Ojai Music Festival presents Tesserae Baroque‘s program Meera Kahe. The concert features a new work by Reena Esmail, setting the Hindi texts of 16th-century saint-poet Mirabai. The ensembleโbaroque violin, flute, cello, harpsichordโjoins Hindustani vocalist Saili Oak and tabla player Rohit Panchakshari.
The program also features French Baroque selections by Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre and Franรงois Couperin, plus a solo Hindustani vocal set by Saili Oak with tabla accompaniment.
We invite ticket holders to arrive at 3:30PMfor garden tours of the Krotona Institute Garden, over 100 acres of natural beauty, and light refreshments.
Described as ‘mighty yet nimble’ (San Diego Story), Tesserae Baroque is quickly emerging as one of the most exciting and versatile period instrument ensembles in the US, receiving invitations to perform across the US. Past highlights include Tesserae’s performance of Handel and Rameau under the direction of Christophe Rousset, performances of Palestrina with Folger Consort and Stile Antico at the National Cathedral, a performance of the Monteverdi Vespers under the direction of Stephen Stubbs, and a 27-person performance of works by Giovanni Gabrieli, featuring Bruce Dickey. Most recently, Tesserae joined forces with Colburn Baroque to perform music by Hasse, Zelenka and Pisendel under the direction of Rachael Podger.
Tesserae has performed for San Francisco Early Music Society, Arizona Early Music Festival, and the Corona del Mar Baroque Festival. Tesserae is the resident ensemble for Cal Poly Bach Week.
Reena Esmailโs music weaves together the traditions of Hindustani and Western classical music, drawing musicians from many perspectives into shared creative spaces.
Esmail divides her attention evenly between orchestral, chamber and choral work. She has written commissions for ensembles including the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Seattle Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra and San Francisco Symphony and her music has featured on multiple Grammy-nominated albums, including The Singing Guitar by Conspirare, BRUITS by Imani Winds, and Healing Modes by Brooklyn Rider. Many of her choral works are published by Oxford University Press, and her piece TaReKiTa has sold over 100,000 copies worldwide.
Our favorite pre-Festival tradition returns with our Virtual Ojai Talks where we get an inside look at the creative process with Festival composers, artists, innovators, and musical thinkers. Virtual Talks are free and open to the musically curious!
Violinist Leila Josefowicz WED March 18, 2026 @ 5:30PM PT on Zoom
Leila Josefowicz, who makes her OMF debut this June, is celebrated for her passionate advocacy for contemporary music for the violin. Over the years, she has worked closely with many of todayโs most compelling composers, including Esa-Pekka Salonen, John Adams, Oliver Knussen, helping to bring new works to audiences worldwide. Join Artistic and Executive Director Ara Guzelimian and Leila for a conversation about what draws her to new music and the collaborative process behind it.
Virtual Ojai Talks are free and open to the public.
Composer/conductor John Adams WED December 10, 2025 @ 5:30PM PT on Zoom
In celebration of the Ojai Festivalโs Eight Decades of Discovery, Creativity, and Community, we welcome back John Adams as our special guest for our Virtual Ojai Talks. With Ara, John will share some of his favorite Festival memories as both composer and conductor, as we look forward to hearing his music at the 2026 Festival led by their good friend Esa-Pekka Salonen.
Virtual Ojai Talks are free and open to the public.
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.
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 Festivalโs 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 โgood fit forโ is not at all a requirement, just a suggestion.
Audio/Sound
The audio/sound intern works with the production team and the sound designer for the Libbey Bowl concerts.
A good fit for: interns interested in gaining experience in sound design and logistics.
Development and Special Events
Development and special events interns work with the Director of Development to produce the various social and donor events throughout the Festival. They also manage RSVP lists, coordinate and schedule vendors, create materials, and assist with other fundraising projects.
A good fit for: interns interested in gaining experience in special events coordination and fundraising.
Patron Services – Box Office
Patron services interns work in the box office, not only selling tickets, but also serving as a guide to the Festival experience for ticket buyers, donors, and community members.
A good fit for: interns who thrive in a fast-paced environment and are interested in gaining customer service, communications, database, and hospitality experience.
Patron Experience – Front-of-House
Patron Experience interns work with the Front-of-House team including the House Manager and Lead Usher to provide a welcoming and hospitable experience for Festival patrons, with attention to safety and security measures.
A good fit for: interns interested in gaining experience in event coordination and gaining experience in patron interaction.
Live Stream
These interns work with our live stream crew which provides a high-quality online broadcast of concerts during the Festival. Live stream interns are also responsible for helping with graphics related to live stream and can handle working with the film crew. Knowledge of Photoshop, Google Docs, I-Movie, and Final Cut Pro.
A good fit for: interns interested in gaining experience in video editing and live-stream, film work.
Stage
Stage interns work backstage and assist Festival stage managers in various performance venues.
A good fit for: interns interested in gaining experience in stage management.
Operations
The Operations interns work with the Operations Manager to provide physical and organizational support, including interfacing with the park manager, producer, administration staff, and patrol officers. They are responsible for assisting with signage and off-site communications.
A good fit for: interns looking to gain experience in the hands-on, behind the scenes workings of the Festival.
Production
The production intern works with the Festival Producer to coordinate artists and their needs throughout the Festival. They also work on stage and with the Stage Manager to help produce the Festivalโs concerts, manage rehearsals and performances, stage changes, and coordinate between lighting and sound engineers.
A good fit for: interns interested in gaining experience in concert production.
Public Relations and Marketing
Marketing interns work with the Director of Marketing & Communications and other marketing team members in communicating with and coordinating press in the days leading up to and during the Festival. They also assist with the Festivalโs social media presence during the Festival and creating and distributing marketing materials.
A good fit for: interns interested in gaining experience in public relations, marketing, and social media.
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:
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.
35+ hours of music in four days 14 premieres, including World and West Coast premieres 10 free community offerings 7 composers-in-residence
Our BRAVO Music Education and Community Programs stayed present in the schools and community!
560 hours in 57 classrooms by professional musicians/educators 3,500 public school children served 1,207 workshops in the public schools 30 different types of instruments presented to students with Music Van 140 kids and teens participated in Summer Camps, with 16% of them attending on scholarship
Play Forward 2026
6 months to go in the countdown to the 80th Festival with Esa-Pekka Salonen 4 days of performances, add-ons, films, and free community offerings 80 musicians animating 20 concerts in Libbey Bowl and beyond
Each June, the Ojai Music Festival transforms the verdant Ojai Valley into a world-renowned gathering for boundary-pushing music, visionary artists, and open-eared listeners. Each year, we welcome bold creators like 2025 Music Director Claire Chase and 2026โs Esa-Pekka Salonen, who challenge convention and reimagine what a festival can be.
This all happens because of you.
As an audience-supported nonprofit, 25% of our annual costs are covered by ticket sales. Your donation makes everything possible, from exhilarating performances in Libbey Bowl to free community events around Ojai, free educational outreach for students and seniors, and global access through streamed concerts and year-round content. Every gift sustains this extraordinary tradition.
As you are considering making your year-end gift, we hope you will help shape the next unforgettable chapter of the Ojai Music Festival.
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!
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.
Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group | Colburn School | Leila Josefowicz, violin | Anthony McGill, clarinet | Attacca Quartet | Geneva Lewis, violin | Jay Campbell, cello | Conor Hanick, piano
“The Ojai Music Festival is eight decades young, and we mark this milestone year with looks back to our extraordinary history and leap future forward with the newest music. A stellar array of guest artists collaborates in ever-changing combinations that are, as always, unique to Ojai. You are part of our story โ join us for what promises to be a singular and exuberant gathering of music and musicians.โ
Ara Guzelimian, Artistic and Executive Director
Libbey Bowl Evening Concert Highlights
THU 06.11 8PM
Attacca Quartet | Geneva Lewis, violin | Anthony McGill, clarinet | Jay Campbell, cello | Conor Hanick, piano
An opening program that includes recent works of John Adams and Esa-Pekka Salonen, culminating with Olivier Messiaenโs Quartet for the End of Time, a deeply moving work written in the unimaginable conditions of a prison camp during World War II โ a testament to faith and the human spirit, as well as to Messiaenโs profound connection to the natural world.
FRI 06.12 8PM
Colburn Orchestra | Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor | Anthony McGill, clarinet | Jay Campbell, cello
STUCKY Colburn Variations ESA-PEKKA SALONEN kinฤma LUTOSลAWSKI Grave (Metamorphoses for cello and strings) SCHOENBERG Verklรคrte Nacht (Transfigured Night)
Esa-Pekka Salonen leads the virtuoso string players of the Colburn School, where he heads the conducting program. Steven Stuckyโs touching 2002 gift to the young musicians of the Colburn school serves as prologue to Salonenโs kinฤma, a deeply expressive clarinet concerto with the artistry of Anthony McGill. After intermission, the quietly reflective Lutosลawski Grave (Metamorphoses for cello and strings), gives way to Schoenbergโs late Romantic 1899 masterwork.
SAT 06.13 8PM
Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group | Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor
A festive reunion as Esa-Pekka Salonen returns home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic in fall 2026 in the recently announced role of Creative Director. We celebrate this happy news with a characteristic program of music by Salonen himself, Gabriella Smith, Magnus Lindberg, and John Adams.
SUN 06.14 5:30PM
Colburn Orchestra | Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor | Leila Josefowicz, violin | vocal soloists to be announced
SALONEN FOG LIGETI Violin Concerto STRAVINSKY Pulcinella (complete ballet)
We go out with exuberance and dazzling virtuosity! To begin, Esa-Pekka Salonenโs Bach-inspired affectionate tribute to his great friend Frank Gehry. Ligetiโs Violin Concerto is one of the most dizzying and electrifying masterpieces of the late 20th century. And finally, we pay homage to one of the great early guiding lights of the Ojai Festival, Igor Stravinsky, with his endlessly witty and affectionate send-up of his Baroque music ancestors.
Mornings at Libbey Bowl
FRI 06.12 | SAT 06.13 | SUN 06.14 @ 10:30AM
Libbey Bowl mornings are a magical time, with soft breezes and the song of birds punctuating concerts that blend the familiar with the thrill of discovery. This year, there are several notable highlights: the world premiere of a new work by John Adams written expressly for the Attacca Quartet, the U.S. premiere of a new duo for violin and cello by Esa-Pekka Salonen played by Geneva Lewis and Jay Campbell, and the first complete performance of Salonenโs Piano Preludes with Conor Hanick, in addition to music by Olivier Messiaen and Jessie Montgomery. Complete programs will be announced in January.
Programs and artists are subject to change. Highlights as of November, 2025.
When: WED 01.21.26 | 7PM Where: Zipper Hall, Colburn School | 200 South Grand Ave, Los Angeles
Free, tickets required
On the occasion of the Ojai Music Festivalโs 80th Festival in June, join us for an exclusive conversation with 2026 Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen and longtime Los Angeles Times critic Mark Swed, moderated by Ojaiโs Artistic and Executive Director Ara Guzelimian. Together, they will reflect on the unique history of the Ojai Festival and preview the upcoming 2026 Festival, which will also showcase the Ojai debut of the Colburn Orchestra.
