artists that we’re bringing out next year; the future is in celebration of how we come together as humans – despite boxes, boundaries, and borders thrown up with the intent to keep us apart.  – Rhiannon Giddens, 2023 Ojai Festival Music Director
    “I am so thrilled that Rhiannon Giddens accepted my invitation to become Music Director of the 2023 Ojai Music Festival. I have boundless admiration for Rhiannon as both a compelling musician and as an extraordinary artistic catalyst bringing together musical worlds towards important philosophical, cultural, and social goals. The openness and flexibility of the Ojai Festival is an ideal forum for such an artist to have complete freedom to imagine and explore.” – Ara Guzelimian, Artistic and Executive Director 

    ARTISTIC COLLABORATORS INCLUDE
    Kamancheh/composer Kayhan Kalhor will make his first Ojai appearances at the 2023 Festival.  Pipa player Wu Man returns to Ojai for the first time since the 2015 Festival, where she partnered with then Music Director Steven Schick. Multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi and the Attacca Quartet previously joined Rhiannon Giddens in Ojai during the 2021 Festival in September with Music Director John Adams.

    CLICK HERE FOR SERIES PASSES FOR THE 2023 FESTIVAL

    RHIANNON GIDDENS, MUSIC DIRECTOR OF THE 2023 OJAI MUSIC FESTIVAL
    The acclaimed musician Rhiannon Giddens uses her art to excavate the past and reveal bold truths about our present. A MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient, Giddens co-founded the Grammy Award-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops. She most recently won a Grammy Award for Best Folk Album for They’re Calling Me Home, and was also nominated for Best American Roots Song for “Avalon” from They’re Calling Me Home, which she made with multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi. Giddens is now a two-time winner and eight-time Grammy nominee for her work as a soloist and collaborator.

    They’re Calling Me Home was released by Nonesuch last April and has been widely celebrated by the NY Times, NPR Music, NPR, Rolling Stone, People, Associated Press and far beyond, with No Depression deeming it “a near perfect album…her finest work to date.” Recorded over six days in the early phase of the pandemic in a small studio outside of Dublin, Ireland – where both Giddens and Turrisi live – They’re Calling Me Home manages to effortlessly blend the music of their native and adoptive countries: America, Italy, and Ireland. The album speaks of the longing for the comfort of home as well as the metaphorical “call home” of death.

    Giddens’s lifelong mission is to lift people whose contributions to American musical history have previously been erased, and to work toward a more accurate understanding of the country’s musical origins. Pitchfork has said of her work, “few artists are so fearless and so ravenous in their exploration,” and Smithsonian Magazine calls her “an electrifying artist who brings alive the memories of forgotten predecessors, white and black.”

    Among her many diverse career highlights, Giddens has performed for the Obamas at the White House and received an inaugural Legacy of Americana Award from Nashville’s National Museum of African American History in partnership with the Americana Music Association. Her critical acclaim includes in-depth profiles by CBS Sunday Morning, the New York Times, the New Yorker, and NPR’s Fresh Air, among many others.

    Giddens was featured in Ken Burns’s Country Music series, which aired on PBS, where she spoke about the African American origins of country music. She is also a member of the band Our Native Daughters with three other black female banjo players, Leyla McCalla, Allison Russell, and Amythyst Kiah, and co-produced their debut album Songs of Our Native Daughters (2019), which tells stories of historic black womanhood and survival.

    Giddens is in the midst of a tremendous 2022. She recently announced the publication of her first book, Build a House (October 2022),  Lucy Negro Redux, the ballet Giddens wrote the music for, had its premiere at the Nashville Ballet (premiered in 2019 and toured in 2022), and the libretto and music for Giddens’ opera, Omar, along with collaborator Michael Abels, based on the autobiography of the enslaved man Omar Ibn Said, premiered at the Spoleto USA Festival in May 2022. Giddens is also curating a four-concert Perspectives series as part of Carnegie Hall’s 2022–2023 season. Named Artistic Director of Silkroad Ensemble in 2020, Giddens is developing a number of new programs for that ensemble, including one inspired by the history of the American transcontinental railroad and the cultures and music of its builders.

