At the Ojai Music Festival, we thrive on experimentation and discovery—both in the music we present and in how we engage with our community. Each year, we take creative risks to offer a unique and transformative experience. But none of this would be possible without our supporters, our passionate music lovers, our community.
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February 15, 7:30pm The Red Canteen at Matilija(formerly Matilija Middle School) 703 El Paseo Road, Ojai, CA
The Ojai Music Festival presents a Creative Lab concert on February 15, 7:30pm, featuring legendary trumpeter and composer Wadada Leo Smith with the RedKoral string quartet. The concert will be at The Red Canteen at Matilija, a black-box space, at the former Matilija Middle School. The Festival’s Creative Lab concert events launched in 2023 and features a series of performances at various locations in and around Ojai, which align artistically with the Ojai Festival and are between the flagship June weekend.
The one-night only performance, in partnership with the Ventura College Department of Performing Arts and VC’s Schwab Academy of Music, will feature the world premiere of Smith’s String Quartet No. 19, Central Park: Seneca Village NYC, a Paradise: the Hallett Nature Sanctuary, The Women’s Rights Statue; and The Egyptian Obelisk in Central Park NYC, a work for strings and trumpet in five movements, drawing inspiration from his experiences and reflections in Central Park in New York City.
General Admission tickets for the Creative Lab on February 15 are “pay-what-you-can” with a suggested price of $25. There will be a complimentary pre-concert mixer for the audience members.
String Quartet No. 19, Central Park: Seneca Village NYC, a Paradise: the Hallett Nature Sanctuary, The Women’s Rights Statue; and The Egyptian Obelisk in Central Park NYC
Central Park was the first landscaped public park in the United States. Advocates of creating the park–primarily wealthy merchants and landowners–admired the public grounds of London and Paris and urged that New York needed a comparable facility to establish its international reputation. In 1853 the state legislature authorized the City of New York to use the power of eminent domain to acquire more than 700 acres of land in the center of Manhattan.
An irregular terrain of swamps and bluffs, punctuated by rocky outcroppings, made the land between Fifth and Eighth avenues and 59th and 106th streets undesirable for private development. Creating the park, however, required displacing roughly 1,600 poor residents, including Irish pig farmers and German gardeners, who lived in shanties on the site. At Eighth Avenue and 82nd Street, Seneca Village had been one of the city’s most stable African-American settlements, with three churches and a school. The extension of the boundaries to 110th Street in 1863 brought the park to its current 843 acres.
Movement 2 – A Paradise: The Hallett Nature Sanctuary, a (pure multi-sonic drone)
Movement 3 – Seneca Village: an African American Community, 1825-1857
Movement 4 – The Women’s Rights Statue
Movement 5 – The Obelisk in Central Park NYC, 1881 from Pharaoh Thutmose III, Eighteenth Dynasty Egypt
For over 20 years, I have been meditating and reflecting on the nature of New York’s Central Park. I first heard Charles Ives’s, Central Park In The Dark, and much later John Lewis’s, Skating in Central Park. I have been fascinated with this park. Sometimes, on a beautiful night in my early days living in the city, I would take a taxi ride through the Park. Years later, I had a friend who lived in Harlem and her place was a ten minute walk to Central Park, near the Harlem Meer.
I would walk to the park two or three times a week. The Meer, with its ducks, geese, and white lotus plants, and the Conservatory Garden, with its paved walkways and tree branches cascading above, both became my favorite spots to sit and reflect on nature and life.
When I was commissioned to compose a composition, I selected the spirit of Central Park as my compositional inquiry. Through research, I learned about the park’s unique history. The title of the work is Central Park in August (in four movements.)
I completed the score in 2007 in Ventura, California. The music was recorded in 2023 with double ensembles and is currently unreleased.
In 2021, I started to compose the work as a suite in six parts for trumpet and piano, centered on the places I knew and loved in Central Park.
The music for Central Park’s Mosaics, Reservoirs, Lake, Paths and Gardens was recorded in 2022 and released through Red Hook Records in 2024.
String Quartet No. 19 – The New Project
The third and latest installment of music is centered around five places in Central Park and is composed for string quartet and trumpet with five movements.
The first movement of the quartet has the same name as the first movement of trumpet and piano suites, however there are some key differences. While the movement employs the same melodic elements and has a similar feeling as the original trumpet
and piano version, it is orchestrated differently and composed with new instrumental textures and a larger horizontal expansion that the duo didn’t have. These changes make this first movement, Central Park at Sunset, a new work and not an arrangement or recomposed score.
I began work on String Quartet No. 19 on October 23, 2024 in New Haven, Connecticut. Between the time I started until November 1, 2024, I had composed three and a half movements within that time. I was able to compose this work with rapid speed because I wrote it in pencil and the ideas could be captured very quickly. Writing in pencil allows me to create musical elements spontaneously. The final stage of my compositional process is putting these ideas, originally in pencil, into score form with ink.
Born on December 18, 1941 in Leland, Mississippi, Wadada Leo Smith began his musical journey steeped in the musical traditions of the South. He composed his first piece of music at the age of twelve, and at thirteen started performing with Delta Blues and other traditional bands. In high school he played in and served as assistant director of the concert and marching bands under the direction of Mr. Henderson Howard.
Smith received his formal musical education from his stepfather, composer/guitarist Alex “Little Bill” Wallace, one of the pioneers of electric guitar in Delta Blues. He was further educated through the U.S. Military band program at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri (1963); Sherwood School of Music (1967-69); and Wesleyan University (1975-76). He has researched a variety of music cultures, including African, Japanese, Indonesian, European and American.
Smith defines his music as “Creative Music,” and his diverse discography reveals a recorded history of music centered in the idea of spiritual harmony and the unification of social and cultural issues of his world.
He has created Ankhrasmation, a symbolic image-based language for performers or musicians. He started his research and designs in search of Ankhrasmation in 1965, and his first realization of this language was in 1967, when it was illustrated in the recording of The Bell (Anthony Braxton: ‘Three Compositions of New Jazz’). Ankhrasmation has played a significant role in Wadada’s development as an artist, ensemble leader and educator.
Smith’s Ankhrasmation language scores have been exhibited in major American museums including The Renaissance Society at The University of Chicago, which in October 2015 presented the first comprehensive exhibition of these language scores. In 2016, the Hammer Museum’s ‘Made in L.A.’ exhibition featured the scores and presented Smith with the Mohn Award for Career Achievement honoring “brilliance and resilience.” His scores have also been shown at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts in Michigan, the Kadist Art Foundation in San Francisco, The Museum of Rhythm Łódź, Poland and the Clemente Gallery in NYC.
RedKoral is a string quartet devoted to playing the music of the legendary composer and trumpeter, Wadada Leo Smith. Their recordings include Smith’s String Quartets 1-12 on a 7-CD box set and his Rosa Parks: Pure Love. An Oratorio of Seven Songs.
RedKoral has performed live with Smith at festivals and concerts in Europe, Brazil, and throughout the United States, including in Chicago, Washington D.C, Los Angeles, Austin, New Orleans, Houston, and Tuscaloosa. Performance highlights include performances over several years of Smith’s iconic work, Ten Freedom Summers, two evenings dedicated solely to Smith’s quartets at Monday Evening Concerts in Los Angeles in 2022, Smith’s America Transformed at Brooklyn College in 2023, and a performance at the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2024. RedKoral’s members are: Shalini Vijayan, violin; Mona Tian, violin; Andrew McIntosh, viola; and Ashley Walters, cello.