Thursday, February 12, 2026 | 7:30โ10:00 PM El Roblar, Mariposa Ballroom
After careful deliberation with the Ojai Music Festival Friends Committee, we regret to announce that we have decided to postpone the In the Mood dance party. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the event was not viable for the Committee at this time.
Although we must postpone, we plan to reconvene with the committee to reimagine the program at a later date. Hotel El Roblar has been very accommodating, and we hope to dream up something equally fun and community-minded later this year. We still want to celebrate the Festivalโs eight decades of music with you!
$150 – Friends Members
$175 – General Ticket
$200 – VIP Ticket
Ticket prices are per individual
About the Band
With The Walt Johnson Sinatra Tribute Band, the golden age of swing comes alive in unforgettable performances. Led by the renowned trumpeter Walt Johnsonโwho played with Frank Sinatra himselfโthis tribute is more than a concert: itโs a step back in time.
VIP ticketholders are invited to enjoy an exclusive 30-minute swing dance tutorial with Cassidy Linder, co-owner and founder of the Ojai Underground. Cassidy Linder is a professional choreographer and dance educator celebrated for her musicality and inclusive, high-energy classes. She creates welcoming experiences where dancers feel confident, connected, and inspired.
Arrive early and get your feet moving to the beat before the evening begins!
Iโm writing at the beginning of Thanksgiving week on a brisk and brilliant autumn morning, full of anticipation for the coming days. This might be my favorite holiday, a collective pause specifically to express thanks.
The epic rains of the past week in Southern California have brought much-needed replenishment to the dry landscape, so that there is uncharacteristic November green all around us. A treasured Ojai friend wrote this morning that โmaybe I should stop complaining about the rainโ and enclosed a photo of an exquisite double rainbow out her window. What a reminder to cherish the world around us!
I am so enormously grateful for our extended Festival community โ artists, audience members, donors, board members, volunteers, staff, and neighbors. In the face of a complex and too often a deeply troubled world, itโs the simple acts of kindness, generosity, and quiet grace that linger and enrich our lives. Iโm constantly reminded of the part that each of us plays in sustaining the resources and organizations that enhance the quality of life for our communities.
And, of course, there is the company we keep. In our personal lives, we embrace the expanded circles of family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and sometimes random strangers who make the everyday better.
Since we last met at Libbey Park, these past few months have been full of intertwined planning conversations with the artists and collaborating organizations for the June 2026 Festival. Iโve had the pleasure of meeting up with Esa-Pekka Salonen for extended conversations as we dream up programs and possibilities for Ojai. In case you missed it, here is a preview of whatโs to come.
Esa-Pekka has been central to the musical life of California for more than 30 years, a beacon for boundless creativity and innovation in all he touches. It is so deeply rewarding to be reunited with him and so meaningful to see what Ojai represents for him โ a place where an artist can dream. One of the hallmarks of our coming festival is to provide a concentrated exploration of Esa-Pekkaโs own music from recent years, with premieres of two new works as well as performances of his rich output from the past few seasons.
Esa-Pekka joins a long line of great composer/conductors who have been integral to the Festivalโs eight decades โ Igor Stravinsky, Aaron Copland, Lukas Foss, Pierre Boulez, John Adams, George Benjamin, and Thomas Adรจs, among others. So, itโs particularly fitting in this anniversary year to have a focus on his own music. A few years ago, Esa-Pekka spent a year as composer-in-residence at the Berlin Philharmonic. During that time, he recorded an extended interview about his life as a composer, a conversation that is quite personal and illuminating:
The coming Festival will celebrate another facet of Esa-Pekkaโs work, his role as a mentor for the next generation, particularly as a faculty member at the Colburn School โ he will lead two concerts with the Colburn Orchestra. I absolutely love marking a big anniversary year at Ojai with the exuberant talents and spirits of the next generation of musicians!
In the coming months, I will write much more about all of the glorious artists who will animate the 2026 Festival โ as I said, we are very lucky in the company we keep. In the meantime, here is a playlist anticipating several of the Festival artists to come โ Esa-Pekka, Leila Josefowicz, Anthony McGill, the Attacca Quartet, with a tip of the hat also to John Adams – chosen to keep you company in the coming days, whether in the bustle of travel, preparations, and meals, or even in the quiet private moment of respite.
When: SAT 01.31.26 | 6PM to 9PM Where: Red Canteen, 703 El Paseo Road
Ojai Music Festival and Black Barn Sessions present SoundUnseen, a unique musical experience where the visual element of the performance is removed, and the audience is enveloped in sound as the music fills the space and surrounds the listeners. Featuring a new work by Mattie Barbier, created expressly for this event and played by members of the stellar new music collective Wild Up. Creative concept by Will Thomas and Chris Hacker.
Musicians of Wild Up Ashley Walters, cello Brian Walsh, bass clarinet Linnea Powell, viola Andrew McIntosh, violin M.A. Tiesenga, tenor saxophone Mattie Barbier, prepared euphonium
Lighting performers Alexa Brenes Elizabeth Del Nagro John Fonteyn Dan Gottlieb Penny Herscovitch Bhagvati Khalsa Noah Sittig Will Thomas
How it will work: There will be four sessions starting at 6PM for attendees to select from, each being a total of 45 minutes in length. GA seating. Additional details when you purchase your tickets.
Sound Unseen is part of the Ojai Music Festival’s Creative Lab series. Special thanks to the City of Ojai and Arts Commission for funding this initiative.
Called โa raucous, grungy, irresistibly exuberantโฆfun-loving, exceptionally virtuosic familyโ (New York Times), Wild Up has been lauded as one of new musicโs most exciting groups by virtually every significant institution and critic within earshot. Artistic Director Christopher Rountree started the group in 2010 to eschew outdated ensemble and concert traditions by experimenting with different methodologies, approaches, and contexts. Wild Up has collaborated with an expansive list of composers, performers, and cultural institutions. Over the last decade, the group has given milestone concerts across the United States at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Hammer Museum, the Broad Museum, LACMA, The Soraya, The 92nd Street Y, National Gallery, National Sawdust, Roulette, and many more. Their critically acclaimed, three-time GRAMMY-nominated Julius Eastman recording anthology has been celebrated as โa masterpiece.โ (New York Times), โinstantly recognizableโ (Vogue), and โsingularly jubilant..a bit in your face, sometimes capricious, and always surprising.โ (NPR).
Called โa raucous, grungy, irresistibly exuberantโฆfun-loving, exceptionally virtuosic familyโ (New York Times), Wild Up has been lauded as one of new musicโs most exciting groups by virtually every significant institution and critic within earshot. Artistic Director Christopher Rountree started the group in 2010 to eschew outdated ensemble and concert traditions by experimenting with different methodologies, approaches, and contexts.
Wild Up has collaborated with an expansive list of composers, performers, and cultural institutions. Over the last decade, the group has given milestone concerts across the United States at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Hammer Museum, the Broad Museum, LACMA, The Soraya, The 92nd Street Y, National Gallery, National Sawdust, Roulette, and many more.
Their critically acclaimed, three-time GRAMMY-nominated Julius Eastman recording anthology has been celebrated as โa masterpiece.โ (New York Times), โinstantly recognizableโ (Vogue), and โsingularly jubilant…a bit in your face, sometimes capricious, and always surprising.โ (NPR).
Mattie Barbier is an LA based musician and sonic researcher focused on experimental intonation, latent acoustic worlds, and the physical processes of their instrument. Their playing has been described by the LA Times as being “of intense, brilliant, virtuosic growling that gave the striking impression that Barbier was dismantling the instrument while playing it,” by the Wire as โexploring the nooks of instrumental tone far beyond the reach of most mortals,โ and by the New Yorker as being a “diabolically inventive trombonist-composer.”
Barbier engages in collaborative relationships with a broad spectrum of musicians including Weston Olencki, Ellen Arkbro, Clara Iannotta, Sarah Davachi, Michelle Lou, Wolfgang von Schweinitz, Jacob Kirkegaard, and Katherine Young. As an interpreter they have given premieres by and collaborated with a broad spectrum of sonic practitioners including รliane Radigue and Carol Robinson, George Lewis, Catherine Lamb, Liza Lim, Lester St. Louis, Kevin Drumm, Kaori Suzuki, Raven Chacon, Chaya Czernowin, Nate Wooley, and British pop maverick, Scott Walker. Mattie has appeared as an orchestral soloist with the Helsinki Philharmonic, SWR Symphonieorchester, and Wild Up.
Barbier is a member of RAGE Thormbones, Wild Up, echoi, Diapason, and is an active soloist and improviser on low brass instruments and bagpipes. They teach at CalArts.
Barbier has presented and created work with and for the Museum of Jurassic Technology, Getty Center and Villa, Monday Evening Concerts, Lampo, San Francisco Exploratorium, Indexical, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Bemis Center’s LOW END, Roulette Intermedium, NyMusikk, RedCat, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble Apparat, Factory Seconds Brass Trio, and Issue Project Room as well as in collaboration with holographer Tristan Duke. They have made a wide array festival appearances including: Borealis (NO), IMD Darmstadt (DE), Donaueschinger (DE), Musica Nova Helsinki (FI), Maerzmusik (DE), Bludenz Tage zeitgemรครer (AT), Spor (DK), Chicagoโs Frequency Festival, Dartington International Summer School (UK), Kalv Festival (SE), JAMA (SK), Minu (DK), International Trombone Festival (CA), and the Ojai Music Festival. Mattie has held guest residencies at a broad spectrum of institutions, including Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Columbia, NYU, UCSD, and the University of Chicago. Various recording projects as a soloist and ensemble member have been released on Sofa Music, Dinzu Artifacts, Discreet Archive, Carrier, Tripticks, Populist, Mode, Hat Hut, Innova, Late Music, Faux Amis, Ideologic Organ, New Focus, Domino, New Amsterdam, and Kairos Records.
Cellist Ashley Walters is an internationally active performer, recording artist, conductor and educator. Praised by The Los Angeles Times for her โbrilliance,โ she is known for championing new repertoire, close collaboration with composers, and practices that bridge contemporary classical music, avant-garde traditions, and improvisation.
Walters maintains a diverse performance career, frequently working with microtonality, extended techniques, and alternative tunings. As a solo artist, she is recognized for tackling virtuosic, demanding works and has been the dedicatee of significant additions to the cello repertoire. She has appeared on concert series and in venues throughout the United States. Her debut solo album, Sweet Anxiety, was released in 2017 on Populist Records to critical acclaim.
A frequent collaborator with legendary trumpeter, improviser, and composer Wadada Leo Smith, Walters joined his Golden Quintet in 2016, recording Americaโs National Parks that same year. The album was named Jazz Album of the Year in DownBeat Magazineโs 65th Annual Critics Poll and selected as one of Nate Chinenโs Best Albums of 2016 in The New York Times. With Smith, she has toured nationally and internationally and appears on three albums: Americaโs National Parks, Rosa Parks: Pure Love, and String Quartets Nos. 1โ12.
Walters is a member of the Formalist Quartet, Wild Up, and Echoi, the performing ensemble of the renowned Monday Evening Concerts. An active conductor, she leads operatic, orchestral, and contemporary chamber music in both performance and recording.