    As an actor, Giddens had a featured role on the television series Nashville.

    Read full press release announcement here 

    OJAI MUSIC FESTIVAL
    The Ojai Music Festival represents an ideal of adventurous, open-minded, and open-hearted programming in the most beautiful and welcoming of settings, with audiences and artists to match its aspirations. Marking its 75th anniversary, the Festival remains a creative laboratory for thought-provoking musical experiences, bringing together innovative artists and curious audiences in an intimate, idyllic outdoor setting. Each Festival’s narrative is guided by a different Music Director, whose distinctive perspectives shape programming — ensuring energized festivals year after year.

    Throughout each year, the Ojai Music Festival contributes to Southern California’s cultural landscape with in-person and online Festival-related programming as well as robust educational offerings that serve thousands of public-school students and seniors. The organization’s apex is the world-renowned four-day Festival, which takes place in Ojai, a breathtaking valley 75 miles from Los Angeles, which is a perennial platform for the fresh and unexpected. During the immersive experience, a mingling of the most curious take part in concerts, symposia, free community events, and social gatherings. During the intimate Festival weekend, considered a highlight of the international music summer season, Ojai welcomes up to 7,000 patrons and reaches 35 times more audiences worldwide through live and on-demand streaming of concerts and discussions.

    Since its founding in 1947, the Ojai Music Festival has presented broad-ranging programs in unusual ways with an eclectic mix of new and rarely performed music, as well as refreshing juxtapositions of musical styles. Through its signature structure of the Artistic Director appointing a different  Music Director each year, Ojai has presented a “who’s who” of music including the multi-disciplinary colliding collective AMOC* (American Modern Opera Company) Vijay Iyer, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, and Barbara Hannigan in recent years; throughout its history, featured artists have included Aaron Copland, Igor Stravinsky, Michael Tilson Thomas, Kent Nagano, Pierre Boulez, John Adams, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Robert Spano, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, David Robertson, Eighth Blackbird, George Benjamin, Dawn Upshaw, Leif Ove Andsnes, Mark Morris, Jeremy Denk, Steven Schick, Matthias Pintscher, and Peter Sellars.

  • 2022 Festival Photos

    2022 Festival Photos

    Photos by Timothy Teague

     

    Photos by Joshus S. Rose

     

    Festival Patron Photos by Timothy Teague
  • 2022 Festival Critical Acclaim

    2022 Festival Critical Acclaim

    Thank you

    Thank you for joining us at our 76th Festival, June 9-12, 2022. It was an exhilarating time! The energy and boundless creativity of AMOC* was vividly present across the Ojai Valley, giving all of us an extraordinary artistic adventure. Read review excerpts below.

    Relive concerts anytime by watching our archived live streaming concerts

     View our photo gallery of some of our favorite Festival moments.

    Download PDF of reviews here

    “The Ojai Music Festival has always been more than the sum of its considerable parts, thanks to its compact duration (little more than a long weekend), eclectic classical programming, embrace of other disciplines (including theater, dance and spoken word), and sustained ability to attract luminaries to its still delightfully rustic outdoor setting—Igor Stravinsky, Aaron Copland and Pierre Boulez remain the most famous of its annually appointed music directors. Yet this year, something else pervaded, too: a feeling that the center of the classical-music universe, at least from June 9 through 12, was right here.”  – Wall Street Journal

    “Davóne Tines, in a program note describing amoc’s approach to Eastman’s unswervingly radical music, wrote, “What is possible if all members of a performing ensemble are present for every step of the creation of a performance?” Ojai made the possibilities clear.” – The New Yorker

