Nestled inside a serene Southern Californian park, the Libbey Bowl turns into the heartbeat of latest classical music every June, internet hosting the Ojai Music Competition. Now getting into its 79th season, this immersive four-day occasion constantly pushes the boundaries of recent music, showcasing modern programming that spans centuries and defies conventional classes.
In June, the competition won’t solely honor its wealthy legacy but additionally enterprise into new creative territories below the steerage of flutist and curator Claire Chase. Her fastidiously crafted programming fosters a dynamic dialogue throughout generations, mixing custom with modernity. This 12 months’s Ojai 2025 commemorates vital anniversaries for a number of composers: Terry Riley turns 90, Annea Lockwood celebrates her 86th birthday, Tania León reaches 80, and percussionist Steve Schick marks his seventieth. Moreover, the competition pays tribute to Sofia Gubaidulina, who handed away earlier this 12 months, and honor the influential figures of Pauline Oliveros and Julius Eastman. Rising composers, akin to Bahar Royaee, Leilehua Lanzilotti, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Liza Lim, Craig Taborn, Marcos Balter, Susie Ibarra, Eduardo Aguilar, and Vincente Atria, can even share their new works throughout the competition.
“These items invite listeners and performers alike right into a world the place real listening happens – they manifest that world inside the performances,” Chase shared in a latest interview. From the meditative soundscapes of Pauline Oliveros to the world premieres of commissioned works, the competition guarantees a wealth of musical exploration that Chase describes as “a portal to listening, being, and actualizing – a glimpse right into a world we aspire to inhabit.”
Chase’s connection to Ojai is deeply private; she first attended the competition as an enthusiastic fan in her youth earlier than gaining prominence as a performer in 2015 below the route of Steve Schick, with whom she shares a fruitful collaborative historical past. Reflecting on her preliminary expertise with Schick, Chase described it as “one of the exhilarating and intimate efficiency moments I’ve ever had.” Now, because the competition’s music director, she goals to have a good time a wealthy legacy by her programming selections. “I’ve sought not solely the best artists I’ve identified but additionally those that display boldness, braveness, and generosity,” Chase famous. “These artists have every profoundly influenced our artistic panorama.”
This 12 months’s competition can even prominently characteristic works by Pulitzer Prize-winning Cuban-American composer Tania León. Items akin to Ritual, Singsong, Hechizos, and Abanico will probably be showcased. León, who shares an in depth friendship with Chase, gives a singular musical perspective grounded in her childhood in Havana and her private journey to America.
“Once I left Cuba, my intent was to make use of the US as a launchpad to Paris,” León recounted. “However simply earlier than boarding the aircraft, the Cuban authorities revoked our passports and citizenship. I arrived in America as a stateless individual.” Shortly after her arrival in Miami, she made her strategy to New York and rejuvenated her musical profession from a buddy’s sofa within the Bronx. Chase is ready to carry out a solo flute association of León’s Singsong, which options poetry by U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove. This work will see its full premiere subsequent 12 months at Carnegie Corridor, carried out by Chase and The Crossing choir. León expressed her fondness for the piece, stating, “Singsong holds a particular place in my coronary heart because it embodies one other collaboration with Rita Dove. Something that Claire interprets is simply nice with me.”
Among the many new commissions for this 12 months is a bit by Iranian composer Bahar Royaee, created particularly for percussionist Ross Karre. Royaee’s composition delves into the theme of reminiscence fragmentation, an idea she has been exploring since 2020. “I acknowledged that I used to be grappling with the phenomenon of forgetting,” she defined. “It is about capturing moments that appear to elude me, which regularly collapse into one thing new.” This philosophical lens permits Royaee to embrace imperfection, the place what may be perceived as “errors” take middle stage in her music, remodeled by repetition.
For her Ojai piece, Royaee collaborates with Karre, using repurposed styrofoam objects that create resonant sounds. “Steel resonates on these styrofoam containers to supply a completely new sonic atmosphere,” she shared. These sounds, whereas uncooked, evoke a human-like essence. The efficiency can even incorporate LED lights and AM radios, producing electromagnetic interference patterns that alter the auditory expertise. Set in one in all Ojai’s “morning meditative areas,” attendees are inspired to have interaction with the piece nonetheless they want, whether or not by focusing intently, closing their eyes, and even drifting off to sleep.
Viewers involvement is a pivotal side of the Ojai expertise. Annea Lockwood’s Bayou-Borne, a homage to her late buddy Pauline Oliveros, envelops listeners within the wealthy tapestry of river sounds. This work is a continuation of Lockwood’s in depth exploration of ecological soundscapes, that includes her acclaimed A Sound Map of the Housatonic River, offered as a four-channel sound set up for Ojai audiences. Including to this tribute, Oliveros’ The Witness gives a meditative exploration of deep listening, guiding each performers and audiences right into a collective house outlined by presence and reflection, additional enriched by the pure ambiance of Libbey Park, which incorporates native crows.
The opening night time will characteristic the return of Marcos Balter’s Pan, a collaboration that has developed over a decade with Chase. The lineup contains the U.S. premiere of Liza Lim’s newest solo violin work Cardamom in addition to the West Coast premiere of her highly effective Intercourse Magic (2020), which integrates contrabass flute, stay electronics, and kinetic devices. Leilehua Lanzilotti will current putting compositions akin to ko‘u inoa, a poignant solo string work impressed by the anthem Hawaiʻi Aloha, and her string quartet ahupua‘a, which displays the standard Hawaiian land administration practices. Different notable performances embrace Susie Ibarra’s radiant Sunbird, Gubaidulina’s mystical Mirage: The Dancing Solar for eight cellos, and Tania León’s glowing Abanico.
For Chase, the compositions she has curated present a sanctuary for transformation. It serves as “a haven the place minds and spirits can increase, rejuvenate, and remodel.” She envisions music-making as an act of vulnerability and presence. “I view myself as a part of a group of devotees and lifelong learners who embrace an ethos of music that enables for singular performances and explorations,” Chase remarked. “When approached with sincerity, these performances turn out to be profoundly susceptible experiences for each the members and the viewers, creating exhilarating moments.”
Because the competition unites each established musical pioneers and rising abilities, Chase goals to craft an atmosphere conducive to dialogue amongst artists, viewers members, and the underlying inspirations of the packages. This strategy ensures that Ojai stays a platform for fostering musical conversations that bridge generations, cultures, and various creative expressions, creating enchanting sound worlds below the California solar.
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