As a full-time faculty member at Ventura College, Walters conducts the Symphony Orchestra, directs chamber music, and teaches cello, conducting, and music theory. She is passionate about connecting the college with the broader community through educational and community outreach events, as well as the Allegro Solo Competition, which she founded in 2024. She also serves as Director of the Ventura College Schwab Academy of Music, a summer intensive for orchestral and chamber music that presents six concerts, including the final round of the Henry Schwab Violin and Viola Competition.
Dr. Walters holds degrees from Vanderbilt University, California Institute of the Arts, and UC San Diego and lives in Ventura, California.
Clarinetist and composer Brian Walsh frequently performs with such diverse groups as Brightwork newmusic, Wild up Modern Music Collective, and the Josh Nelson Discoveries Group. He also leads Walsh Set Trio, a jazz ensemble focusing on the performance of his own compositions.
The Los Angeles Times has described Walshโs playing as โspectacularโ, as well as having โfound the essence of a licorice stickโs lyrical limberness, often murmuring and wailing at the same timeโ. Walsh has performed as a guest artist with the Los Angeles Philharmonicโs Green Umbrella new music series at Walt Disney Concert Hall and is a frequent collaborator on the Monday Evening Concerts and Tuesdays at MonkSpace concert series. He has also performed extensively with Long Beach Opera and The Industry.
Walsh has premiered pieces by Luigi Nono, Anne LeBaron, Girard Grisey, James Newton, Andrew Nathaniel McIntosh, Wayne Shorter, Tom Johnson and many others. He has collaborated or performed with Esperanza Spalding, Flea, Peter Maxwell Davies, Meredith Monk, Vinny Golia, Nicholas Deyoe, Gavin Bryars, Bobby Bradford, Bright Eyes, San Fermin, Andrea Bocelli, James Newton, and Muhal Richard Abrams.
Linnea Powell enjoys a multifaceted career as a freelance chamber, orchestral and studio violist in the Los Angeles area. An avid interpreter of new music, Powell is a member of the GRAMMY nominated ensemble Wild Up and often performs with Monday Evening Concerts, WasteLAnd, Brightwork Ensemble, and the Salastina Music Society. Powell actively commissions and records new works as the violist and co-founder of Aperture Duo, which was listed as โBest of Bandcampโ and has been regularly featured on LA Phil’s Noon to Midnight series.
Powell serves as Principal Viola for touring Broadway productions at the Ahmanson and Pantages Theater. She has recorded and performed with such legendary artists as Bjork, The Beatles, John Wiliams, and Van Dyke Parks, and records frequently for the film and television industry.
Andrew McIntosh is a Grammy-nominated violinist, violist, baroque violinist, and composer who teaches at the California Institute of the Arts and is a member of Wild Up, Formalist Quartet, Red Koral Quartet, Echoi (Concertmaster), Tesserae (Concertmaster), and Bach Collegium San Diego. Modern repertoire is an important part of McIntoshโs musical life, and recent performances include the premieres of significant new works by La Monte Young, Wadada Leo Smith, and รliane Radigue/Carol Robinson, among others.
As a baroque violinist he has served as guest concertmaster for operas with LA Opera and Opera UCLA, and in 2023 served as both Music Director and Concertmaster of Long Beach Opera’s all-Handel pastiche production “The Feast,” a collaboration with Martha Graham Dance Company. About a recent performance of the complete Rosary Sonatas of Heinrich Biber at the 92nd Street Y, the New York Times said “his playing had exceptional clarity and rhetorical verve”. His recording of the sonatas for violin and fortepiano of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges with Steven Vanhauwaert was released in November 2023 on Olde Focus Records.
As a composer he was described by Alex Ross in the New Yorker as โa composer preternaturally attuned to the landscapes and soundscapes of the West”, and recent commissions include works for the LA Philharmonic, Yarn/Wire, Wild Up, Miller Theatre at Columbia University, Vicki Ray, and violinist Ilya Gringolts. Portrait albums of his music can be found on KAIROS, Populist Records, and Another Timbre.
M.A. Tiesenga is a multi-instrumentalist and sound artist currently residing in Los Angeles. Tiesenga specializes in work with saxophones and improvisation, balancing virtuosity with creativity. Tiesenga is a prolific and dedicated proponent of new music and interdisciplinary collaborations, maintaining a diverse career spanning between experimental music, soul, pop, jazz, classical, and session recording. They have been seen making music at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Hollywood Bowl, on TV, in caves, and remote pastures.
Tiesengaโs creative collaborations include work with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Wild Up, Ojai Music Festival, Bang On A Can All-Stars, Monday Evening Concerts, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, High Desert Soundings, Brightwork New Music, WasteLAnd, Thรฉรขtre Musical Tokyo, Long Beach Opera, Kunsthalle for Music, SPEAK Percussion, Ensemble Ipse, Dog Star Orchestra, Ung Nordisk Musik, Ensemble Supermusique, and ensembles at the Eastman School of Music, New England Conservatory, California Institute for the Arts, Yale University, and Darmstรคdter Ferienkurse.
Tiesenga holds an MFA in Experimental Sound Practices and an MFA in Experimental Animation with a Concentration in Integrated Media from California Institute of the Arts, where they studied with Michael Pisaro, Sara Roberts, Eyvind Kang, Alexander Stewart, Pia Borg, and Tom Leeser. Previously, Tiesenga earned a Bachelor of Music from the Eastman School of Music in saxophone performance under the guidance of Dr. Chien-Kwan Lin.
Please enjoy this gallery of the home during the 2025 Holiday Home Tour. We are deeply grateful to the generous homeowners who opened their doors this weekend, the creative genius of the Ojai designers who shared their approaches to the holiday season, the talented musicians who filled the homes with music, the dedicated volunteers who gave their time and energy, and every guest who joined us to support the Ojai Music Festival and our BRAVO Education and Community Programs. We hope you were able to enjoy each of these homes this rainy year, and we look forward to clearer skies next year.
Casa Del Sol
Designed by Lila Glasoe Francese of Ohi Home and Carolyn Bennett of CDB Design
Heritage Home
Designed by Sunday Hendrickson and Kathy Smith
Holiday Hearth
Designed by Nereyda Seymour of Grit & Grace and Stefanie Coeler
TEDDY ABRAMS NAMED ARTISTIC AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE OJAI MUSIC FESTIVALEFFECTIVE SEPTEMBER 1, 2026
ARA GUZELIMIAN CONTINUES AS ARTISTIC AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR THROUGH THE 2026 FESTIVAL WITH MUSIC DIRECTOR ESA-PEKKA SALONEN
(Ojai, CA โ September 10, 2025) โ Ojai Music Festival Board Chairman Jerry Eberhardt announced today the appointment of conductor/composer/pianist Teddy Abrams as Ojaiโs next Artistic and Executive Director effective September 1, 2026, with his first Festival being the 81st Festival in June 2027. He will join the ranks of such distinguished predecessors as Ara Guzelimian, who concludes his tenure with the 2026 Festival, Thomas W. Morris, Ernest Fleischmann, and Lawrence Morton. Mr. Abramsโ collaboration with the Ojai Music Festival will be concurrent with his post as Music Director of the Louisville Orchestra.
โTeddy Abrams is one of todayโs most striking ambassadors for the impact the arts can have on building community. His artistic sensibilities, collegial spirit, and boundless energy position him as the ideal leader for the Ojai Music Festival as it enters its eighth decade,โ said Mr. Eberhardt. โMy Board colleagues and I have complete confidence that Teddy will build on the Festivalโs momentum and will continue to meet the expectations of our celebrated, supremely adventurous audiences and to provide the platform for our growing family of the worldโs most inventive artists to experiment and grow. With the resounding success of Teddyโs work to increase access and build community through music, we know he will help advance the Festivalโs commitment to reach across generations and to engage with the very heart of the Ojai community and throughout the region. As we anticipate the 80th anniversary of this glorious Festival, we feel boundless gratitude for Ara Guzelimianโs generous, steady leadership, and we welcome Teddy as we look toward the future.โ
Teddy Abrams said, โThe Ojai Music Festival is one of the brightest lights in the music world today. The Festival has always seemed like a magical and mythical beacon for me – this was where my mentor, Michael Tilson Thomas conducted in his early career (in addition to his own mentor, Ingolf Dahl); it is where Copland and Stravinsky shared their work, and it is the place that has brought to life the dreams of many of the greatest musicians of the past 80 years. The Ojai Music Festival represents creativity, adventure, and daring, all of which are the hardwired values of the Festival and its exceptionally loyal audiences; these are my deepest values too.โ
โIt is an overwhelming honor to join the Ojai family as Artistic and Executive Director. I believe the Festival has consistently offered the world a glimpse into the future of music, and the Festivalโs programming provides music lovers an opportunity to experience what is possible when creative inspiration is met with an affirmation. So much of this is due to the brilliance of Ojaiโs many extraordinary leaders, including this most recent period of growth and success with Ara at the helm. I canโt wait to continue Ojaiโs legacy of dreaming big, challenging the music world to think differently, and presenting art that brings the world to Ojai and Ojai to the world,” continued Mr. Abrams.
Ara Guzelimian commented, โThis was a deeply considered decision by Ojaiโs wonderful Board, led by a most experienced and knowledgeable succession committee. I greatly admire what Teddy has achieved at the Louisville Orchestra and look forward to seeing and to hearing all that he will bring to this new role. I will do all I can to assure a seamless transition and wish Teddy and this singular Festival every success in the years to come.โ
Now in his twelfth season as Music Director of the Louisville Orchestra, Teddy Abrams has been the galvanizing force behind the ensembleโs extraordinary artistic renewal and innovative social impact. Among his manifold achievements with the Orchestra are the Creators Corps, a trailblazing initiative that provides a fully funded residency for three composers who receive local housing, a salary, health benefits, and dedicated workspaces, the In Harmony tour, a multi-season, grand-scale community-building project funded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky that takes the Louisville Orchestra to urban and rural areas across the state, and recordings including a Grammy-Award winning album for Deutsche Grammophon featuring his own piano concerto written for Yuja Wang, one of nine works he has written for the orchestra. He was chosen as Musical Americaโs 2022 Conductor of the Year, and his work has been profiled by CBS Sunday Morning, PBSNewsHour, NPR, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, and TheNew York Times,which hails him as a โmaestro of the peopleโ who โhas embedded himself in his community, breaking the mold of modern conductors.โ
Mr. Abrams is a passionate advocate for the music of today, having commissioned and/or premiered works by over 40 composers including, Caroline Shaw, Gabriel Kahane, Mason Bates, Christopher Cerrone, Andrew Norman, Angรฉlica Negrรณn, Timo Andres, Julia Wolfe, Valerie Coleman, Michael Gordon, Lera Auerbach, Chris Thile, Tyshawn Sorey, and Joel Thompson. A cornerstone of his work in Kentucky is the Louisville Orchestraโs Creators Corps, which has welcomed 11 composers into the program thus far, resulting in more than 30 new works by composers Alex Berko, Lisa Bielawa, TJ Cole, Baldwin Giang, Anthony R. Green, Brittany Green, Oswald Huแปณnh, Chelsea Komschlies, Kiru Okoye, Tanner Porter, and Tyler Taylor. Recognized for his commitment to making music accessible and to deepening community connections, he currently serves as the Aspen Institute Arts Programโs Harman/Eisner Artist in Residence, a platform which invites Mr. Abrams to lend his perspective in addressing major social and civic issues.