OJAI MUSIC FESTIVAL PRESENTS CREATIVE LAB: WADADA LEO SMITH AND REDKORAL FEATURING WORLD PREMIERE OF SMITH’S STRING QUARTET NO. 19 ON FEBRUARY 15, 2025 IN OJAI
(January 10, 2025 OJAI CA) — The Ojai Music Festival presents a Creative Lab concert on February 15, 7:30pm, featuring legendary trumpeter and composer Wadada Leo Smith with the RedKoral string quartet. The concert will be at the Red Canteen at Matilija, a black-box space at the former Matilija Middle School. The Festival’s Creative Lab concerts launched in 2023 and feature a series of performances at various locations in and around Ojai during the year before the flagship June festivals.
The one-night only performance, in partnership with the Ventura College Department of Performing Arts and VC’s Schwab Academy of Music, will feature the world premiere of Smith’s String Quartet No. 19, Central Park: Seneca Village NYC, a Paradise: the Hallett Nature Sanctuary, The Women’s Rights Statue; and The Egyptian Obelisk in Central Park NYC, a work for strings and trumpet in five movements, drawing inspiration from his experiences and reflections in Central Park in New York City.
“We are so honored to welcome the extraordinary Wadada Leo Smith back to Ojai,” said Ara Guzelimian, Ojai Festival’s Artistic and Executive Director. “Festival audiences still talk about his unforgettable duo concert with pianist Vijay Iyer at the 2017 Ojai Festival, which was one of the most magical events in recent years. His close partnership with the four players of the RedKoral string quartet has inspired a flowering of new work and we are so grateful to present a world premiere to our Ojai audience, part of a growing initiative to expand the presence of the Festival throughout the year.”
The Creative Lab concert by the Ojai Music Festival is offered in conjunction with Wadada Leo Smith’s three-day residency with Ventura College’s Department of Performing Arts and the college’s Schwab Academy of Music, headed by conductor and cellist Dr. Ashley Walters, herself a member of RedKoral and a frequent collaborator with the composer. The residency is designed to engage the student body and community through conversations, workshops, and a culminating concert of Smith’s work. The free concert is scheduled for February 14 at 3:00 pm, at Helen Yunker Auditorium at Ventura College. In addition, Wadada Leo Smith and RedKoral will be featured at Tuesdays @ Monk Space presenting a west coast premiere of Smith’s String Quartet No. 17 (The Capitol, Washington D.C: An American Experiment with Democracy and Capitalism). For more information visit Miriam and Henry Schwab Academy of Music | Ventura College.
“It is an honor to welcome Wadada Leo Smith to Ventura College to work with our incredible students. Smith has close ties to our city, having lived in Ventura for over a decade, taking inspiration from daily walks at our beaches, said Dr. Ashley Walters. “The events surrounding his residency will allow students from across the college to explore creativity and expressive courage. I am also thrilled to collaborate with the Ojai Music Festival, whose programming I have followed and admired for years.”
General Admission tickets for the Creative Lab concert on February 15 go on sale on Friday, January 10 with a ‘pay-what-you-can’ model at www.OjaiFestival.org or call 805-646-2053. There will be a complimentary pre-concert mixer for the audience members.
WADADA LEO SMITH Born on December 18, 1941, in Leland, Mississippi, Wadada Leo Smith began his musical journey steeped in the musical traditions of the South. He composed his first piece of music at the age of twelve, and at thirteen started performing with Delta Blues and other traditional bands. In high school he played in and served as assistant director of the concert and marching bands under the direction of Mr. Henderson Howard.
Smith received his formal musical education from his stepfather, composer/guitarist Alex “Little Bill” Wallace, one of the pioneers of electric guitar in Delta Blues. He was further educated through the U.S. Military band program at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri (1963); Sherwood School of Music (1967-69); and Wesleyan University (1975-76). He has researched a variety of music cultures, including African, Japanese, Indonesian, European and American.
Smith defines his music as “Creative Music,” and his diverse discography reveals a recorded history of music centered in the idea of spiritual harmony and the unification of social and cultural issues of his world.
He has created Ankhrasmation, a symbolic image-based language for performers or musicians. He started his research and designs in search of Ankhrasmation in 1965, and his first realization of this language was in 1967, when it was illustrated in the recording of The Bell (Anthony Braxton: ‘Three Compositions of New Jazz’). Ankhrasmation has played a significant role in his development as an artist, ensemble leader and educator.
Smith’s Ankhrasmation language scores have been exhibited in major American museums including The Renaissance Society at The University of Chicago, which in October 2015 presented the first comprehensive exhibition of these language scores. In 2016, the Hammer Museum’s ‘Made in L.A.’ exhibition featured the scores and presented Smith with the Mohn Award for Career Achievement honoring “brilliance and resilience.” His scores have also been shown at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts in Michigan, the Kadist Art Foundation in San Francisco, The Museum of Rhythm Łódź, Poland and the Clemente Gallery in NYC.
REDKORAL RedKoral is a string quartet devoted to playing the music of the legendary composer and trumpeter, Wadada Leo Smith. Their recordings include Smith’s String Quartets 1-12 on a 7-CD box set and his Rosa Parks: Pure Love. An Oratorio of Seven Songs.
RedKoral has performed live with Smith at festivals and concerts in Europe, Brazil, and throughout the United States, including in Chicago, Washington D.C, Los Angeles, Austin, New Orleans, Houston, and Tuscaloosa. Performance highlights include performances over several years of Smith’s iconic work, Ten Freedom Summers, two evenings dedicated solely to Smith’s quartets at Monday Evening Concerts in Los Angeles in 2022, Smith’s America Transformed at Brooklyn College in 2023, and a performance at the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2024. RedKoral’s members are: Shalini Vijayan, violin; Mona Tian, violin; Andrew McIntosh; viola, and Ashley Walters, cello.
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. Marking its 79th season, the Festival remains a creative laboratory for thought-provoking musical experiences, bringing together innovative artists and curious audiences in an intimate, idyllic outdoor setting. Each Festival’s narrative is guided by a different Music Director, whose distinctive perspectives shape programming — ensuring energized festivals year after year.
Throughout each year, the Ojai Music Festival contributes to Southern California’s cultural landscape with in-person and online Festival-related programming as well as robust educational offerings that serve thousands of public-school students and seniors. The organization’s apex is the world-renowned four-day Festival, which takes place in Ojai, a breathtaking valley 75 miles from Los Angeles, which is a perennial platform for the fresh and unexpected. During the immersive experience, a mingling of the most curious take part in concerts, symposia, free community events, and social gatherings. During the intimate Festival weekend, considered a highlight of the international music summer season, Ojai welcomes up to 5,000 patrons and reaches 35 times more audiences worldwide through live and on- demand streaming of concerts and discussions throughout the year. The Festival’s Creative Lab concert events launched in 2023 and features a series of performances which align artistically with the Festival and are between the flagship June weekend at various locations in and around Ojai.
SERIES PASSES FOR THE 2025 OJAI MUSIC FESTIVAL The Ojai Music Festival will present the 79th edition on June 5 to 8, featuring flutist Claire Chase as music director. Libbey Bowl Series Passes for the 2025 Festival are on sale now with single tickets on sale in spring 2025 at OjaiFestival.org.
Creative Lab: Wadada Leo Smith & RedKoral SAT Feb 15, 2025 7:30PM performance with a pre-concert reception The Red Canteen at Matilija (at the former Matilija Middle School), 703 El Paseo Road Tickets are “pay-what-you-can” with a suggested price of $25/General Admission
As this year rapidly winds down, I wanted to take a moment to savor some favorite moments and glimpses of the 2024 Festival with the wondrous Mitsuko Uchida as Music Director. It was a particularly joyous and rewarding Festival, with the members of Mahler Chamber Orchestra turning up in every corner of Ojai, delighting in their California adventure. Who would have thought a European-based chamber orchestra would have a Johnny Cash cover band in their ranks! Before we let the year recede in memory, here are some personal snapshots of a few public and private moments that I cherish.
Behind the Scenes
photo by Ara Guzelimian.
