Ojai Music Festival

The Ojai Music Festival represents an ideal of adventurous, open-minded and open-hearted programming in the most beautiful and welcoming of settings, with audiences and artists to match its aspirations. As its 75th anniversary approaches, the Festival remains a hallmark for groundbreaking musical experiences with a narrative thread guided by a different music director. These annual directors are more than conductors, composers, soloists, or musicians. They are musical thinkers who approach their craft with creativity and responsibility to the present day.

Schedule:
8:00am: Morning Meditation
Niloufar Shiri kamancheh
Mario Gotoh violin

Location: Chaparral Auditorium

Ticket: Free. Open to the public.

10:00am: The Willows Are New
Karen Ouzounian cello
Wu Man pipa
Nathan Schram viola
Gloria Cheng piano
Kayhan Kalhor kamancheh

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

Location: Libbey Bowl

3:30pm: Ghost Opera
Wu Man pipa
Attacca Quartet
PeiJu Chien-Pott dancer/choreographer
Jon Reimer director
Nicholas Houfek lighting designer

TAN Dun  Ghost Opera

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

Location: Greenberg Center, Ojai Valley School lower campus

8:00pm: Omar’s Journey
Seckou Keita kora
Justin Robinson fiddle
Rhiannon Giddens soprano
Cheryse McLeod Lewis mezzo-soprano
Limmie Pulliam tenor
Michael Preacely bass-baritone
Ojai Festival Ensemble

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

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

Location: Libbey Bowl

Click here for Tickets