In May 2025, Mr. Guzelimian announced his intention to step away from Ojai, which allowed for an extensive national search for his successor. Prior to this most recent six-year collaboration with the Festival (2020 โ 2026), with Music Directors John Adams, AMOC (American Modern Opera Company), Rhiannon Giddens, Mitsuko Uchida, Claire Chase, and Esa-Pekka Salonen, he was Ojaiโs Artistic Director from 1992 to 1997, working closely with Music Directors Pierre Boulez, John Adams, Kent Nagano, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Emanuel Ax. All told, Mr. Guzelimian will have shaped Ojai’s artistic direction for 12 years when he concludes his tenure from the Festival following the 80th Festival in June 2026.
The Ojai Music Festival and Ara Guzelimian will share details for the upcoming 2026 Festival (June 11-14, 2026) with Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen in the fall of 2025. Teddy Abrams The winner of a Grammy Award and Musical Americaโs 2022 Conductor of the Year, Teddy Abrams has been the galvanizing force behind the Louisville Orchestraโs extraordinary artistic renewal and innovative social impact since his appointment as Music Director in September 2014. His Kentucky achievements include acclaimed programs such as the Louisville Orchestra Creators Corps and the In Harmony Tour, and adventurous collaborations with artists including Jim James, Jack Harlow, Storm Large, and Jecorey โ1200โ Arthur, with whom Mr. Abrams founded the Louisville Orchestra Rap School. He collaborates regularly in Louisville and elsewhere with the leading artists of our time including Yo-Yo Ma, Yuja Wang, and Chris Thile.
Mr. Abramsโ guest conducting activities take him across the country, with regular appearances with the Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Cincinnati, National, Houston, Indianapolis, Milwaukee Symphonies, the Buffalo and Los Angeles Philharmonics; the Minnesota Orchestra; and at the Ravinia and Aspen Music Festivals. He was Music Director and Conductor of the Britt Festival Orchestra from 2013 to 2023. In Europe, he has conducted the Helsinki and Luxembourg Philharmonics and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. He makes debuts with the Atlanta Symphony, Nashville Symphony, Ottawaโs National Arts Centre Orchestra, and Londonโs BBC Symphony Orchestra in the 2025-26 season.
Teddy Abrams is an award-winning composer, whose recent compositions for the Louisville Orchestra include a piano concerto for Yuja Wang, which they recorded for Deutsche Grammophonโs The American Project, winning the pianist and himself a Grammy Award; Mammoth, premiered with Yo-Yo Ma and Davรณne Tines at Kentuckyโs Mammoth Cave National Park; and his rap opera, The Greatest: Muhammad Ali. His recording of his piano collection Preludes was released on New Amsterdam Records in 2025. He is now at work on a Broadway musical, ALI, and an orchestral history of the state of Kentucky. For additional bio information, visit OjaiFestival.org/Teddy-Abrams-Bio.
Ojai Music Festival The Ojai Music Festival represents an ideal of adventurous, open-minded, and openhearted programming in the most beautiful and welcoming settings, with audiences and artists to match its aspirations. Now in its 80th year, 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 Festivalโs narrative is guided by a different Music Director, whose distinctive perspectives shape programming โ ensuring energized festivals year after year.
Throughout each year, the Ojai Music Festival contributes to Southern Californiaโs cultural landscape with in-person and online programming as well as robust educational offerings that serve thousands of public-school students and seniors. The organizationโs apex is the world-renowned Festival, which takes place over four days 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. The intimate Festival weekend, considered a highlight of the international summer music season, welcomes up to 5,000 patrons and reaches exponentially more audiences worldwide through streaming and broadcasts of concerts and discussions throughout the year.
Since its founding in 1947, the Ojai Music Festival has presented expansive programming 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 โwhoโs whoโ of music including Mitsuko Uchida, Rhiannon Giddens, 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.
80th Festival: June 11 โ 14, 2026 Composer/Conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen returns to the Ojai Music Festival to serve as Music Director for the 80th Festival, June 11 to 14, 2026. Joining him as featured artists will be clarinetist Anthony McGill, Attacca Quartet, the Colburn Orchestra, and LA Phil New Music Group. Esa-Pekka Salonen is one of the most inventive, adventurous thinkers of 21st-century musical life. The unique format of the Ojai Music Festival will give him an unusually free creative hand as both composer and conductor.
Enjoy this gallery from both weeks of the 2025 BRAVO Art & Music Camp, just one of the many BRAVO Education & Community Programs that serve children and adults throughout the Ojai Valley.
Photos by Eric Andersenfrom the August session of Camp
Photos by Rosanne Forgettefrom the July session of Camp
Thank you for joining us at our 79th Festival, June 5-8, 2025, with Music Director Claire Chase. It was a glorious time to be in our communal festival experience to share music, conversation, and listening.
Take a look at excerpts from the press.
Like many of the pieces at Ojai this year, โSky Islandsโ was an unpredictable, amorphous, kaleidoscopic soundscape, its structure intentionally loose and good-natured
You canโt escape nature in Ojai. That meant that flutist Claire Chase, this yearโs Ojai Music Festival music director who is often called a force of nature, fit right in.
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 yearโs programming and whet your musical appetites for whatโs 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.
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 yearโs Music Director, Claire Chase and the Festivalโs Artistic and Executive Director, Ara Guzelimian. Claire tells the story of this yearโs 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 – Panโs 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 โSalutations 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 Eveningscomposed by Leos Janacek and performed by Rudolf Firkusny 9. Yenna performed by Ali Farka Tourรฉ 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 DโArccomposed 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 yearโs Music Director and longtime friend Claire Chase.
Music featured – 1. Processional performed by Claire Chase (composer Marcos Balter) 2. Panโs 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
ABOUT OUR HOST Christopher Noxon writes and paints in Ojai, CA. His solo show โTerra Incognitaโ opens at Oxford House Projects in LA on May 17. Heโs on the board of the Ojai Valley Museum and the Ojai Studio Artists. Heโs 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.
2025OjaiMusicFestival THU 6-5-25 8pm_musicians Steven Schick-percussion, Wu Wei-sheng, Susie Ibarra-percussion perform bayou-borne by Annea Lockwood_credit Timothy Teague (TOT_8844)
2025OjaiMusicFestival THU 6-5-25 8pm_music director Claire Chase performs Pan by Marcos Balter_credit Timothy Teague (DSC_7447)
2025OjaiMusicFestival THU 6-5-25 8pm_music director Claire Chase performs Pan by Marcos Balter_credit Timothy Teague (DSC_7482)
2025OjaiMusicFestival THU 6-5-25 8pm_music director Claire Chase performs Pan by Marcos Balter_credit Timothy Teague (TOT_9008)
2025OjaiMusicFestival THU 6-5-25 8pm_music director Claire Chase performs Pan by Marcos Balter_credit Timothy Teague (TOT_9181)
2025OjaiMusicFestival FRI 6-6-25 1030am_musicians Alex Peh-Cory Smythe-Craig Taborn keyboards perform Pulsing Lifters (World premiere of trio arrangement) by Terry RILEY (arr. Alex PEH) _credit Timothy Teague (DSC_7677)
2025OjaiMusicFestival FRI 6-6-25 1030am_Cory Smythe piano performs Countdowns by John COLTRANE-Cory SMYTHE_credit Timothy Teague (TOT_9223)
2025OjaiMusicFestival FRI 6-6-25 1030am_musicians Craig Taborn and Cory Smythe piano perform a Duo Improvisation for Ojai_credit Timothy Teague (DSC_7759)
2025OjaiMusicFestival FRI 6-6-25 8pm_USC Cello Ensemble with conductor Steven Schick perform Mirage-The Dancing Sun by Sofia Gubaidulina_credit Timothy Teague (TOT_9602)
2025OjaiMusicFestival FRI 6-6-25 8pm_USC Cello Ensemble with conductor Steven Schick perform Mirage-The Dancing Sun by Sofia Gubaidulina_credit Timothy Teague (TOT_9612)
2025OjaiMusicFestival FRI 6-6-25 8pm_USC Cello Ensemble with conductor Steven Schick perform Mirage-The Dancing Sun by Sofia Gubaidulina_credit Timothy Teague (TOT_9627)
2025OjaiMusicFestival FRI 6-6-25 330pm_music director Claire Chase performs Sex Magic (West Coast Premiere) by Liza Lim_credit Timothy Teague (DSC_7856)
2025OjaiMusicFestival FRI 6-6-25 330pm_music director Claire Chase performs Sex Magic (West Coast Premiere) by Liza Lim_credit Timothy Teague (DSC_7798)
2025OjaiMusicFestival SAT 6-7-25 800am_SUSIE IBARRA performs Kolubriฬ by SUSIE IBARRA arr. ALEKS PILMANIS_credit Timothy Teague (TOT_9947)
2025OjaiMusicFestival SAT 6-7-25 800am_SUSIE IBARRA performs Kolubriฬ by SUSIE IBARRA arr. ALEKS PILMANIS_credit Timothy Teague (TOT_9945)
2025OjaiMusicFestival SAT 6-7-25 800pm_Jack Quartet, Kathryn Schulmeister double bass and Alex Peh harpsichord perform Meditation on the Bach chorale Vor deinen Thron, BWV 668 by SOFIA GUBAIDULINA_credit Timothy Teague (DSC_8372)
2025OjaiMusicFestival SAT 6-7-25 800pm_Steven Schick conducts How Forests Think by Liza Lim_credit Timothy Teague (DSC_8540)
2025OjaiMusicFestival SAT 6-7-25 800pm_Wu Wei sheng with Steven Schick conductor accept applause after performing How Forests Think by Liza Lim_credit Timothy Teague (TOT_0461)
2025OjaiMusicFestival SUN 6-8-25 1030am_Alex Peh (piano), music director Claire Chase (flute), Susie Ibarra and Levy Lorenzo (percussion) and JACK Quartet perform Sky Islands by Susie Ibarra_credit Timothy Teague (TOT_0634)
2025OjaiMusicFestival SUN 6-8-25 1030am_Alex Peh (piano) performs Rituaฬl by TANIA LEOฬN_credit Timothy Teague (DSC_8675)
2025OjaiMusicFestival SUN 6-8-25 1030am_Susie Ibarra (percussion) performs Sky Islands by Susie Ibarra_credit Timothy Teague (DSC_8724)
2025OjaiMusicFestival SUN 6-8-25 1030am_Wu Wei (sheng) perform Nest Box by Susie Ibarra_Susie Ibarra (percussion) can be seen in the background_credit Timothy Teague (DSC_8650)
2025OjaiMusicFestival SUN 6-8-25 530pm_Alex Peh (piano) and Steven Schick (percussion) perform The Witness by Pauline Oliveros_credit Timothy Teague (DSC_8992)
2025OjaiMusicFestival SUN 6-8-25 530pm_music director Claire Chase (flute) and Wu Wei (sheng) along with other Festival artists perform Pulsefield by Terry Riley_credit Timothy Teague (DSC_9095)
2025OjaiMusicFestival SUN 6-8-25 530pm_Susie Ibarra and Steven Schick (percussion) perform Pulsefield by Terry Riley_credit Timothy Teague (TOT_1000)
2025OjaiMusicFestival SUN 6-8-25 530pm_music director Claire Chase with other Festival artists following the performance of Pulsefield by Terry Riley_credit Timothy Teague (DSC_9197)
Sky Islands Will Have Its West Coast Premiere on Sunday June 8, 10:30am At Libbey Bowl
2025 Ojai Music Festival composer Susie Ibarra was awarded the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Music for her groundbreaking Sky Islands. In its West Coast premiere, the celebrated work will be performed at the Festivalโs Sunday concert, 10:30am, at Libbey Bowl.