    “There is nothing in music quite like Ojai, now three-quarters of a century old, with that packed morning-to-night-schedule, its variety of spaces and the stalwart curiosity of its audience. Led by Ara Guzelimian with a steady hand, the festival is Southern California relaxed — T-shirts and shorts, maybe a hoodie at night — but the repertory tends rigorous and recondite.” – New York Times

    “This Utopian collective of 17 extraordinary artists happily reinventing opera was the communal music director last weekend for the 75th anniversary of this ever-quixotic festival.” – Los Angeles Times

    “Eastman’s beloved half-hour Gay Guerilla was a standout moment during the program — and the festival. The dizzily ecstatic work came off as a musical statement at once unruly and internally logical, raucous and yet reflective, as was Eastman’s complex musical wont. Among other distinguishing marks at Ojai 2022, Eastman now joins the ranks of the festival’s ever-expanding songbook of 20th- and 21st-century greats whose music left a mark in this dreamy outpost of a town.” – San Francisco Classical Voice 

    “Open Rehearsal, directed by the choreographer and dancer Bobbi Jene Smith, felt more nuanced. An outgrowth of Smith’s recent work “Broken Theater,” it is a wry, sometimes uproarious and poignant metatheatrical riff on the process of creation.” – New York Times

    “For all its worldly trappings, as an annual gathering point for internationally-respected musicians, composers, conductors, plus visitors and press from near and far, the unique power of the Ojai Music Festival (ojaifestival.org) is partly rooted in its “village” concept. As the cliché goes, it “takes one” to pull all the festival pieces together and it is one, a golden west coast destination spot.” – Santa Barbara Independent 

    “With AMOC’s boundary-pushing tenure at an end, Ojai has once more proved the most elastic of music festivals. And it seems clear that Mr. Guzelimian intends to continue stretching things.” – Wall Street Journal

    “Compositional styles ran a wide gamut at the festival, from the ethereal simplicity of Cassandra Miller’s “About Bach” to the riotous, pop-flavored eclecticism of Doug Balliett’s mini-opera Rome Is Falling.” – The New Yorker

    “Everything for AMOC is sacred in that it needs to perform at the highest level, but nothing is so sacred that it can’t be rethought musically, socially, racially, sexually, theatrically, physically.” – Los Angeles Times

    “Many in the arts these days talk a big game about interdisciplinary collaboration, but few walk the walk like AMOC– New York Times

  • AMOC @ OJAI Event, LA Dance Project (3/26/22)

  • Caffeine Scene

    Caffeine Scene

    Where to get a cup of coffee (and more) in Ojai

    By Lisa McKinnon

    First-time visitors to downtown Ojai may be surprised when they go looking for a Starbucks: There isn’t one, thanks to a moratorium on chain businesses with five or more locations. Luckily, Ojai Music Festival audiences in need of a caffeinated pick-me-up between song cycles and dance-theater pieces have plenty of non-corporate options from which to choose.

    Beacon Coffee Co., 211 W. Ojai Ave., no phone, beaconcoffee.com. Daily from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

    Beans sourced from small farms in Kenya, Costa Rica and Guatemala are roasted at the café’s sister location in Ventura, then featured in pour overs, flat whites, cappuccinos and seasonal mochas (the festival coincides with Beacon’s annual switch from Ojai Pixie to lavender, the latter from Frog Creek Farm in the Upper Ojai). Magic Hour teas blended in Ojai are available hot or cold. The café’s kitchen is home to SunOven gluten-free vegan bakery, which produces lavender-lemon doughnuts among other treats. Additional baked goods are from Frontside Cafe in Ventura.

    Café Boku, 987 W. Ojai Ave., 805-650-2658, cafeboku.com. Daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

    The menu of organic, plant-based food and drinks infused with ingredients from Ojai-based Boku Superfoods includes coffees and espressos made from locally roasted beans from Bonito Coffee Roaster. Enjoy an invigorating Golden Shroom Latte while juicing up your electric car at the café’s bank of chargers.

