Conducted by Cristian Măcelaru

Vivian Fung: America the Beautiful? (Festival Commission & world premiere)

Pedro Emanuel Pereira: Clarinet Concerto (Carlos Ferreira, Clarinet) (Festival Commission & world premiere)

Philip Glass: Symphony No. 15 Lincoln (Zachary James, Baritone) (West Coast premiere)

6:30PM • PRE-CONCERT PICNIC + TALK: A free outdoor pre-concert experience featuring a brass sextet and a special welcome by Music Director Cristian Măcelaru. Bring takeout or some snacks from home. Table seating available.

The 64th season kicks off with Music Director Cristian Măcelaru leading the Festival Orchestra and audience in a powerful meditation on the distance between national ideals and lived reality. 

Vivian Fung‘s America the Beautiful? (Festival Commission & world premiere) opens the season with a work responding to the U.S. National Anthem through the lens of her intersectional identity as a dual Canadian-American citizen with Chinese familial lineage. The piece confronts the tension between patriotic tradition and the deeply imperfect struggle to uphold democratic values for all. 

Pedro Emanuel Pereira‘s Clarinet Concerto (Festival Commission, world premiere), featuring clarinetist Carlos Ferreira, blends Portuguese musical traditions with experimental timbres and performative innovation, reimagining virtuosity for the present moment. 

The program concludes with Philip Glass‘s Symphony No. 15 Lincoln (West Coast premiere)—featuring GRAMMY® award winning baritone Zachary James—is a six-movement symphony incorporating Abraham Lincoln’s own words, including the Emancipation Proclamation and reflections on law, power, and ambition. The work resonates forcefully with the urgencies of today.  

A Look at the Music Behind the Music

The pieces you’ll hear this summer haven’t been heard here before. Until their premieres, explore these playlists to discover the composers’ musical influences, artistic voices, and the creative worlds from which new works emerge.

You are Welcome at the Cabrillo Festival

Whether you’re a longtime Festival supporter or joining us for the first time, we invite you to experience the music in a way that feels comfortable and inspiring. Enjoy local beer or wine and bring it to your seat, visit our photo booth, and wear whatever makes you feel like you—from Birkenstocks to heels.

More Than a Concert

The Cabrillo Festival is a place to gather, discover, and connect. Throughout the week, free open rehearsals, Meet the Composers, and artist talks offer a unique opportunity to experience the music taking shape before it reaches the stage and engage with the community that brings the music to life. Check out the whole season for more!