A longtime innovator in sound, rhythm, and environmental storytelling, Ibarraโs Pulitzer-winning composition explores themes of biodiversity, climate change, and community practices with traditional Philippine sounds. The Pulitzer Board praised Sky Islands for “[challenging] the notion of the compositional voice by interweaving the profound musicianship and improvisational skills of a soloist as a creative tool.โ
Commissioned by the Asia Society in New York, Sky Islands premiered on July 18, 2024, featuring Ibarra who is also a percussionist, flutist and 2025 Music Director Claire Chase, pianist Alex Peh, and percussionist Levy Lorenzo with members of the Bergamot Quartet.
In Ojai, Ibarraโs award-winning work will be performed by herself, Chase, Peh, and Lorenzo with the JACK Quartet. The Sunday morning program will also include a world premiere by Ibarra, Nest Box, for sheng and percussion. ABOUT SUSIE IBARRA Susie Ibarra is a Filipinx-American composer, percussionist, and sound artist. Her interdisciplinary practice includes composition, performance, mobile sound-mapping applications, multichannel audio installations, recording, and documentary. She has performed around the globe and collaborated with artists such as Pauline Oliveros, John Zorn, and Yo La Tengo. Her past works have been presented at venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Museum of Modern Art. She was raised in Houston by Filipino parents and trained in both Western classical and Philippine kulintang traditions. Her career spans avant-garde jazz, opera, electronic music, and theatre. ABOUT THE 2025 OJAI MUSIC FESTIVAL: JUNE 5 TO 8 The Ojai Music Festival, June 5 to 8, 2025, welcomes as Music Director one of todayโs most vital artists, flutist Claire Chase. Reflecting on Ojaiโs natural and sonic environment, the 2025 Festival programming offers responses to landscape as caretakers and participants and welcomes a multi-generational collective of composers, performers, composer-performers, and improvisers. The four days of the Festival will explore common themes of rebirth, re-imagination, reclamation, and re-wilding with concerts, films, free community events, a sound installation, and social gatherings.
EXPERIENCE THE OJAI MUSIC FESTIVAL Single tickets and day passes are available and may be purchased at OjaiFestival.org or by calling (805) 646-2053. Single tickets range from $55 to $165 for reserved seating in the Libbey Bowl. General admission for the Lawn in Libbey Bowl is $25, and add-on event prices are $55. Ojai Films can be purchased directly at OjaiPlayhouse.com. Student discounts and group sales are available by inquiring with the Festival Box Office at [email protected].
SUN MORNING CONCERT 10:30AM | LIBBEY BOWL, OJAI Wu Wei, sheng | Alex Peh, piano | Claire Chase, flute | Susie Ibarra and Levy Lorenzo, percussion | JACK Quartet Modern Medieval (arr. Christopher Otto and Austin Wulliman) Susie IBARRA Nest Box (World Premiere) Tania LEรN Ritual Susie IBARRA Sky Islands (West Coast Premiere)
Everything you need to know to immerse yourself in and prepare for the 2025 Ojai Music Festival!
CONTENTS
I)The Basics Your introduction to the Festival II) Composer Context Whoโs who and who will be in town at the 2025 Festival III) Podcast Listen now to delve even deeper IV) Book Recs Read your way to understanding more about 2025 V)Suggested Films Things to add to your watchlist before the Festival VI)Free Concert Livestream Enjoy all Libbey Bowl concerts in the comfort of your home for free
VII)Between the Downbeats What to do and where to go between concerts VIII) Quick Links A few final tips to point you in the right direction
The Basics
Since 1947, the Ojai Music Festival has offered four days of innovative programming each spring, blending contemporary, classical, and experimental approaches to music-making. A new music director curates the Festival annually, bringing fresh perspectives and fostering collaboration among world-class artists. Core concerts take place at the historic Libbey Bowl, with additional free and off-site eventsโincluding intimate theatrical concerts, thoughtful symposiums, and family-friendly pop-upsโthroughout Ojai.
For the 2025 Festival, June 5-8, the music director is Claire Chase: expert flutist, interdisciplinary artist, and community-focused educator. Among many other accolades, Chase is known for launching the 24-year commissioning projectDensity 2036. Now in its 12th year, Density reimagines the solo flute literature through commissions, performances, recordings, and educational initiatives. Works that are part of Density 2036 punctuate the Festival’s programming in Thursday night’s opening concert with Marcos Balter’s Pan and on Friday afternoon with Liza Lim’s Sex Magic.
Under Claire Chase, this Festival’s programming centers on responses to landscape as caretakers and participants, and celebrates collaboration and dialogue across multiple generations of composers and performers. The 2025 Festival includes four World Premieres of works by Susie Ibarra, Tania Leรณn, Terry Riley, and Bahar Royaee; the US Premiere of Liza Limโs Cardamom; eight West Coast Premieres; and seminal works by John Coltrane, Julius Eastman, Sofia Gubaidulina, Pauline Oliveros, Terry Riley, and more.
Central threads of this year include:
Connection to and conservation of ecology and nature
Using music as a means to symbolize an idea or meaning
Meditative and mindful contemplation
Deep listening
What to listen for:
Unique instrumentation, such as Claire Chaseโs towering contrabass flute, or the use of bamboo as a percussive element in Susie Ibarra’s Sky Islands
Extended techniques of traditional instruments, such as percussive flute playing or playing a cymbal with a double bass bow
Music that is part of or descended from minimalism, a 20th-century compositional movement that emphasizes repetition, drones, and/or gradual shifting between notes or techniques
Microtonal music (not necessarily atonal), which is music that utilizes pitches in between the 12 in the equal-tempered European chromatic scale
Here is a bit of context about each composer. Something special about this year’s Festival is that many of the featured composers will be in attendance, so be on the lookout for them at Ojai Chats, in the audience, or around town.
Marcos Balter
Works performed at Festival events: THU 8PM, SAT 10:30 AM
Marcos Balterโs Pan is a central work of Claire Chaseโs epic Density 2036 project. The Brazilian-American composerโs work for solo flute, live electronics, and community participation evokes the life and death of the Greek god Pan (himself a player of flutes) in a collaborative work that has elements of theatrical ritual. Here is an evocative description of the work by the writer Lisa Hirsch.
Marcosโs Alone for solo flute and wine glasses (Thursday at 8pm) will be the first music to be heard at this yearโs Festival, followed later on the same program by Pan. In addition, the JACK Quartet will play Marcosโs Chambers to open the Saturday morning 10:30am program.
In attendance at 2025 Festival Works performed at Festival events: SAT 8AM, SUN 10:30AM
Susie has had a wide-ranging career as both percussionist and composer in a wide vocabulary of genres, with her collaborators ranging from Wadada Leo Smith and John Zorn to Pauline Oliveros.
Here is a sampling of Susie in action in her extended album titled Talking Gong. First, Sunbird, written for Claire Chase and to be heard in a different version this year in Ojai on the Sunday early morning concert. And then, Paniwala from the same work, with Susie Ibarra joined by pianist Alex Peh, who is also a key collaborator in Sky Islands.
In attendance at 2025 Festival Works performed at Festival events: FRI 8PM, SAT 10:30AM, SUN 8AM, SUN 5:30PM
A Kanaka Maoli composer, violist, interdisciplinary artist, and music writer based in Hawaii, Leilehua Lanzilotti creates open spaces for deep listening and connection โ with the natural environment, language, and community. Her music often emerges from a broader practice of storytelling and stewardship, centering Indigenous values to repair erasure and reimagine the concert experience. Lanzilotti’s piece koสปu inoa will begin the Friday Evening concert in Libbey Bowl.
In the Hawaiian language, koสปu inoa translates as โmy nameโ or โis my name,โ according to the composer โ a simple phrase that carries the weight of identity, ancestry, and presence. Lanzilottiโs own first name, Leilehua, signifies โa garland of lehua blossomsโ โ โthe first plant to grow back after the volcano destroys all vegetation,โ she explains. โLooking beyond the direct translation, it means โcreating beauty out of destruction.โโ
Lanzilotti calls this piece, which is of flexible duration, โa homesick bariolageโ โ referring to the rapid alternation between strings to produce a shimmering effect โ based on Hawaiสปi Aloha. With lyrics written in the 19th century by Makua Laiana, the anthem is โusually sung at the end of large concerts or gatherings, with everyone joining hands and swaying side to side as they sing,โ but here, as Lanzilotti notes, it serves to invite introductions. โHawaiสปi Aloha evokes not only a homesickness for place and sound, but this action of coming together โ a homesickness that weโre all feeling right now, where music and human interaction are home.โ Listen to the piece and read more about it on Lanzilotti’s website here.
In attendance at 2025 Festival Works performed at Festival events: FRI 8AM,SAT 8PM, SUN 10:30AM, SUN 5:30PM
Friday, June 6 begins with an early morning program featuring the JACK Quartet performing, among other treasures, Abanico, a work by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Tania Leรณn. This concert is one of our OJAI DAWNS, an annual intimate concert in our farthest venue from downtown: Zalk Theater (on the stunning campus of Beasant Hill School).
The sound of a solo instrument is expanded and multiplied in this piece for violin and interactive electronics. Abanico takes its name from the Spanish word for โfanโ โ a reference both to the decorative folding fans found throughout Spanish and Cuban culture and to the swirling motion at the heart of the piece. That sense of motion and elegance informs the music, which Leรณn describes as โa bouncing scherzo of images, using sound as a mirror of physical motion. It is built of emerging lines that sometimes mutate into rhythmical pulses. Juxtapositions of bouncing textures become echo effects; memories, associations, and images of abanico dancing in mid-air.โ With a nod to her Cuban roots, Leรณn incorporates a brief quotation from a 1920s song by Eusebio Delfรญn.
Works performed at Festival events: FRI 8AM, FRI 2:30PM, SAT 8PM
In its West Coast premiere, Australian composer Liza Limโs Density 2036 contribution Sex Magic for solo contrabass flute and electronics centers Friday afternoon. Inspired by Claire Chaseโs towering contrabass flute (Bertha), Sex Magic evokes and celebrates womenโs power across time and cultures, evoking the giant bass flutes of Papua New Guinea and the Australian didgeridoo in a work that ritually moves across three altars, creating a mystical, mesmerizing evocation of both the present and the timeless past. Find more about this piece on Lim’s website.
Saturday evening’s concert concludes with Liza Limโs large-scale How Forests Think, a work inspired by the imagery of ancient forests as vibrant, symbiotic communities that, as Lim writes, โnourish the old connections and keep a song going. One might think of a forest as a choir or certainly as an ensemble. Stories, dreams, and thoughts inhabit multiple forms in a living matrix.โ Find more about this piece on Liza Lim’s website.