Mitsuko Uchida, a musician of boundless curiosity and exuberance, getting an orientation on percussion instruments by Festival artist Sae Hashimoto.
photo by Ara Guzelimian.
Mitsuko is one of the most exacting of artists when it comes to pianos. We were very fortunate to have the superb piano technician Joel Bernache as our house piano “doctor” to look after the splendid concert Steinway. Here are both Mitsuko and Joel in action!
Joyful Moments
photo by Ara Guzelimian.
Violinist Alexandra Preucil (with bunny ears) with members of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra in their delightful children’s concert in Libbey Park. A few moments after the concert ended, the tiny daughter of friends spied the violinist walking through the park (without the ears!) – she pointed with delight and said, “there’s the bunny,” at which point the extraordinarily kind Alexandra Preucil came to visit with her.
photo by Ara Guzelimian.
One of my favorite new traditions at the Festival is the early morning free meditation concerts at Chapparal Auditorium on Ojai Avenue. Who knew that a hearty audience would turn up at 8 a.m. on a weekend morning to hear some quiet, reflective new music? Never underestimate the Ojai audience! Here’s cellist Jay Campbell with a rapt morning audience.
Photo by Timothy Teague.
I particularly love this photo as it captures the ebullient good spirits felt by all at the 2024 Ojai Festival. We are very lucky in the company we keep.
Looking Ahead
All of us here send you our wholehearted thanks for creating this very special community that is the Ojai Music Festival. I’m always fond of saying the miracle of Ojai is this improbable standard of artistic excellence and innovation that happens to take place in a lovely small town park, with perhaps the most open-eared and open-hearted audience to be found anywhere. The Festival depends to a very large degree – 75% – to contributed income. Please consider making a year-end contribution to help us start the new year with a solid foundation of support. We are grateful to each of you for your continued engagement and so look forward to seeing you in the coming year.
Mitsuko Uchida and Mahler Chamber Orchestra at the 2024 Festival Finale Concert | Photo by Timothy Teague
It begins with your commitment.
Because of your curiosity and adventurous spirit, Ojai becomes a gathering place where the world’s most innovative musicians connect with an inspired community. You make it possible for us to create transformational experiences year after year.
Your gift today can help sustain this extraordinary tradition.
Alexi Kenney at SOUND+WALK, free member event in Ojai, spring 2024 | Photo by Elizabeth Herring
It begins with your generosity.
Because of you, the Festival’s impact reaches far beyond its four unforgettable days.
In 2025, nearly 3,000 students and seniors in the Ojai Valley will experience the joy of music through our BRAVO Education and Community Programs. Year-round events will foster deeper connections locally, while free livestreams will bring Ojai’s magic to thousands worldwide.
Your gift today ensures that this impact will grow even further.
Claire Chase, 2025 Ojai Festival Music Director
It begins with your adventurous spirit.
Because of you, Claire Chase will present a bold, inventive program inspired by Ojai’s natural beauty and sonic landscapes. Together, we will welcome a vibrant, multigenerational collective of composers, performers, and improvisers to create an unforgettable experience.
Your support makes all this possible. Please join us in creating another extraordinary Festival season by making your year-end gift.
BRAVO Music Van | Photo by Cindy BurtonBRAVO Music Van | Photo by Cindy Burton2024 Festival Finale Concert | Photo by Timothy Teague
A Small Expense with a Great Impact
Throughout the year, the Ojai Music Festival prioritizes community, artistic curiosity, and innovative programs, culminating with our treasured Festival in June. The Festival’s year-round programs are made possible by donations from our loyal audience members, like you!
Recurring gifts allow you to give at the level and timing that works best with both your budget and schedule. They simultaneously allow the Festival to rely on a consistent, year-round revenue stream.
The 79th Ojai Music Festival, June 5 to 8, 2025, welcomes as Music Director one of today’s most vital artists flutist Claire Chase. Reflecting on Ojai’s natural and sonic environment, 2025 Festival programming offers responses to landscape, as caretakers and participants, and welcomes a multi-generational collective of composers, performers, composer-performers, and improvisers, as well as multimedia artists whose works defy categorization.
The 79th Ojai Music Festival, June 5 to 8, 2025, welcomes as Music Director one of today’s most vital artists flutist Claire Chase. Reflecting on Ojai’s natural and sonic environment, 2025 Festival programming offers responses to landscape, as caretakers and participants, and welcomes a multi-generational collective of composers, performers, composer-performers, and improvisers, as well as multimedia artists whose works defy categorization.
West Coast Premieres of Liza Lim’s Sex Magic, Craig Taborn’s Busy Griefs and Endangered Charms, Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s Ubique, Susie Ibarra’s Sky Islands, and Terry Riley’s Pulsefield
The Festival celebrates multiple generations of composers, including residencies by Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Tania León, Annea Lockwood, Liza Lim, and Marcos Balter; composer-performers include Craig Taborn (piano), Leilehua Lanzilotti (viola), and Susie Ibarra (percussion)
An all-star “meta-ensemble” of Festival musicians including Seth Parker Woods, cello; Wu Wei, sheng; Steven Schick, conductor and percussion; the JACK Quartet (violinists Christopher Otto and Austin Wulliman, violist John Pickford Richards, and cellist Jay Campbell); Katinka Kleijn, cello; Cory Smythe and Alex Peh, piano and keyboards; Ross Karre, percussion; Joshua Rubin, clarinet; M.A. Tiesenga, saxophone and electronic hurdy-gurdy; and members of Australia’s ELISION Ensemble
Festival programming will include the West Coast Premieres of Liza Lim’s Sex Magic, Craig Taborn’s Busy Griefs and Endangered Charms, Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s Ubique, Susie Ibarra’s Sky Islands, and Terry Riley’s Pulsefield
Festival celebrates multiple generations of composers, including works by Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Tania León, Annea Lockwood, Liza Lim, and Marcos Balter; composer-performers include Craig Taborn (piano), Leilehua Lanzilotti (viola), and Susie Ibarra (percussion)
An all-star “meta-ensemble” of Festival musicians including Seth Parker Woods, cello; Wu Wei, sheng; Steven Schick, conductor and percussion; the JACK Quartet (violinists Christopher Otto and Austin Wulliman, violist John Pickford Richards, and cellist Jay Campbell); Katinka Kleijn, cello; Cory Smythe and Alex Peh, piano and keyboards; Ross Karre, percussion; Joshua Rubin, clarinet; M.A. Tiesenga, saxophone and electronic hurdy-gurdy; and members of Australia’s ELISION Ensemble
“There’s 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.” – Claire Chase, 2025 Music Director
(OJAI CA – October 15, 2024) — The 79th Ojai Music Festival, June 5 to 8, 2025, welcomes as Music Director one of today’s most vital artists, flutist Claire Chase. Reflecting on Ojai’s natural and sonic environment, 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.
Described by Chase as a kind of “meta ensemble,” Ojai’s 2025 Festival collaborators include 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; clarinetist Joshua Rubin; percussionist Ross Karre; and composerTania León. Ojai welcomes several artists in their first Festival appearances including Annea Lockwood, composer; Wu Wei, sheng; Marcos Balter, composer; Susie Ibarra, composer, sound artist and percussion; Katinka Kleijn, cello; Leilehua Lanzilotti, composer and viola; Liza Lim, composer; Cory Smythe and Alex Peh, keyboards; Craig Taborn, piano, electronic musician and composer/improviser; M.A. Tiesenga, saxophone and electronic hurdy-gurdy; and members of ELISION Ensemble.
“In the spirit of collectivism and collaboration, I’m excited to invite these artists to play together in new and sometimes surprising ensemble configurations. We’ll all show up as both headliners and side acts in each other’s explorations,” commented Claire Chase.
