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Contact: Mona Baroudi
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CABRILLO FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC ANNOUNCES ITS 48TH SEASON
The nation’s longest running festival of contemporary orchestral music
features new works by thirteen distinguished composers, established and emerging alike
Santa Cruz, California, August 1-15, 2010
Music Director, Marin Alsop
"...in the surf mecca of Santa Cruz, 75 miles south of San Francisco, the Cabrillo Festival has made the contemporary repertoire sound urgent, indispensable, and even sexy." – The Financial Times
SANTA CRUZ, CA—April 13, 2010—An unflagging champion of new music for nearly half a century, the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music returns for its 48th season, led by Music Director and Conductor Marin Alsop, August 1-15, 2010.
Since receiving ASCAP’S John S. Edwards Award for Strongest Commitment to New American Music last year, the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music has energetically set about organizing its 48th anniversary season, which will include some of the most adventurous and highly-esteemed composers and musicians––established and emerging alike––in the world.
Twelve of the thirteen featured composers will be in attendance this year, a tribute to the growing reputation of the Festival among today’s composers. For Alsop the opportunity to engage face-to-face with this community of composers and musicians is the very heart of the Festival.
“The Cabrillo experience is all about people and relationships: how we use art to express ourselves; how we communicate with and without words; how we learn and assimilate; how we form opinions and tastes; and, importantly, how we are bound together by creativity and the thrill of discovery,” said Alsop.
The twelve composers in residence for 2010 include several returning artists, and several first-timers. Among the veterans are: John Adams, Philip Glass, Michael Hersch, Jennifer Higdon, and Kevin Puts. The newcomers this year include Anna Clyne, Sean Hickey, Pierre Jalbert, Elena Kats-Chernin, Michael Shapiro, Nathaniel Stookey, and Mark-Anthony Turnage.
In addition, the roster of guest artists includes percussionist Colin Currie, the sextet eighth blackbird, Kronos Quartet, cellist Wendy Sutter, as well as composer and pianist Kevin Puts who will perform as soloist in his own composition.
Opening Night – On a Wire - Friday, August 6, 2010, 8pm - Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
The 48th season of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music kicks off on Friday, August 6 with two West Coast premieres and one World Premiere at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium. Maestra Marin Alsop leads the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra in the West Coast premiere of British composer Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Scherzoid. One of the most admired and widely-performed composers of his generation, Turnage is known for his skillful blend of classical and jazz idioms. Scherzoid has been described as “a kaleidoscopic riot of blue-hued harmonies and silvery tuned percussion… both Scherzo and ‘Schizo’.” The evening also features the West Coast Premiere of On a Wire, by 2010 Grammy-winner and, most recently, Pulitzer Prize-winner Jennifer Higdon, written expressly for the Grammy-winning sextet, eighth blackbird, and co-commissioned by the Cabrillo Festival with a consortium of orchestras. eighth blackbird's performances have been hailed by the New York Times as "the picture of polish and precision" and CityBeat raves that their "sheer exuberance and affection for the music is as much a draw as the music itself." The evening concludes with the World Premiere of Michael Hersch’s Symphony No. 3, commissioned by the Cabrillo Festival. The New York Times has said of his music, "If the symmetries and proportions of Mr. Hersch's music evoke the grounded fixity of architecture, its dynamism and spontaneous evolution are those of the natural world. Its somber eloquence sings of truths that are personal yet not confessional... Within the sober palette, the expressive power and range are vast."
Rewind - Saturday, August 7, 8pm - Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
On Saturday August 7, the program opens with a newcomer to the Festival, Anna Clyne, and the West Coast Premiere of <<rewind<<. The London-born composer of acoustic and electro-acoustic music wrote <<rewind<< for the Hysterica Dance Company based in New York City, taking as inspiration the image of analog videotape scrolling backwards with moments of skipping, warping, and freezing. The New York Times praised its “patterned rhythms and sensual orchestration,” adding that its author represents “no hype, just hard work, and young talent.” Then composers Jennifer Higdon and Mark-Anthony Turnage return for three more West Coast premieres. Scottish percussionist Colin Currie takes the spotlight in Higdon’s Percussion Concerto, which recently won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Classical Composition. Currie made his U.S. debut at the Festival when he was only 19 years old, and now returns for his third engagement. Higdon composed the challenging piece especially for Currie, who must single-handedly manage marimba, vibraphone, crotales, drumkit, and gong, among other instruments. Then Maestra Marin Alsop will lead the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra in the performance of two major works by Turnage: Chicago Remains, a celebrated piece inspired by the Windy City and which, according to the The Chicago Tribune “captures the true grit of our town”; and Drowned Out, a work which stemmed from Turnage’s four-year period as Composer-in-Association with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Sir Simon Rattle, and was inspired by William Golding's (Nobel Prize winner for Lord of the Flies) novel Pincher Martin. It's described as "a nightmare vision of a drowning man, with a devastatingly unexpected conclusion."