In attendance at 2025 Festival Works performed at Festival events:THU 8PM, SAT & SUN 2-5PM, SAT 10:30PM
Annea Lockwood is a composer known for integrating the interplay of sound in nature into her musical creations. The 2025 Festival opens on Thursday, June 5, with Annea Lockwoodโs Bayou-Borne, an affectionate tribute to a collaborator and dear friend, Pauline Oliveros. Her piece Spirit Catchers will be played in a special late-night setting at the Ojai Playhouse after the Saturday Evening concert, How Forests Think. Try to arrive with time to grab a snack or drink from the newly remodeled historical cinema!
Lockwoodโs sound map of the Housatonic River, captured as a four-channel sound installation, will be installed and played from 2-5PM on both Saturday and Sunday during the Festival in the serene pilates/yoga space of Move Sanctuary. Here are Lockwood’s notes explaining the creation of the piece:
“A Sound Map of the Housatonic River is a four-channel sound installation; it is an aural tracing of the river from its sources in the Berkshires, Massachusetts, to Long Island Sound, Connecticut. Each recorded site is located on a wall map with a number. Beside the map is the corresponding number, followed by the time at which that site can be heard, the place name, and where the recording was made. The installation was commissioned by the Housatonic River Museum, a project in development in Berkshire County, Massachusetts.”
In attendance at 2025 Festival Works performed at Festival events: FRI 10:30AM, SAT & SUN 3:30 & 2:30PM
The Libbey Bowl concert on Friday celebrates the old made new in Anna Thorvaldsdottirโs Impressions for harpsichord and ends with a summit meeting between Craig Taborn and Cory Smythe, two dazzlingly inventive composers and pianists whose worlds encompass creative music, free jazz, new music, and beyond.
The afternoon of Saturday, June 7, is punctuated by the West Coast premiere of Craig Tabornโs Busy Griefs and Endangered Charms for flute, clarinet, cello, piano, and electronics. Tabornโs critically acclaimed Busy Griefs and Endangered Charms was inspired by a dream in which plants awake, blossom, grow, and change as the dreamer walks through a garden. (A second performance of Tabornโs Busy Griefs and Endangered Charms will be offered on Sunday afternoon, June 8.)
For the past three years, the Ojai Music Festival has produced a podcast, OJAICAST, which aims to prepare listeners for the Festival by contextualizing the composers, performers, and intentions behind them all. In the spring of 2025, the Ojai Community Radio station, KOJY, was founded. Their mission is to provide Ojai and the surrounding communities with a freeform platform for music, community voices, education, and emergency broadcasting, without ads or commercial influence.
For this fourth installment of our podcast, each episode will first air as a radio show on KOJY and then be available for streaming. This installment is also special in that the artists and composers of the 2025 Festival will be featured on the show in conversation with host Chris Noxon, a visual artist and writer based in Ojai. It will be produced by Will Thomas, composer and producer, also based in Ojai. Listen to it live on KOJY on Fridays starting May 9, or on Spotify or Apple Podcasts anytime after.
In this astonishing book, anthropologist Eduardo Kohn challenges the very foundations of anthropology, calling into question our central assumptions about what it means to be human–and thus distinct from all other life forms. Based on four years of fieldwork among the Runa of Ecuador’s Upper Amazon, Eduardo Kohn draws on his rich ethnography to explore how Amazonians interact with the many creatures that inhabit one of the world’s most complex ecosystems.
Liza Lim’s large-scale work of the same title is the finale of Saturday night’s Libbey Bowl concert. She was inspired to create this piece after reading this book.
A New York Times 100 Best Books of the 21st Century Readers Pick #1 New York Times Bestseller A Washington Post and Los Angeles Times Bestseller As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowledge together to take us on “a journey that is every bit as mythic as it is scientific, as sacred as it is historical, as clever as it is wise” (Elizabeth Gilbert). In reflections that range from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces that threaten its flourishing today, she circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learn to give our own gifts in return.
In Virtual Ojai Talks, Claire Chase mentioned reading this book and feeling inspired by it in her curation of this year’s concerts.
A Year of Deep Listening, Stephanie Loveless (Editor)
365 scores for listening in celebration of the legacy of groundbreaking composer Pauline Oliveros.
A Year of Deep Listening is a publication of 365 scores for listening gathered by the Center for Deep Listening in celebration of the legacy of groundbreaking composer Pauline Oliveros.
Originally begun online, in honor of what would have been Oliverosโ 90th birthday (May 30, 2022), the project shared one score per day across social media for 365 days. The book version of A Year of Deep Listening brings these scores together into one beautiful and historic volume. An expression of the Deep Listening community, the scores were created by over 300 artistsโranging from prize winning composers to ear-minded grocery store clerks, from those who worked closely with Oliveros for decades to those who never met her.
Deep Listening: A Composer’s Sound Practice Deep Listening: A Composer’s Sound Practice offers an exciting guide to ways of listening and sounding. This book provides unique insights and perspectives for artists, students, teachers, mediators, and anyone interested in how consciousness may be affected by profound attention to the sonic environment. Purchase on Bookshop.org.
Sonic Meditations Sonic Meditations is a set of exercises that aim to help the reader have a deeper understanding of the self through sound-based meditation practices. Purchase on Bookshop.org.
Sounding the Margins Sounding the Margins: Collected Writings 1992-2009 by Pauline Oliveros documents her activity over this period and her advances in electronic and telematic musical performance, improvisation, artificial intelligence, and the role of women in contemporary music. Featuring contributions by John Luther Adams, Monique Buzzartรฉ, and Stuart Dempster. Purchase on Bookshop.org.
Quantum Listening Quantum Listening is a manifesto for listening as activism. Through simple yet profound exercises, Oliveros shows how Deep Listening is the foundation for a radically transformed social matrix in we act from compassion and peace. This timely new edition brings Oliverosโ vision together with a new Foreword and Introduction by Laurie Anderson and IONE. Purchase on Bookshop.org.
An immersive documentary and profound sensory experience from filmmaker Sam Green that explores the elemental phenomenon of sound. The film is a meditation on the power of sound to bend time, cross borders, and profoundly shape our perception of the world around us.
“Deep Listening: The Story of Pauline Oliveros” tells the story of the iconic composer, performer, teacher, philosopher, technological innovator and humanitarian, Pauline Oliveros. She was one of the world’s original electronic musicians, one of the only females amongst notable post-war American composers, a master accordion player, a teacher and mentor to musicians, a gateway to music and sound for non-musicians and a technical innovator who helped develop everything from tools that allow musicians to play together while in different countries to software that enables those with severe disabilities to create beautiful music. On the vanguard of contemporary American music for six decades, her story illuminates the pathway to how we got where we are and where the future will take us in the worlds of music, the philosophy of sound, and the art of listening.
Since 2012, the Ojai Music Festival has expanded its global footprint, building a worldwide audience and deepening connections with patrons throughout the year with free live broadcasts. All Libbey Bowl concerts are streamed in real time. Open our website’s homepage at the start time of each concert to view!
Most concerts are available on our YouTube channel after the Festival takes place. Watch livestreams from previous years and stay updated on new Festival videos by subscribing to our YouTube channel below.
Wondering where to go, shop, and eat in between concerts? Use the links below to read what our staff recommends, a full list of our local favorites, and even more recommendations in the mobile app.
Our student discounts are a great opportunity to enjoy the Festival at any age. All discounts except our gas rebate are available for students of any grade level. Students age 12 and up are welcome to utilize our student discounts for Libbey Bowl or lawn tickets. We welcome children ages 6 to 11 on our lawn for $5. Children age 5 and under are free on the lawn.
When you show your active student ID to the Box Office, either in person or via email.
College Faculty: 15% OFF Any Tickets, Any Time
When you show your faculty student ID to the Box Office, either in person or via email.
Student Rush Tickets, 50% OFF
When you show your active student ID to the Box Office 30 minutes or less before the start time of a Festival concert. Valid only for concerts at Libbey Bowl, while supplies last. In the event that a concert sells out, there is no guarantee of entry.
Gas Rebate
When you show your active student ID and a gas receipt to the Box Office prior to a concert, we will refund up to $30 of what you spent. The gas receipt must be from the same day of the concert you are attending. Valid for high school and college students only. While supplies last.
Photos by Timothy Teague
Other Opportunities to Get Involved
OJAINEXT
Join the next generation of Ojai audiences. Whether youโre a classical music lover or simply curious about this yearly Ojai staple, look at our various perks to help welcome you to the Ojai Festival community.
Our Festival volunteers are the heart and soul of the Festival community. Thanks to our combined team efforts, we provide an exceptional setting for all to enjoy the immersive Ojai experience.
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.
Thank you to all who attended Deep Listening with 2025 Music Director and flutist Claire Chase on May 15, 2025, presented by The Listening Garden x Ojai Music Festival at Light & Space Yoga.
It was an unforgettable night, where our two vibrant communities came together. We loved connecting through music and mindfulness, listening and conversation, in such a beautiful way. We certainly hope to see the guests again, whether that’s around town, at The Listening Garden, or at the Ojai Music Festival, June 5 to 8.
A special thank you to Naomi’s Kitchen, whose bento-style food was delightful. Enjoy this gallery of photos by Eric Andersen, who captured this special evening beautifully.
Get an inside look at the creative process with our free Virtual Ojai Talks, where we celebrate the intersection of music and ideas with the 2025 Festival artists, composers, innovators, and thinkers. Virtual Talks are free and open to the musically curious!
Marcos Balter and Susie Ibarra WED April 16
Join Artistic and Executive Director Ara Guzelimian with special guests Marcos Balter and Susie Ibarra, two of today’s innovative composers who continue to stretch musical limits in their approach to music, and fortunate for Ojai, this year’s composers-in-residence. Gain insight into their unique creative processes and discover what to expect at the Festival in June, led by their colleague and friend Claire Chase as music director.
PAST TALKS
Claire Chase and Annea Lockwood February 25, 2025
Renowned composer Annea Lockwood will join us for a special Ojai Talks session alongside Music Director Claire Chase. Together, with Ara Guzelimian, they will delve into their shared passion for the interplay of sound in nature and its integration into their musical creations of which will be featured at this yearโs Ojai Festival.
Q&A with Tom Morris and special talk with Barbara Hannigan December 4, 2024
Always The Music is the fascinating story of former Ojai Music Festival Artistic Director Tom Morrisโ 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. Join us for a participatory Q&A between Tom and Ara Guzelimian, plus a special conversation between Tom and 2019 Music Director Barbara Hannigan, recorded for this online session.
Meet the Music Director September 18
To kick off preparations for the 2025 Ojai Music Festival, June 5-8, join us for a conversation between Music Director Claire Chase and Artistic and Executive Director Ara Guzelimian.
Jamie Bennett at last year’s 2024 Festival. Photo credit: Timothy Teague
Dear Ojai Festival friends,
We began the summer with the sad news of the passing of Jamie Bennett, a key figure in the Festivalโs recent history as both a Board member and, for five years, our President and CEO. Jamie was a treasured friend to many in our extended Festival community in both Los Angeles and Ojai, bringing the same immediacy and warmth to all, whether they were of long-standing history or recent acquaintance.