“While shaping these programs,” writes Chase, “I was inspired by the author Donna Haraway’s invitation to encounter one another in “unexpected combinations and collaborations,” in what she calls “oddkin”—a 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 projects—though wonderfully divergent stylistically—explore common themes of rebirth, re-imagination, reclamation, and re-wilding. 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!”
Artistic and Executive Director Ara Guzelimian said, “Claire Chase is one of the most vibrant generators of ideas in today’s musical life, something she does with boundless imagination and generosity of spirit. It’s been so rewarding to imagine all of Ojai’s possibilities with her. I’m particularly excited by the musical community she’s creating with the resident performers and composers, weaving them throughout in collaborations and cross-current inspirations. And being a native Californian, Claire responds deeply to the particular beauty and complexity of Ojai’s natural setting, something represented in many works that explore many distinct environments.”
The 2025 Festival opens on Thursday, June 5 with Annea Lockwood’s bayou-borne, an affectionate tribute to Pauline Oliveros, and culminates with Marcos Balter’s Pan from Chase’s epic Density 2036 project. Balter’s already iconic Pan (2017-18) is an evening-length musical drama for solo flute, live electronics, and an ensemble of community musicians. The all-ages, all-abilities Pan ensemble—a kind of 21st-century Greek chorus that serves as the conscience of the community in this telling of the Greek myth—is 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 León, Leilehua Lanziliotti, and two exciting emerging composers, Vicente Atria and Eduardo Aguilar. The Libbey Bowl concert on Friday celebrates the old made new in Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s 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.
In its West Coast premiere, Australian composer Liza Lim’s Sex Magic for solo contrabass flute and electronics centers Friday afternoon. Inspired by Claire Chase’s towering contrabass flute (Bertha), Sex Magic celebrates the sacred erotic in women’s history, evoking the giant bass flutes of Papua New Guinea and the Australian Didjeridoo in a work that ritually moves across three altars, creating a mystical, mesmerizing evocation of both the present and the timeless past.
Terry Riley’s The Holy Liftoff will be featured on the Friday evening Libbey Bowl concert. Performed by Claire Chase and the JACK Quartet, The Holy Liftoff was conceived as a series of musical sketches and brilliantly colored drawings. Of Riley’s recent work Chase said, “At 90 years young, Terry is on fire with ideas. He’s creating new ideas and inciting collaborations and connections with urgency and vitality. For Ojai, we are imagining the limitless variations, realizations and possible interpretations of his ‘liftoff’ to include both performers and audiences.” Music for a “chorus of cellos” by Sofia Gubaidulina and Julius Eastman precede The Holy Liftoff.
On Saturday, June 7, following a free “morning meditation” in the Ojai Meadow Preserves, a collaboration with the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy, the first Libbey Bowl concert of the day centers on the West Coast premiere of Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s Ubique for flute, two cellos, piano and electronics. Thorvaldsdottir describes the work as “inspired 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.”
Saturday afternoon continues with the West Coast premiere of composer-pianist Craig Taborn’s Busy Griefs and Endangered Charms for flute, clarinet, cello, piano and electronics. Taborn’s 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 Taborn’s 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 León, preceding Liza Lim’s large-scale How Forests Think. A work inspired by the imagery of ancient forests as vibrant, symbiotic communities that, as the Lim writes, “nourish 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.”
Sunday morning begins with another free “morning meditation” program. The JACK Quartet then explores their ongoing “Modern/Medieval” project mid-morning 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 Ibarra’s 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 “a musical call to action, drawing awareness to dwindling biodiversity, changing climate and global community practices.”
An exuberant all-company 2025 Festival finale includes music by Leilehua Lanzilotti, Pauline Oliveros’ The Witness and the West Coast premiere of Terry Riley’s Pulsefield as the joyous ending in celebration of his 90th birthday.
A complete 2025 Ojai Music Festival schedule will be announced in January 2025. Programs and artists are subject to change. For 2025 artist and composer biographies and for Festival updates, visit OjaiFestival.org.
EXPERIENCE THE 79th OJAI MUSIC FESTIVAL, JUNE 5 TO 8, 2025 2025 Libbey Bowl series passes are available and may be purchased online at OjaiFestival.org or by calling (805) 646-2053. Passes start at $215 for reserved seating. Lawn Area passes start at $90. Single tickets and day passes will go on sale in spring 2025. Follow Festival updates at OjaiFestival.org.
CLAIRE CHASE, MUSIC DIRECTOR Claire Chase, described by The New York Times recently as “the North Star of her instrument’s ever-expanding universe,” 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 2022-23 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 (ICE) in 2015 with that year’s 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, BBC Scottish Symphony, Munich Chamber Orchestra, and London Philharmonia. Upcoming concerto projects include the world premiere of a new duo concerto by Dai Fujikura for Chase and the violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja, which the pair will premiere with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic at the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, with subsequent performances with Ensemble Resonanz at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg and on tour in Switzerland, Belgium, Turkey, and Greece. In the 2022-23 season, Chase premiered a new duo concerto by Felipe Lara with the vocalist and bassist esperanza spalding and the conductor Susanna Mälkki, 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 “a quarter-century journey with little precedent.” Now in its 12th 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 Fellows program, launched in 2023 in celebration of the 10th 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 ensemble’s 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 over 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 cofounded Ensemble Evolution at Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity, a three-week intensive for the next generation of interdisciplinary artists, curators, and teachers. Chase’s Debs Creative Chair residency at Carnegie Hall encompassed programming for all ages, including a “Day of Listening” for children and families inspired by the listening philosophies of Pauline Oliveros. Chase will partner with the Getty Museum in Los Angeles to expand her Pauline Oliveros project as part of the PST ART x Science Collide festival in 2024-25.
Claire Chase’s 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 1992–97. 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 and 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 orchestra’s 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 Festival’s narrative is guided by a different Music Director, whose distinctive perspectives shape programming — ensuring energized festivals year after year.
Throughout each year, the Ojai Music Festival contributes to Southern California’s cultural landscape with in-person and online programming as well as robust educational offerings that serve thousands of public-school students and seniors. The organization’s 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 “who’s who” 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.
2024OjaiMusicFestival FRI 6-7-24 8pm_Matthew Sadler and Alexander Freund trumpets _credit Timothy Teague (TOT_0287)_2mb resize
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2024OjaiMusicFestival SUN 6-9-24 10am_Alexi Kenney violin_credit Timothy Teague (DSC_0201)_2mb resize
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2024OjaiMusicFestival THU 6-6-24_Julie Smith Phillips with audience at the free evening Pop-Up at the Gazebo_credit Timothy Teague (TOT_9449)_2mb resize
I hope this Thanksgiving week finds you well, with time to reflect and savor the joys of life. This is one of my favorite times of the year – the mornings are suddenly chillier, the sweaters come out of the drawers, the afternoon light is longer and lower on the horizon, we are perhaps more keenly aware of the passing of the year.
It is also a moment to pause and express gratitude. Among life’s many joys, I am deeply grateful for my life in music, keeping company with the most inspiring of musicians and fellow listeners. I started coming to the Ojai Festival when I was barely out of my teens and the lovely community that is created each year in Libbey Park is high on my list of treasurable experiences, an annual tradition that renews and surprises at every turn.
Much of life lately has been at a high decibel level, what with a singularly contentious election year, war and devastation of loss in so many parts of the world, and more locally, the sirens signaling an unusual wildfire season from Camarillo to New York (!). Faced with so much troubling noise, my response has always been to turn to music. So, in that spirit, I offer what I call a “quiet playlist of thanksgiving,” featuring a cross-section of wondrous Ojai artists from the last ten years.