    Coffee Connection, 311 E. El Roblar Drive, Meiners Oaks, 805-646-7821, coffeeconnectionojai.com. 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.

    Look for the orange patio umbrellas to locate this off-the-beaten path local favorite specializing in organic, fair-trade coffee, espresso and loose-leaf teas. Drinks are available hot or cold. You’ll also find Mexican hot chocolate and baked goods.

    Farmer and the Cook, 339 W. El Roblar Drive, Meiners Oaks, 805-640-9608, farmer-and-the-cook.com. 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Wednesdays, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays.

    The combination organic bakery, market and Mexican café with vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options also operates as a community gathering place and espresso bar with drip coffee and specialty drinks. “Beneficial” beverages like the Turmeric Toddy and adaptogenic hot chocolate (made with fungi) are available from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

    Java & Joe, 323 E. Matilija St., Suite 105, 805-646-3138, javajoeojai.com. Daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

    Nearing its 28th anniversary, the coffeehouse offers an ever-changing lineup of roasts, plus specialty drinks that can be made hot or cold. There’s also a wide selection of whole beans, loose-leaf teas and mugs, carafes and tea pots to take home as gifts.

    Love Social Café, 205 N. Signal St., 805-646-1540, lovesocialcafe.com. Daily from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

    Dune Coffee from Santa Barbara is featured, both freshly brewed and on nitro (cold). The café also serves lattes, cappuccinos and the eye-opening Gibraltar/Cortado – a double espresso topped with an equal amount of micro foam. Fresh-squeezed orange juice and matcha lemonade are also available.

    Ojai Coffee Roasting Co., 337 E. Ojai Ave., 805-646-4478, facebook.com/OjaiCoffee. 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

    Owner and roaster Stacey Jones is often behind the counter at the café she opened in 1995 (and which served as a filming location for the 2010 movie “Easy A” starring Emma Stone). Arabica beans are roasted on site in small batches for coffees, espressos, red eyes (espresso plus drip coffee) and more. Check the specials board for lattes ranging from lavender to honey cinnamon.

    Pinyon423 E. Ojai Ave., no phone, pinyonojai.com. 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays.

    In a nod to the coffee-served-all-day tradition set by the pre-moratorium Jersey Mike’s that previously occupied its address, Pinyon serves French-press hot and cold-brew versions of Los Angeles-based Canyon Coffee from opening till close.

    Sage Cafè, 217 E. Matilija St., 805-646-9204, rainbowbridgeojai.com/sage. 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays; 5-7:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays.

    Keeping track of your caffeine intake? A “none-to-high” scale for teas is spelled out on glass display case at this counter-service restaurant that also serves drip coffee, collagen lattes and herbal tonics.

    The Dutchess, 457 E. Ojai Ave., 805-640-7987, thedutchessojai.com. Daily from 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

    Named for a vintage bread oven, the Rustic Canyon Family restaurant operates as a coffeehouse from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.-ish, when the focus is on order-at-the-counter service of Bonito Coffee drinks and Magic Hour teas (including a heavy-caffeine black variety dubbed Organic Flower Dutchess) to go with grab-and-go sandwiches, cookies, seasonal-ingredient cakes and artisanal breads by pastry chef/partner Kelsey Brito and bread baker/partner Kate Pepper. The Dutchess switches to sit-down dinner mode at 4:30 p.m., when its California-Burmese menu becomes available.

    Westridge Midtown Market, 131 W. Ojai Ave., 805-646-4082, westridgemarket.com. Daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

    Fans of Peet’s Coffee will find the brand served at the service deli.

    Lisa McKinnon is Ventura-based food writer who drank a LOT of coffee and still managed to fall asleep during a special, four-hour performance at the 2002 Ojai Music Festival — but only because audience members were invited to bring pillows and blankets and told get comfortable on the Ojai Art Center floor for the duration. She’s on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok as 805foodie, and blogs at 805foodie.com.