Jamie brought a wealth of professional expertise from his many years in media and non-profit management, working for organizations such as the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), Disney, and CBS where his time included a term as General Manager of KCBS-TV. Jamie came to the Festival first as a Board member and then took a staff leadership role as President and CEO from 2015 until 2020, helping to navigate the complicated early days of the pandemic and that yearโs online Festival. Happily, for all of us, he returned to the Board after his work as CEO and remained deeply engaged in all dimensions of the Festivalโs progress. He remained active until his last days, making calls, and sending helpful notes to the end.
I first met Jamie at the beginning of my return as Artistic and Executive Director in 2020. He was extremely helpful in providing grounding and much information to get me started. He was also an extraordinary ambassador to the Festival with his natural knack for putting people together. I have numerous rewarding recent friendships that began with Jamie saying, โYou should meet this person, I think you would like them.โ He was right in each case. His devotion to community in both his home cities of Los Angeles and Ojai led to his generous involvement in many worthy civic organizations and causes. We will miss him.
Claire Chase and Pan participants at the opening night concert. Photo Credit: Timothy Teague 2025
Savoring the Festival
I have been traveling extensively for both professional and personal reasons in the weeks following the Festival, which has given me the time, distance, and perspective to reflect on our wonderful time together in June. There are so many memories and experiences that remain in such sharp focus. We can relive the Libbey Bowl concerts by way of our treasure-trove archive of livestreams on demand:
Patrons walking in the Ojai Meadows Preserve. Photo Credit: Timothy Teague 2025
One of my favorite newer Festival traditions is that of our free Morning Meditations, which this year took place in the atmospheric Chaparral Auditorium as well as most memorably at the Ojai Meadows Preserve in an extremely happy and fruitful collaboration with the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy. My OVLC colleagues and I watched with delight as several hundred people streamed into the grove of trees with mountain panoramas as backdrop.
Joshua Rubin playing with composer Tania Leรณn listening behind him. Photo Credit: Timothy Teague 2025
The morning began with Susie Ibarraโs Sunbird, originally a multi-tracked solo flute piece for Claire Chase, here specially arranged for the occasion for four players – Claire, Joshua Rubin, Michael Matsuno, and M.A. Tiesenga.
Although the complex logistics prevent livestreams of these early morning concerts, we can find some of the works on recordings by the same artists. Here is the original flute version of Sunbird for us to savor:
The next day, the Sunday morning meditation at Chaparral ended in a mesmerizing way with Anna Thorvaldsdottirโs Sola, played by violist Leilehua Lanzilotti. Happily, Leilehuaโs studio recording of the work allows all of us to hear it.
We will continue to revisit some special moments of this past June throughout the summer even as we focus work on planning the 2026 Festival with Esa-Pekka Salonen, which will be our 80th Anniversary. Because of the June timing of the Festival, our fiscal year ends on August 31. Like so many of our colleagues in arts organizations, we are facing significant financial challenges with reductions or even elimination of arts funding in our ever-changing national landscape. We hugely thank our devoted supporters and ask those have not yet done so to consider making a gift prior to August 31 to help us close out what has been a most rewarding year artistically. We need all of you!
Music Director Claire Chase and Artistic Director Ara Guzelimian Announce Updates for the 79th Festival, June 5 to 8, 2025
The Ojai Music Festival celebrates collaboration and dialogue across multiple generations of composers and performers, including four World Premieres of works by Susie Ibarra, Tania Leรณn, Terry Riley, and Bahar Royaee; two U.S. Premieres by Tania Leรณn and Liza Lim; eight West Coast Premieres; residencies by Tania Leรณn, Annea Lockwood, Liza Lim, Craig Taborn, Susie Ibarra, Leilehua Lanzilotti, and Marcos Balter; and seminal works by John Coltrane, Julius Eastman, Sofia Gubaidulina, Pauline Oliveros, Terry Riley, and more
โThereโs no place in the world like Ojai, and there is no gathering of musicians and ideas like the Ojai Festival. From the time I was a kid growing up in Southern California, the Festival has taken on mythical dimensions for me.โ – Claire Chase, 2025 Music Director
(March 19, 2025, OJAI, CA) โ The 79th Ojai Music Festival, running June 5 to 8, 2025, welcomes as Music Director one of todayโs most vital artists, flutist Claire Chase. Chase, together with the Festivalโs Artistic and Executive Director, Ara Guzelimian, today announces the complete programming for the June Festival, welcoming a multi-generational international community of composers, performers, composer-performers, and improvisers.
Claire Chase is known internationally as a flutist, new music advocate, and educator. After establishing her professional career as co-founder and artistic director of the multi-award-winning International Contemporary Ensemble, Chase quickly developed a reputation as an artist with a penchant for collaboration and community-building. Her esteem within the new music community continued to grow with the 2013 launch of her signature Density 2036 project. This 24-year initiativeโin which she commissions a program of new pieces for flute each year, concluding in 2036โhas enriched the contemporary flute repertoire with dozens of new compositions, while the Density Fellows program, founded in 2023, mentors a new generation of flutists while ensuring the pieces remain in the repertoire. In recognition of her efforts, she has earned the Avery Fisher Prize, a MacArthur Fellowship, and, in the 2022โ23 season, served as the Richard and Barbara Debs Creative Chair at Carnegie Hall.
โClaire Chase is one of the most vibrant generators of ideas in todayโs musical life,โ says Guzelimian, โsomething she does with boundless imagination and generosity of spirit. Itโs been so rewarding to imagine all of Ojaiโs possibilities with her. Iโm particularly excited by the musical community sheโs creating with the resident performers and composers, weaving them throughout in collaborations and cross-current inspirations. And being a native of California, Claire responds deeply to the particular beauty and complexity of Ojaiโs natural setting, something represented in many works that explore many distinct environments.โ
Under Chaseโs musical leadership, the 2025 Ojai Music Festival celebrates collaboration and dialogue across multiple generations of composers. Among them are Composers-in-Residence Tania Leรณn, Annea Lockwood, Liza Lim, and Marcos Balter; composer-performers Craig Taborn (piano), Leilehua Lanzilotti (viola), and Susie Ibarra (percussion); luminaries including Sofia Gubaidulina, Terry Riley, and Anna Thorvaldsdottir; and emerging composers including Eduardo Aguilar, Vincent Atria, and Bahar Royaee. Together, these artists will present new and recent worksโincluding four world premieres, one U.S. premiere, and eight West Coast premieresโin dialogue with one another, as well as with era-defining artists such as J.S. Bach, John Coltrane, Julius Eastman, and Pauline Oliveros. In the spirit of Chaseโs tireless advocacy for new music, each composer appears on equal footing with one another, each piece as vital to the narrative of its program as its counterparts. Household names share the stage with rising talents, and notated works coexist with improvised ones, illuminating unexpected commonalities and delighting in divergences.
โWhile shaping these programs,โ writes Chase, โI was inspired by the author Donna Harawayโs invitation to encounter one another in โunexpected combinations and collaborations,โ in what she calls โoddkinโโa term for our deep and unruly interdependence. What a beautiful description of the messy and miraculous experience of making music in the 21st century! The four days of the Festival will be anchored by four generations of brilliant composers whose projectsโthough wonderfully divergent stylisticallyโexplore common themes of rebirth, re-imagination, reclamation, and rewilding. Our programs will be brought to life by an exhilarating lineup of performers whose manifold musical backgrounds will meet in unpredictable and electrifying new ways. From Thursday to Sunday, we will conjure thinking forests, liberated rivers, endangered charms, ancient mythologies, holy presences, magical spells, and reimagined communities. And we will embrace multispecies collaboration in performance experiences that extend from the newly rewilded landscapes of the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy to the feathered night choruses fluttering around Libbey Bowl. My hope is that these programs will illuminate and celebrate the fragilities as well as the exuberant possibilities of music made in oddkin. I look forward to welcoming you to the adventure!โ
The spirit of collaboration and found community suffuses not only the music and its presentation, but the performers themselves. Ojaiโs 2025 Festival collaborators represent artists from the Latin American, European, Australian, and American contemporary music scenes. Among them are returning artists Steven Schick, who previously served as 2015 Music Director; cellist Seth Parker Woods; the JACK Quartet comprising violinists Christopher Otto and Austin Wulliman, violist John Pickford Richards, and cellist Jay Campbell; cellist Katinka Kleijn; Levy Lorenzo, percussion and electronics; M.A. Tiesenga, saxophone and electronic hurdy-gurdy; percussionist Ross Karre; clarinetist Joshua Rubin; bassist (and ELISON Ensemble member) Kathryn Schulmeister; and pianist Cory Smythe. Several artists appear in their Festival debut, including Wu Wei, sheng; Michael Matsuno, flute; Ben Marks, trombone, and Tristram Williams, trumpet, of ELISION Ensemble; Alex Peh, keyboards; Leilehua Lanzilotti, composer and viola; Susie Ibarra, composer and percussion; Craig Taborn, composer and piano; Wesley Sumpter, percussion; and the USC Cello Ensemble.
Rather than limiting each artist to set ensembles, this yearโs Festival collaborators comprise a single, flexible ensemble whose various configurations can flow and evolve to best suit the unique requirements of each program. โIn the spirit of collectivism and collaboration, Iโm excited to invite these artists to play together in new and sometimes surprising ensemble configurations,โ says Chase. โWeโll all show up as both headliners and side acts in each otherโs explorations.โ
The 2025 Festival opens on Thursday, June 5 with Annea Lockwoodโs Bayou-Borne, an affectionate tribute to Pauline Oliveros, and culminates with Marcos Balterโs Pan from Chaseโs Density 2036 project. Balterโs already iconic Pan (2017โ18) is a musical drama for solo flute, live electronics, and an ensemble of community musicians. The all-ages, all-abilities Pan ensembleโa kind of 21st-century Greek chorus that serves as the conscience of the community in this telling of the Greek mythโis assembled newly in each city to which the work travels.
Friday, June 6 begins with an early morning program featuring the JACK Quartet with works by Tania Leรณn, Liza Lim, and two emerging composers, Vicente Atria and Eduardo Aguilar. The Libbey Bowl concert on Friday at 10:30am celebrates the old made new in Anna Thorvaldsdottirโs Impressions for harpsichord and the world premiere of Alex Pehโs trio arrangement of Terry Rileyโs Pulsing Lifters and ends with a โsummit meetingโ between Craig Taborn and Cory Smythe, two inventive composers and pianists whose worlds encompass creative music, free jazz, new music, and beyond.
In its West Coast premiere, Australian composer Liza Limโs Density 2036 contribution Sex Magic for solo contrabass flute and electronics centers Friday afternoon. Inspired by Claire Chaseโs towering contrabass flute (Bertha), Sex Magic evokes and celebrates womenโs power across time and cultures, evoking the giant bass flutes of Papua New Guinea and the Australian didgeridoo in a work that ritually moves across three altars, creating a mystical, mesmerizing evocation of both the present and the timeless past.