This very personal selection reminds me of beauty, a deep inner life, and the things that we cherish, and which endure apart from all the noise. The tone is set from the start by our 2025 Music Director Claire Chase with Felipe Lara’s Meditation and Calligraphy and includes such treasured Ojai artists as Víkingur Olafsson, the Attacca Quartet (playing John Adams), Julia Bullock, Vijay Iyer, Steven Schick, Mitsuko Uchida, and the JACK Quartet. I want to single out one particular track – Rainy Day from the Silk Road Ensemble’s just-released album American Railroad. One of my fondest memories of the 2023 Festival was the magical duet between Rhiannon Giddens and Wu Man at the closing concert. This is that very piece, a souvenir of a magical Ojai pairing.
I offer this music as our gift, with much gratitude to each of you for all you do to create and nurture this Festival community.
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.
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!
Q&A with Tom Morris and special talk with Barbara Hannigan December 4, 2024, 5:30-6:30pm Zoom
Always The Music is the fascinating story of former Ojai Music Festival Artistic Director Tom Morris’ personal metamorphosis through the highest levels of the world of classical music, his learning and insights into how storied musical institutions function, great artists create, and audiences engage. 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, 2024, 5:30-6:30pm Zoom
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.
WATCH NOW on our YouTube channel. While you’re there, subscribe to stay up-to-date on new uploads.
Join us for a special occasion featuring former Artistic Director Thomas W. Morris and now published author. “Always the Music” is the fascinating story of Tom Morris’ personal metamorphosis through the highest levels of the world of classical music, his learning and insights into how storied musical institutions function, great artists create, and audiences engage. The final chapter synthesizes Morris’ career lessons into an unequivocal but thoughtful prescription for the American orchestra. Mostly, though, this is the entertaining story of one man’s lifelong love affair with great music and the people who make it.
THU December 5.2025 | 5:30-7PM | Ojai Music Festival Lounge (201 S. Signal Street)
5:30PM: Enjoy a complimentary wine bar
6:00PM: Book reading and interview with Tom Morris and host Jeremy Turner, followed by a book signing.
We look forward to sharing this special evening with you!
This event is free to Ojai Music Festival friends. Limited seating. RSVP by clicking the link below.
Thomas W. Morris had a distinguished career in the music business, having long service as chief executive of the Boston Symphony and Cleveland Orchestra, as well as artistic director of California’s Ojai Music Festival. His work in Ojai was highly recognized for the span and creativity of programming, as well as the breadth of artists with whom he collaborated.. He was one of the three founding partners of Spring for Music, an innovative orchestra festival held at Carnegie Hall from 2011 to 2014, and he has consulted nationally and internationally with over 75 orchestras and performing organizations. With a Bachelor of the Arts degree from Princeton University, as well as an MBA from the Wharton School, Morris is well versed in music, finance, marketing, fundraising, management and leadership. He is frequently sought out by major media as an expert to comment on music business issues of the day and has been featured in The New York Times, The L.A. Times, The New Yorker, and more. A percussionist, he has performed extensively in Boston Symphony, Boston Pops and the Blossom Festival Band. Thomas W. Morris | About
About Jeremy Turner
Composer, conductor, and multi-instrumentalist Jeremy Turner is known for creating innovative and diverse music for the moving image and the stage. He is a two time EMMY® nominee, has won the Music + Sound Award, an ASCAP Screen Music Award, an International Documentary Association Award, the AICP Award, and has been listed in NPR Music’s Favorite Songs of the Year. Jeremy regularly writes film and television scores for Disney+, HBO, Netflix, MAX, and Hulu; simultaneously creating concert music and composing for collaborative installations. Recent works include the score for the upcoming MRC film Let’s Have Kids!, directed by Adam Sztykiel; Shorebirds, a piece for solo violin premiered by Simone Porter at Lotusland in Montecito, California; and The Coast of Industry (2024), an art installation that recently opened at MASS MoCA.Performing throughout North America, Europe, and Asia, Jeremy has participated in the music festivals of Aspen, Ravinia, Tanglewood, Seattle, La Jolla, Moab, Sarasota, Interlochen, and Music at Plush. He has conducted twice at the LACMA Art + Film gala, has performed collaborations for Saint Laurent and Dolce & Gabbana, and conducted in New York’s Central Park for Ralph Lauren’s 50th Anniversary.
As a composer, his music has been heard around the world, from Carnegie Hall to the Sydney Opera House. Noted works include The Inland Seas, composed for violinist James Ehnes and mandolinist Chris Thile and commissioned by the Seattle Chamber Music Society; Suite of Unreason, a commission from the Music Academy of the West for their 70th Anniversary season; and a choral work for the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, commemorating the 50th anniversary of Wave Hill in New York. He has written music for The Jack Quartet, yMusic Ensemble, Brooklyn Rider, and Flux Quartet, as well as five installation pieces with the artist Chris Doyle. Jeremy Turner Studio
For the first time in our history, we’ve launched a comprehensive campaign to ensure that the Ojai experience you love can be sustained for future generations of musicians and audiences. The Festival is largely dependent on contributed income, which makes up 75% of our annual budget.
With this campaign, we are looking to ensure the flourishing of this musical treasure for the future by commissioning new work, originating important artistic initiatives that have an impact beyond the Festival, as well as expanding our music education programs for students from pre-kindergarten to college.
Look at what we have already accomplished with the campaign:
Re-imagined staging of Tan Dun’s Ghost Opera presented at the 2023 Ojai Festival. It was then produced at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park in New York in the fall of 2023.
Commissioned Dylan Mattingly’s Sunt Lacrimae Rerum for the 2021 Festival. It was recently performed at the LA Phil’s Green Umbrella as part of the California Festival.
Created a new BRAVO composition program called SCORE for Ojai public high school students.
Our generous Board of Directors has taken up the challenge with 100% participation by way of additional campaign gifts and planned giving. We invite each of you to take part in this next chapter of our story. Join us by renewing your annual donation, and consider making a special campaign donation. Every gift counts towards the goals of this Future Forward campaign.
This is a moment to celebrate our shared story, your vital part in our legacy, and most importantly, the vibrant future to come. Join us in our next chapter and help bring our Future Forward.
Throughout the year, the Ojai Music Festival prioritizes community, artistic curiosity, and innovative programs, culminating with our treasured Festival in June. The Festival’s year-round programs are made possible by donations from our loyal audience members, like you!
Recurring gifts allow you to give at the level and timing that works best with both your budget and schedule. They simultaneously allow the Festival to rely on a consistent, year-round revenue stream.
THU November 7.2024 | 5-7PM | Museum of Ventura County (100 East Main St, Ventura)
It was a mesmerizing evening with flutist Emi Ferguson, a favorite of Ojai Music Festival audiences, on November 7 at the Museum of Ventura County.
After enjoying the company of others and exploring the museum’s latest exhibits, Emi led attendees through a beautiful journey of the flute through time and place. Special thanks to Emi for creating a playlist of the program and other fun resources to come back to time and time again when we need the beauty of music to give us comfort and joy.
Relive your favorite Libbey Bowl moments from the 2024 Ojai Music Festival. Watch either whole concerts or individual pieces from each concert. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to stay up-to-date with new video releases.
“The Ojai Music Festival has always meant a wonderful blend of tradition and modernism. I look forward to hearing new and exciting modern and contemporary artists and works always followed by a beautiful and reliable classic. Over the years I have met new people and celebrated new friendships with people I may never have met if not for the festival. I look forward to this event each year.”
“An introduction for me to hear new artists perform whom I ordinarily wouldn’t not be familiar with and to be awakened to new sounds and proficiency of the artists.”
Located at the Holiday Marketplace at Libbey Park (210 S. Signal Street), one is at the fountain area and another is at the building closest to the Libbey Bowl. Look for red signs reading WILL CALL
Tickets are $50. Credit card purchases only
Hours are 10PM-4PM on Saturday and 10AM-3PM Sunday
Have you ever driven by a home and instantly been enamored of it, yearning to see inside and out? Here is your opportunity to indulge your curiosity, with a house both elegant and livable. Exuding French vibes, you feel transported to that wine country, although this property is surrounded by fragrant orange groves. Inside the main house, with its massive ceilings, postcard-worthy views from every window, generous rooms, and simplicity abounding, one can only imagine how beautiful a stay in this home would be. Of course, the pool and guest house complete the picture, with areas of restful quiet and tranquility in between.
