Below you will find a collection of historic interviews, panel talks, and in-depth musical analysis that demonstrate the sweep of the Festival’s influence under artistic leaders Carlos Chavez, Dennis Russell Davies, Marin Alsop, and Cristian Macelaru; and composers Lou Harrison, Aaron Copland, John Adams and others. Composer Lou Harrison provides …read more »
New Music Ideas
Meet the Composers videos
The Muse Visits Santa Cruz
By Marilyn DuHamel This essay is part of my Wayfinder Series about people, art works, and events that can help us find our way in these lost times. The Muse recently revealed herself in the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, a sumptuous Dionysian feast lasting fourteen days in a humble …read more »
The Festival Through My Eyes: An Interview with In the Works Composer Maya Miro Johnson
On Tuesday, July 30th, I had the pleasure of attending In the Works, a concert which showcased the new compositions of three emerging composers: Costas Dafnis, Maya Miro Johnson, and Annika Socolofksy. Each work was performed twice with a different conductor. This gave concert-goers the opportunity to experience the variations …read more »
The Festival Through My Eyes: The Student Staff Program
If you attended any of the concerts this season, you likely received a program book from a person wearing a blue Cabrillo shirt. Chances are, this person looked to be around the age of a high school or college student, and was a member of the Festival’s Student Staff Program. …read more »
Wynton Marsalis and Cristi Macelaru In Conversation
Listen to a conversation with Wynton Marsalis, pioneering musician and 2019 Cabrillo Festival composer-in-residence. In this fascinating one-hour session, Marsalis and Cabrillo Festival Music Director and Conductor Cristian Macelaru share stories about collaborating on the Violin Concerto in D with Nicola Benedetti; Marsalis talks about growing up in New Orleans …read more »
The Festival Through My Eyes: Expressions of Community
During the open rehearsal of Concerto in D for violin and orchestra (2015), which will be a part of tonight’s concert, Wynton, Wynton gave the orchestra many notes which approached technical specificities through larger ideas having to do with the emotions behind the work, as well as the communal experience of …read more »
WYNTON Program Notes
The following notes accompany the August 11, 2019 WYNTON concert. Concerto in D for violin and orchestra (2015) Wynton Marsalis (b. 1961) This piece was written for Nicola Benedetti. It takes inspiration from her life as a traveling performer and educator who enlightens and delights communities all over the world …read more »
SECRET SONGS Program Notes
The following notes accompany the August 10, 2019 SECRET SONGS concert. God Music Bug Music (2011) Hannah Lash (b. 1981) West Coast Premiere God Music, Bug Music uses the same cell of five notes in both movements of the piece, though very differently in each. In God Music, this cell …read more »
ROOMFUL of TEETH Program Notes
The following notes accompany the August 4, 2019 performance: Roomful of Teeth In Concert Partita for 8 Voices (2009-11) Caroline Shaw (b. 1982) Composed over three summers from 2009-2011, in collaboration with Roomful of Teeth during their residencies at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA), Caroline Shaw’s Partita …read more »
Free Family Concert: E Gol ! Program Note
The following note accompanies the August 4, 2019 Free Family Concert. É Gol ! (2019) Clarice Assad (b. 1978) World Premiere | Festival Commission É Gol ! is inspired by female Brazilian soccer player Marta Vieira da Silva, who is often regarded as the best female footballer of all time. The piece is scored for …read more »
CONTRASTS Program Notes
The following notes accompany the August 3, 2019 CONTRASTS concert. Kraken (2012) Du Yun (b. 1977) West Coast Premiere In 2009, I began to use a series of titles that are based on fables from mythology. A kraken is a sea dragon or sea serpent that might have a hump …read more »
NOTORIOUS Program Notes
The following notes accompany the August 2, 2019 NOTORIOUS concert program Agnosco Veteris (2016) Nina C. Young (b. 1984) West Coast Premiere In book IV of Virgil’s Aeneid, Dido, long in grief over her late husband Sychaeus’s death, is suddenly awakened from emotional slumber by the visiting Trojan hero Aeneas. In …read more »
Aural History Program Notes
The following notes accompany the August 3, 2018 Aural History concert program Folk Songs for Orchestra (2012) Huang Ruo (b. 1976) Folk songs reflect the life, culture, and soul of a civilization. I grew up in China and have always had a fondness for Chinese folk songs. China has more …read more »
After Dixieland Program Notes
The following notes accompany the August 4, 2018 After Dixeland concert. Dust Devils (2011) Vivian Fung (b. 1975) [West Coast Premiere] Dust Devils is the journey of emotional swirls in my mind, sometimes calm, but more often than not, full of raw and intense energy. The opening starts quite forcefully …read more »
Kronos Quartet In the Blue Room Program Notes
The following notes accompany the August 5, 2018 Kronos Quartet concert program. Zaghlala (2017) Islam Chipsy (b. 1985) Arranged by Jacob Garchik Islam Chipsy and his band EEK are a three-way force of nature from Cairo, Egypt, described by those who’ve been caught in the eye of their storm as …read more »
Notes from a Journey Program Notes
The following notes accompany the August 11, 2018 Notes from a Journey concert program. Liguria (2012) Andrea Tarrodi (b. 1981) U.S. Premiere On the northwest coast of Italy by the Ligurian Sea are five small fishing villages clinging to the steep cliffs. These are called Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and …read more »
Free Family Concert: Parizade and the Singing Tree
The following note accompanies the Free Family Concert on August 5. Parizade and the Singing Tree (1999/2001; revised for full orchestra 2018) Karim Al-Zand (1970) Nora el Samahy, narrator A story from the Arabian Nights Part I. In which Parizade seeks the Singing Tree and hears the Dervish’s warning. Part …read more »