Terry Rileyโs The Holy Liftoff will be featured on the Friday evening Libbey Bowl concert. Claire Chase partners with the JACK Quartet in a 45-minute rendition realized in collaboration with Samuel Clay Birmaher that was conceived as a series of musical sketches and brilliantly colored drawings. Of Rileyโs Density 2036-commissioned work Chase said, โAt 90 years old, Terry is on fire with ideas. Heโs creating new forms and inciting collaborations with urgency and vitality. For Ojai, we are imagining the limitless variations, realizations, and possible interpretations of his โliftoffโ to include both performers and audiences.โ Music for a โchorus of cellosโ by Sofia Gubaidulina and Julius Eastman precede The Holy Liftoff.
On Saturday, June 7, the first Libbey Bowl concert of the day centers on the West Coast premiere of Anna Thorvaldsdottirโs Density 2036 commission Ubique for flute, two cellos, piano, and electronics. Thorvaldsdottir describes the work as โinspired by the notion of being everywhere at the same time, an enveloping omnipresence, while simultaneously focusing on details within the density of each particle, echoed in various forms of fragmentation and interruption and in the sustain of certain elements of a sound beyond their natural resonance. Throughout the piece, sounds are both reduced to their smallest particles and their atmospheric presence expanded towards the infinite.โ
Saturday afternoon continues with the West Coast premiere of composer-pianist Craig Tabornโs Busy Griefs and Endangered Charms for flute, clarinet, cello, piano, and electronics. Composed for Chaseโs Density 2036 project, Tabornโs critically acclaimed piece was inspired by a dream in which plants awake, blossom, grow, and change as the dreamer walks through a garden. (A second performance of Tabornโs Busy Griefs and Endangered Charms will be offered on Sunday afternoon, June 8.) At the Libbey Bowl that evening is a program of music by Bach, Sofia Gubaidulina (inspired by Bach), and Tania Leรณn, concluding with Liza Limโs large-scale How Forests Think, a work inspired by the imagery of ancient forests as vibrant, symbiotic communities that, as Lim writes, โnourish the old connections and keep a song going. One might think of a forest as a choir or certainly as an ensemble. Stories, dreams, and thoughts inhabit multiple forms in a living matrix.โ
On Sunday, June 8, the JACK Quartet explores their ongoing Modern Medieval project at Libbey Bowl, with music from the 14th to 17th centuries renewed for contemporary performance by composers/JACK violinists Christopher Otto and Austin Wulliman. The program includes the West Coast premiere of Susie Ibarraโs Sky Islands, a musical tribute to rich and fragile ecosystems inspired by the distinct rainforest habitats of Luzon, Philippines. The work features the interlocking rhythms and melodies of Philippine Northern style bamboo, gong, and flute music, performed on new sound sculptures of gong metals. Sky Islands is described as โa musical call to action, drawing awareness to dwindling biodiversity, changing climate, and global community practices.โ
An exuberant all-company 2025 Festival finale on Sunday afternoon includes music by Leilehua Lanzilotti, Pauline Oliverosโs The Witness and the world premiere of a new version of Tania Leรณnโs Singsong adapted for solo flute. The Festival culminates in the world premiere of Terry Rileyโs Pulsefield 3,in ajoyous celebration of the composerโs 90th birthday.
COMMUNITY OFFERINGS An integral part of the immersive Ojai Festival experience are the free community events in Libbey Park and throughout Ojai. The 2025 schedule will include two โMorning Meditations.โ On Saturday, June 7 at the Ojai Meadows Preserve, in a collaboration with the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy, the free event will feature the music of Pauline Oliveros and Susie Ibarra. On Sunday, June 8 at Chapparal Auditorium, the Morning Meditation will include music of Leilehua Lanzilotti, Bahar Royaee, and Anna Thorvaldsdottir. During Festival weekend, Annea Lockwoodโs Housatonic sound installation will be open to Festival patrons and the community. The annual family concert at the Libbey Gazebo will take place on Sunday following the Libbey Bowl morning concert with featured artists.
OJAI FILMS The Ojai Music Festival welcomes the return of showcasing documentaries during the weekend at the recently remodeled Ojai Playhouse. The two films featured will be Deep Listening: The Story of Pauline Oliveros and 32 Sounds. Deep Listening is a documentary film project by Daniel Weintraub. Produced in collaboration with executive producer lone, Oliveros’s partner in life and work, and the Ministry of Maat, Inc., the film combines rare archival footage, live performances, and unreleased music with appearances by Terry Riley, Anna Halprin, lone, Linda Montano, Laurie Anderson, Thurston Moore, Alvin Lucier, Claire Chase, Miya Masaoka, Morton Subotnick, Tony Martin, Ramon Sender, and many more ground-breaking artists. 32 Sounds is a film by Sam Green, with music by JD Samson. This immersive documentary and profound sensory experience explores the elemental phenomenon of sound. The film is a meditation on the power of sound to bend time, cross borders, and profoundly shape our perception of the world around us.
EXPERIENCE THE 79TH OJAI MUSIC FESTIVAL, JUNE 5 TO 8, 2025 Single tickets and day passes are available and may be purchased at OjaiFestival.org or by calling (805) 646-2053. Single tickets range from $55 to $175 for reserved seating in the Libbey Bowl. General admission for the Lawn in Libbey Bowl is $25, and add-on event prices are $55. Ojai Films can be purchased directly at OjaiPlayhouse.com. Student discounts and group sales are available by inquiring with the Festival Box Office at [email protected].
CLAIRE CHASE, MUSIC DIRECTOR Claire Chase, described by The New York Times recently as โthe North Star of her instrumentโs ever-expanding universe,โ is a musician, interdisciplinary artist, and teacher. Passionately dedicated to the creation of new ecosystems for the music of our time, Chase has given the world premieres of hundreds of new works by a new generation of artists. She was the first flutist to be awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2012, and in 2017 was the first flutist to be awarded the Avery Fisher Prize for Classical Music from Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Chase served as the Richard and Barbara Debs Creative Chair at Carnegie Hall in the 2022โ23 season and serves as the Music Director for the 2025 Ojai Music Festival. Previously, Chase performed at the Ojai Music Festival with the International Contemporary Ensemble in 2015 with that yearโs Music Director Steven Schick, in 2016 with Music Director Peter Sellars, and in 2017 with Music Director Vijay Iyer.
Chase has performed as a soloist recently with the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Munich Chamber Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, and London Philharmonia. This season, Chase toured Europe and Japan with the premiere of a new double concerto by Dai Fujikura for flute and violin (with collaborators Leila Josefowicz and Akiko Suwanai). In the 2022โ23 season, Chase premiered a new double concerto by Felipe Lara with the vocalist and bassist esperanza spalding and the conductor Susanna Mรคlkki, which was named one of the Best Classical Music Performances of the Year by The New York Times.
In 2013, Chase launched the 24-year commissioning project Density 2036, described by The New Yorker as โa quarter-century journey with little precedent.โ Now in its twelfth year, Density reimagines the solo flute literature through commissions, performances, recordings, educational initiatives, and a community-focused approach to cultural production. In 2023, Chase performed all ten Density programs to date in a weeklong series of events co-produced by Carnegie Hall and The Kitchen. Central to the Density project is a commitment to supporting an international, multigenerational community of flutists who will take the Density repertoire in bold new interpretive directions. The Density Fellowsprogram, launched in 2023 in celebration of the tenth anniversary,provides an international cohort of emerging flutists with the resources to make the Density repertoire their own. Chase is the artistic director of Density Arts, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the flute in the 21st century.
As an undergraduate at Oberlin Conservatory, Chase co-founded the International Contemporary Ensemble, a collective of musicians, digital media artists, producers, and educators committed to creating collaborations built on equity and cultural responsiveness. She served as the ensembleโs artistic director until 2017 and as an ensemble member on performance and educational projects on five continents, developing an artist-driven organizational model that resulted in the premieres of more than 1,000 new works and earned the group multiple Chamber Music America/ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming, the Trailblazer Award from the American Music Center, and the Ensemble of the Year Award from Musical America Worldwide.
A deeply committed educator, Chase is Professor of the Practice in the Department of Music at Harvard University, where she teaches courses on contemporary music, interdisciplinary collaboration, and cultural advocacy. Chase is also Creative Associate at The Juilliard School, where she mentors young artists and engages students in a range of interdisciplinary projects. With her longtime colleague Steven Schick, she co-founded Ensemble Evolution at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, a three-week intensive for the next generation of interdisciplinary artists, curators, and teachers. Chaseโs Debs Creative Chair residency at Carnegie Hall encompassed programming for all ages, including a โDay of Listeningโ for children and families inspired by the listening philosophies of Pauline Oliveros. Chase partnered with MacArthur Fellow Josh Kun and the Getty Museum in Los Angeles to expand her Pauline Oliveros project as part of the PST ART x Science Collide festival in November 2024.
Claire Chaseโs extensive discography includes eight solo albums of world premiere recordings and dozens of collaborative recordings with ensembles, composers, and sound artists from a wide range of musical genres. Chase grew up in Leucadia, California, with the childhood dream of becoming a professional baseball player before she discovered the flute. She lives in Brooklyn.
ARA GUZELIMIAN, ARTISTIC AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Ara Guzelimian is the Artistic and Executive Director of the Ojai Music Festival, having begun in that position in July 2020. The appointment culminates many years of association with the Festival including tenures as director of the Ojai Talks and as Artistic Director from 1992โ97. Guzelimian stepped down as Provost and Dean of the Juilliard School in New York City in June 2020, having served in that position since 2007. He continues at Juilliard as Special Advisor.
Prior to the Juilliard appointment, he was Senior Director and Artistic Advisor of Carnegie Hall from 1998 to 2006. Guzelimian serves as artistic consultant for the Marlboro Music Festival and School in Vermont. He is a member of the steering committee of the Aga Khan Music Awards, the artistic committee of the Borletti-Buitoni Trust in London, and a board member of the Amphion and Pacific Harmony Foundations. He is also a member of the music visiting committee of the Morgan Library & Museum in New York City.
Previously, Guzelimian held the position of Artistic Administrator of the Aspen Music Festival and School in Colorado, and he was long associated with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, first as producer for the orchestraโs national radio broadcasts and subsequently as Artistic Administrator. Guzelimian is editor of Parallels and Paradoxes: Explorations in Music and Society (Pantheon Books, 2002), a collection of dialogues between Daniel Barenboim and Edward Said. In September 2003, he was awarded the title Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government for his contributions to French music and culture.
OJAI MUSIC FESTIVAL The Ojai Music Festival represents an ideal of adventurous, open-minded, and openhearted programming in the most beautiful and welcoming of settings, with audiences and artists to match its aspirations. Now in its 78th year, 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 Festivalโs narrative is guided by a different Music Director, whose distinctive perspectives shape programming โ ensuring energized festivals year after year.
Throughout each year, the Ojai Music Festival contributes to Southern Californiaโs cultural landscape with in-person and online programming as well as robust educational offerings that serve thousands of public-school students and seniors. The organizationโs apex is the world-renowned Festival, which takes place over four days 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. The intimate Festival weekend, considered a highlight of the international music summer season, welcomes up to 5,000 patrons and reaches exponentially more audiences worldwide through streaming and broadcasts of concerts and discussions throughout the year.
Since its founding in 1947, the Ojai Music Festival has presented expansive programming 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 โwhoโs whoโ of music including Mitsuko Uchida, Rhiannon Giddens, 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.