Floral Desginer: Louesa Roebuck
“The way of the flowers” has been studied for centuries. As an artist, floral designer and author, Louesa Roebuck demonstrates that one needs to understand the rules in order to bend them. In her two critically acclaimed books, Foraged Flora and Punk Ikebana, Louesa has composed stunning arrangements and installations that unite cultural influences with an exhilarating freedom from conventional floral design using regionally foraged and gleaned materials.
After moving to California from Ohio in 1998, Louesa worked at the influential Chez Panisse, which profoundly shaped the direction of her career. She continued her education of California culture and beauty working with clothing and textile designer Erica Tanov, then opened “August,” a seminal fashion, art, and community hub illustrating the intersection of luxury apparel and environmentally and socially responsible textile practices. In 2008, Louesa returned to her lifelong love of foraged floral work.
In addition to creating floral art, arrangements and installations for many illustrious clients, her work has been featured in several national and international media including Vogue, GOOP, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Wired Magazine, Los Angeles Times, Architectural Digest, C Magazine, Gardenista, Sunset, Martha Stewart Living and more.
Working with locally seasonal foraged and sourced flora to bring Ojai’s ever-evolving abundance into Casa Valencia, Louesa has revealed how floral art, sculpture and Holiday designs can be created by embracing the flora right outside your door, inspiring you to cultivate your own vision by inviting the wonders of the natural world into your home.
Louesa lives with her partner Curtis and their three dogs in the hills above Ojai, and considers all of California her home. She, and her autographed books can often be found in their local gallery showroom, Art Port. Her books are also available at your local bookstore and online booksellers.
When two artists, who work from home, design their dream house, you can be sure the creative space will be fabulous. Combining Spanish modern, farmhouse, and bohemian elements, it is an eclectic delight! Location is key, close to town but at the end of a cul-de-sac, built into a hillside surrounded by nature. Art and personal touches give each space dramatic personality, with several sets of stairs separating the many levels. Hand-painted Moroccan tiles are found throughout the kitchen. The living room with vaulted ceiling and prodigious windows offers the perfect place to entertain with the home theater system, showcasing the owner’s successful career as a television writer. The muse of her father inspires her in the dramatic deep green office with perfectly chosen wallpaper. The poolside wooden deck is surrounded by urban greenery and the sounds of Sespe Creek with a perfect view of the Pink Moment. A professional recording studio is an impressive bonus.
Floral Designer: Emily Denver – Fleur Ojai
The owner of two sustainable floral businesses, Emily Denver is a pioneer in the field to vase, sustainable floristry movement. Fleur Ojai offers luxury florals for small gatherings and events, set design and home staging. Fleurie Florals is a tiny, traveling floral experience contained in a custom-made teardrop trailer, perfect for parties, workshops, and get togethers of all kinds.
Emily is known for her luxurious and natural style, beautifully blending colors and textures that honor the flowers. Mentored by a master florist from France at the age of 17, her design philosophy has become rooted much deeper than traditional floral technique. Emily has been fortunate to have traveled, worked, designed and taught around the world. Along the way, she has created everything from Shakespearean landscapes and English gardens, to becoming an expert on floriography, The Language of Flowers.
Emily has also lent her design aesthetic to her own line of jewelry, handbags, resort wear, and interior design. From shop windows on Melrose, to custom designing jewelry to match evening gowns for Award Season, her motto has continued to be: Good design is good design.
Born in Ventura County and raised all over the United States, Canada and Europe, Emily opened her floral studio and shop in Los Angeles in 2008. After a decade of running her successful floral business, she returned home to Ventura county’s jewel, Ojai, to create a home base of art and poetry, nature and music, creativity and passion, and of course, flowery goodness for herself, her family and her community. Creating Holiday designs for Sespe Creek Sanctuary for this year’s Holiday Home Tour has been a joy and a pleasure for her.
Emily’s floral design and styling has been featured in The Knot, Town & Country, Country Living, Vogue, Martha Stewart, Wedding Chicks, Style Me Pretty, Magnolia Rouge, and Green Wedding Shoes.
A magnificent hilltop minimalist masterpiece, designed by the owners themselves. Beyond the stainless-steel front doors, sleek contemporary lines are accented with impressive original artwork displayed throughout. Floor to ceiling windows and glass doors maximize the stunning views of the East End and the Topa Topas. The primary bedroom has two glass walls to take in the gorgeous beauty, and the huge his and hers bathrooms and wardrobes alone are worth the visit. The large outdoor terrace is “bounded” by a sparkling pool with infinity edges on three sides and leads to gorgeous desert and South African landscaping.
Floral Designer: Lynn Malone
Floral design has always been a passion for Lynn, from picking and making Mother’s Day flowers as a child, to working for nearly three decades at local nonprofit and government organizations who needed florals for their events, always within a tight budget. A self-taught designer, Lynn spent twenty years learning to create beautiful florals affordably, primarily by incorporating seasonal and foraged flowers, foliage and other natural elements.
In 2013, Lynn semi-retired to open her own flower shop, Digs, which quickly became one of Ojai’s “go to” flower shops and later evolved into three different floral design studios after the shop was sold. After five years in retail floristry, she decided it was time to REALLY retire. Soon afterward, she realized she missed the flowers and floral interactions with friends and clients. Lynn currently designs for friends, an occasional wedding, and local organizations, including the Ojai Music Festival, the Ojai Land Conservancy and Rotary Clubs, creating unique florals for events and fundraisers on a budget. She occasionally leads floral workshops for local groups to help facilitate community gatherings around floral design.
Lynn serves as the design liaison for the Holiday Home Tour, matching designers and their unique styles with the homes on the tour and providing support for designers, homeowners and committee members. Having spent most of her floral career designing for multitudes of clients with their own unique styles and needs, Lynn has learned to be flexible in her approach to floral design in keeping with different needs and aesthetics of clients and friends. She has enjoyed working with the homeowners of two of this year’s Holiday Homes, each with very diverse styles, and each themed around different holidays.
Collector’s Cottage
A charming storybook cottage, right out of a Snow White fairy tale, houses a local mini-museum of myriad collectibles. Each themed room is full to the brim with delights from bears to Barbies to Beanie Babies, from Elvis to Alice in Wonderland, and so much more. See if you can guess the names of all the costumed Bears. Be mesmerized by the train set that fills a large room, as it chugs around the Disneyland village. You’ll feel like a child again as you revisit fantasy favorites from your youth and be impressed with many significant items of sophisticated one-of-a-kind memorabilia.
Floral Designer: Lynn Malone
Floral design has always been a passion for Lynn, from picking and making Mother’s Day flowers as a child, to working for nearly three decades at local nonprofit and government organizations who needed florals for their events, always within a tight budget. A self-taught designer, Lynn spent twenty years learning to create beautiful florals affordably, primarily by incorporating seasonal and foraged flowers, foliage and other natural elements.
In 2013, Lynn semi-retired to open her own flower shop, Digs, which quickly became one of Ojai’s “go to” flower shops and later evolved into three different floral design studios after the shop was sold. After five years in retail floristry, she decided it was time to REALLY retire. Soon afterward, she realized she missed the flowers and floral interactions with friends and clients. Lynn currently designs for friends, an occasional wedding, and local organizations, including the Ojai Music Festival, the Ojai Land Conservancy and Rotary Clubs, creating unique florals for events and fundraisers on a budget. She occasionally leads floral workshops for local groups to help facilitate community gatherings around floral design.
Lynn serves as the design liaison for the Holiday Home Tour, matching designers and their unique styles with the homes on the tour and providing support for designers, homeowners and committee members. Having spent most of her floral career designing for multitudes of clients with their own unique styles and needs, Lynn has learned to be flexible in her approach to floral design in keeping with different needs and aesthetics of clients and friends. She has enjoyed working with the homeowners of two of this year’s Holiday Homes, each with very diverse styles, and each themed around different holidays.
Described as the best holiday home tour in the region, guests visit four exceptional homes during the 2024 Ojai Holiday Home Tour & Marketplace. The tour offers a diverse array of homes that reflect the unique charm of Ojai, and it celebrates the festive seasons adorned with floral inspirations by local Ojai designers.
Shoppers at the 2023 Holiday Marketplace
Marking 28 years in 2024, the Holiday Home Tour & Marketplace welcomes visitors from Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties. Tours are guided by a team of volunteer docents in each home.
In addition to touring four beautiful Ojai homes, visitors to the event can do holiday shopping early at the Marketplace. On both days, 65+ vendors and artisans sell unique and handmade goods in Libbey Park from 10AM-4:30PM.
NEW! Convenient, no-hassle check-out directly at vendor booths.
During the marketplace, hear performances by students of the BRAVO programs from elementary to high school grades. Throughout the home tour, enjoy live music by the following local talents.
The Women’s Committee invites you to keep the Holiday Home Tour & Marketplace a part of your annual holiday tradition by becoming a sponsor or a volunteer.
As one of the largest financial supporters of the Ojai Music Festival and its BRAVO Education and Community Programs, the Women’s Committee is proud of its essential role in our community’s future through this annual staple.
The 2024 marketplace is now full, with 75 vendors. If you are a 2024 vendor and would like to check or edit your vendor information, log in to the portal below. If you would like for us to reach out to you when applications open up for the 2025 Marketplace, use the button below!
(July 30, 2024 – OJAI CA) — The Ojai Music Festival is pleased to announce it is a recipient of the Arts and Culture Investment Fund Grant from the County of Ventura and the Ventura County Community Foundation.
The $75,000 grant will support the internationally recognized annual Ojai Music Festival, which presents classical and contemporary music featuring today’s most innovative and celebrated artists; an expansion of its year-round activities, that will include public performances and partnerships in the Ojai community and the broader Ventura County; and the broadening of its BRAVO education program in public schools with SCORE, a music composition class for high school students.
“We are deeply grateful to the County and the Board of Supervisors for this very generous and meaningful support,” said Ara Guzelimian, Artistic and Executive Director of the Ojai Music Festival. “This marks an important milestone moment in the cultural life of Ventura County, recognizing and supporting the ever-growing range of vibrant arts activity in our communities.”
The Arts and Culture Investment Fund is Ventura County’s first dedicated arts and culture grant program, which as approved by the Board of Supervisors as part of the County’s 2023 Recovery Plan to support ongoing recovery from the pandemic. Funding supports both nonprofit arts and culture organizations and artists based in Ventura County. For more information and the Arts and Culture Investment Fund and a complete list of grant recipients, please visit www.ventura.org/arts.
About the 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. Entering its 79th 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 Festival’s narrative is guided by a different Music Director, whose distinctive perspectives shape programming — ensuring energized festivals year after year.
Throughout each year, the Ojai Music Festival contributes to Southern California’s cultural landscape with in-person and online programming as well as robust educational offerings that serve thousands of public-school students and seniors. The organization’s apex is the world-renowned Festival, which takes place over four days in the breathtaking Ojai Valley in Ventura County. 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 “who’s who” 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. The 79th Ojai Music Festival, June 5 to 8, 2025, will welcome flutist Claire Chase as Music Director.
This season on OJAICAST, we have one very special episode where host Emily Praetorius gets to talk in-depth with Artistic and Executive Director Ara Guzelimian about what magic is in store for us at the 2024 Ojai Music Festival (June 6-9). From Mozart to Schoenberg and Haydn to Gubaidulina, we take a musical tour of the Festival programming with some extra insights into Music Director Mitsuko Uchida’s close connections with the fabulous roster of musicians joining her this year.
ABOUT OUR OJAICAST HOST Emily Praetorius, a former Ojai Music Festival Rothenberg Intern Fellow, is a composer from Ojai, CA. She recently received her DMA from Columbia University in 2023 where she studied composition with Georg Friedrich Haas and George Lewis. Her pieces have been performed by several New York City based ensembles such as Yarn/Wire, Mivos Quartet, TAK and Wet Ink Ensemble. Recent works include a solo viola work on violist Carrie Frey’s 2023 album Seagrass and a current collaboration with violin-viola duo andPlay. After 10 years of living in New York City where she studied, composed and co-owned Kuro Kirin Espresso & Coffee, she returned to her hometown of Ojai to live in the sunshine and go hiking every weekend.
Since 2012, the Ojai Music Festival has expanded its global footprint building a worldwide audience and has deepened connections with patrons throughout the year with free Live Stream Broadcasts. The 78th Festival, June 6 to 9, continues this offering with acclaimed pianist Mitsuko Uchida as Music Director.
You can watch the free live streams of the Libbey Bowl concerts from the Festival’s home page which will begin Thu, June 6 at 8pm. The complete evening concerts will only be available at the time of the performance. UPDATE: Full morning concerts and highlights of the evening concerts are now available below and on our YouTube channel (7/1/24).
Stay updated on new Festival videos by subscribing to our YouTube channel.
For more context on this year’s Festival, enjoy these links:
HAYDN String Quartet in C major, Op. 33, No. 3 (“Bird”) SCHOENBERG Six Little Piano Pieces, Op. 19 SCHOENBERG String Quartet No. 2 in F-sharp minor, Op. 10
Thank you for joining us at our 78th Festival, June 6-9, 2024. It was a glorious time to be in our communal festival experience, particularly in the company of our wondrous Music Director, Mitsuko Uchida. We were graced by her performances of extraordinary depth and insight along with the exhilaration of her partnership with the generous, brilliant musicians of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and the 2024 featured artists.
Take a look at excerpts from the press.
“…we’re talking about Ojai, where open-minded audiences take in music accompanied by nature and snack on freshly picked pixie tangerines. Uchida might have seemed like a headliner, but this festival is about sharing the wealth.”
New York Times
“What’s so extraordinary about the Ojai Music Festival, now in its 78th year? Many things, actually, including its brevity (this year running June 6 through 9); challenging and often sharply contrasting programming; and a rich concentration of talent…”
Wall Street Journal
“Uchida’s playing was so uncompromisingly ethereal that its purpose seemed meant to open the listener’s mind a crack.”
“In programming cahoots with artistic director Ara Guzelimian, Uchida managed to tap many important and lesser-heard musical touchpoints over the weekend, including paying respects to Saariaho, who died just more than a year ago. Her Lichtbogen, conducted here by her daughter Aliisa Neige Barriere, has a shimmering, evanescent atmosphere, mixing acoustic and electronic elements with abiding sensitivity…”
SB Independent
“The Ojai moment came during the cadenza of the second movement, Larghetto, when the piano, in its highest register, evokes the entrancing power of Papageno’s magic bells. A silence descended over Libbey Bowl that was so complete that the only sounds were the piano, the croaking of frogs, the rustling of crickets, and the songs of night birds. It was as if Uchida’s playing had somehow entranced us all.”
San Francisco Classical Voice
“[Alexi] Kenney, 30, who has seemed on the verge of stardom for some time, certainly became one of the highlights of this festival (he made his Ojai debut in 2021). Along with Kafka Fragments, he gave a brilliant solo performance, with innocuous abstract projections by visual artist Xuan, of another hour-long work called Shifting Ground, consisting of 11 pieces by various composers, also at the Ojai Valley School.
Since 2012, the Ojai Music Festival has expanded its global footprint building a worldwide audience and has deepened connections with patrons throughout the year with free Live Stream Broadcasts. The 78th Festival, June 6 to 9, continues this offering with acclaimed pianist Mitsuko Uchida as Music Director.
You can watch the free live streams of the Libbey Bowl concerts from the Festival’s home page which will begin Thu, June 6 at 8pm. The complete evening concerts will only be available at the time of the performance. Full morning concerts and highlights of the evening concerts will be available on our website and on our YouTube channel following the Festival. Below is the schedule of concerts to be live streamed.
For more context on this year’s Festival, enjoy these links:
HAYDN String Quartet in C major, Op. 33, No. 3 (“Bird”) SCHOENBERG Six Little Piano Pieces, Op. 19 MOZART Fantasy in D minor, K. 397 SCHOENBERG String Quartet No. 2 in F-sharp minor, Op. 10
STRAVINSKY Fanfare for a New Theater WEBERN Five Movements for Strings, Op. 5 SCHOENBERG Chamber Symphony No. 1, Op. 9 MOZART Piano Concerto in E flat, K. 482
DEBUSSY (arr. Benno SACHS) Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun KAIJA SAARIAHO Lichtbogen ESA-PEKKA SALONEN Elegy (from kínēma) MOZART Piano Concerto in B flat, K. 595
HAYDN Symphony No. 46 in B major, Hob. I:46 JÖRG WIDMANN Chorale Quartet(Choralquartett), version for chamber orchestra MOZART Piano Concerto in G major, K. 453
Live Stream FAQ
Where do I find the Live Stream? At concert time, the Live Stream will be available at the top of our Homepage.
It’s concert time and I still don’t see the Live Stream on the Homepage. Sometimes your browser stores an old version of the webpage. To refresh the page, click the “” button in your browser.
I see the Live Stream. How do I watch full screen? To watch full screen on the Homepage, click the ““ button in the bottom right of the player.
Where can I watch the Live Stream concert after it ends? Live Stream videos will be available the following day on the 2024 Live Stream Schedule. Following the Festival, they will remain on our website and our Festival YouTube Channel. However, the evening concerts will only be shown the night of the performance.
Since the Ojai Music Festival’s founding in 1947, volunteers have ensured the enduring success of the organization, from our renowned four-day Festival and our acclaimed BRAVO music education program.
Volunteer opportunities range from ushering, administrative office work, concessions to housing Festival artists and production team. The Festival is fortunate to have a large community of volunteers.
Besides receiving benefits to volunteer that include lawn tickets, a festival commemorative t-shirt and invitations to events, volunteers get to enjoy the camaraderie of working together and meeting interesting music enthusiasts like Jodine Hammerand!
JODINE HAMMERAND: A Return to Ojai and the Music Festival!
What brought you to Ojai? My family was living in Los Angeles when my parents took my siblings and I to Ojai for the week of Spring Break. We all fell in love with Ojai and our family moved here in 1972.
L-R: Wendy Gray and Jodine Hammerand at the Festival’s volunteer event in March, 2024
When did you start your involvement in the Music Festival? I started at Nordhoff High School as a freshman. It was probably my junior year when I started volunteering for the Ojai Music Festival as an usher. I will never forget watching a run-through with the LA Philharmonic that was being conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas!
When did you make your way back to Ojai? After retiring from Alaska Airlines, I ultimately chose to move back to Ojai right at the height of the pandemic. I was interested in volunteering again and finally was able to usher for the 2022 Ojai Music Festival, then again in 2023. It felt like a happy reunion!
What is a recent fond memory of the Festival? I am a lover of all music genres, especially the Blues. I really enjoyed Rhiannon Giddens being the music director in 2023 with her banjo playing. She also introduced the pipa and the kora, two great instruments rooted deep in history. ‘The roots of the present are deep in the past’ my high school history teacher used to always say! I attended the performance of Ghost Opera and enjoyed listening to the pipa with all the instruments. I ushered at the performance of Omar’s Journey and heard the kora played by Seckou Keita. I arrived before the concert as ushers do to prepare the Libbey Bowl. I was walking down the center aisle of seats when I saw Seckou practicing on stage. When he was finished, he looked my way, and I gave him a thumbs up indicating how beautiful he played. He smiled his big smile and that made me very happy, and I will never forget it.
I look forward to volunteering for the Ojai Music Festival. It is a joy every year, no matter the style of music. In addition, I enjoy every year when the staff and volunteers gather together before the Festival, to listen to Ara Guzelimian with his knowledge of the musicians. He is an asset as artistic and executive director.
Many thanks to all who attended the Virtual Ojai Talks on the music of Gubaidulina, Lachenmann, and Saariaho led by Artistic and Executive Director Ara Guzelimian on Wednesday, April 3, 2024. Here is the featured music and the resources that were discussed that we’d love to share with all! These are all readily accessible YouTube links.
Gubaidulina Interview
Schoenberg: String Quartet No. 2
Clip from Helmut Lachenman: My Way documentary
Interview with Helmut Lachenman
Lachenmann: Mouvement
Trailer for Echoes of the Universe: The Music of Kaija Saariaho documentary
OJAI, CA- June 11, 2015: Music Director Steven Schick leads ICE in Varese’s Deserts at Libbey Bowl during the 2015 Ojai Music Festival.
Advertising Opportunities with the Ojai Music Festival
“…a musical utopia where open-minded audiences welcome adventurous works presented against a backdrop of green hills, bird song, and Pixie tangerines.” (New York Times)
The Ojai Music Festival audience members and donors are highly educated, affluent and influential. An effective way to reach this desirable group is through advertising in the Festival’s program book.
The Program Book Call us old fashion but our complimentary printed Festival program book has always had the unique quality of being used repeatedly by patrons throughout the four-day immersive experience. Advertising with us is an unbeatable opportunity to reach this loyal core of the music-loving and art-going community and leave a memorable impression. Our program books are also a wonderful keepsake — our patrons refer to it throughout the year!
This perfect-bound collector’s item includes program notes by Thomas May on all Libbey Bowl concerts, free concerts and events, artist and composer bios, in-depth Festival features on the Festival, donor listings, staff and volunteer rosters, maps, FAQ, and much more.
By supporting the Ojai Music Festival as an advertiser, you support Ojai’s signature music event and music education in our Ojai Valley schools.
PLUS — Advertisers are included in the free OMF Mobile App used by patrons throughout the weekend.
Deadlines and Submission of Artwork Space deadline: April 15, 2024 Artwork due: April 21, 2024
Demographics
Attendance Attendance at the Festival is up to 5000 patrons and community members. Many reference their program books multiple times during the four-day Festival. Ojai Music Festival patrons save and share their books for years as treasured mementos. It is also distributed at key Ojai Valley businesses before the Festival.
Snapshot of Festival Patrons
Upwardly mobile consumers with important purchasing power
Established patrons who support music and arts programs
Dual income families of $250,000 and above
Visits Ojai during the year outside of the Festival weekend
Travel more than three times a year
Highly-educated executives and professionals
Further Inquiries: Contact Gina Gutierrez at[email protected]or 805 646 2181.
Many thanks to all who attended the Virtual Ojai Talks on the music of Schoenberg led by Artistic and Executive Director Ara Guzelimian. Here is the featured music and the resources that were discussed that we’d love to share with all!
The Music We Heard:
These are all readily accessible YouTube links. A companion playlist in either Apple Music or Spotify appears at the bottom, for those who prefer those sources for streaming. One note – the very beautiful Matthias Pintscher/Karajan Academy live performance of the Schoenberg Chamber Symphony No. 1 is only available on YouTube, so the streaming playlists include a different but also compelling performance led by Simon Rattle.
Schoenberg: Chamber Symphony No. 1, Op. 9
Matthias Pintscher conductor with the ensemble of the Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic
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