Free Family Concert - Sunday, August 8, 1pm - Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
The Cabrillo Festival hosts its annual Free Family Concert on Sunday, August 8 at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium. The Cabrillo Festival’s Free Family Concerts have become legendary––a staple in the musical education and upbringing of area youngsters, and a no less entertaining and engaging experience for their parents. It begins, once again, with the popular petting zoo-style Tour of the Orchestra so kids make an up-close and personal connection to the different instruments and players. This year Nathaniel Stookey’s “tartly funny” The Composer is Dead, written for narrator and orchestra, will be performed. Composer Stookey (who is NOT dead) will narrate the work, a libretto written by Lemony Snicket (San Francisco-based writer Daniel Handler). It’s a murder mystery about the killing of a composer. Like Sergei Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf and Benjamin Britten's The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Stookey's The Composer Is Dead is intended to introduce young audiences to the instruments in the orchestra, though with a dash or two of irony thrown in.
In the Blue Room with eighth blackbird and Kronos Quartet - Recital - Sunday, August 8, 8pm - Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
A special event to benefit the Cabrillo Festival, In the Blue Room features new music's preeminent proponents: eighth blackbird and Kronos Quartet, sharing the stage for the very first time. On Sunday, August 8, at 8pm, the two Grammy-award winning ensembles will split the bill, each performing the innovative, adventurous repertoire for which they've become acclaimed. The Kronos Quartet has been breaking new ground, commissioning new works, and recording for the past 30 years. The sextet eighth blackbird was established fourteen years ago and has become widely lauded for their performing style––often playing from memory with theatrical flair.
Dalliance - Saturday, August 14, 8pm – Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
On Saturday, August 14 at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, Maestra Marin Alsop will lead the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra in the West Coast premiere of Michael Shapiro’s fast-paced and exciting work, Roller Coaster. On creating this new piece, Shapiro writes, "I took a deep breath and imagined a coaster’s sights and sounds, its shakes and thrusts, the taste of stomach in mouth, the ultimate rush (short of parachuting), dropping quick, twisting about, rising, rising, rising, falling away, slow, slow, slow, FAST." Sean Hickey's 2005 composition, Dalliance, a short, “extroverted” piece for full orchestra, receives its world premiere tonight. Best known for a collection of chamber music recorded on the Naxos Label—Left at the Fork in the Road—Hickey has also written a variety of works in other forms, including orchestral and church music, a film score, and the music for a much-performed children’s play. The evening culminates with works by two Cabrillo Festival veterans, Kevin Puts and John Adams. Though composer-in-residence on many occasions prior, Puts will make his guest artist debut at the Festival as featured soloist in his piano concerto, Night. Displaying a neo-Romantic style with minimalist influences, Night’s innocent beginning quickly turns dark. The Los Angeles Times remarks that “before long, the pianist needs more hands than nature provides. The solo writing is virtuosic.” One of America’s most respected composers, John Adams returns for the evening's finale. City Noir is the final installment in Adams' triptych of orchestral works that have “the California experience, its landscape, and its culture” as theme. This 30-minute, three movement symphonic work, commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and premiered at Music Director Gustavo Dudamel's inaugural concert, was inspired by the ambience and mood of Hollywood films of the late 40s and early 50s, and is an homage to the overall aesthetic of the era.
Music at the Mission: In Aeternam - Sunday August 15, 4:30pm & 8pm –Mission San Juan Bautista
Maestra Marin Alsop and the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, will be joined by composers Elena Kats-Chernin, Philip Glass, and Pierre Jalbert, as they bring the 2010 Festival to a resplendent close with two Grand Finale performances––including one West Coast Premiere, and one U.S. Premiere––in the sanctuary of the Old Mission San Juan Bautista. Soviet-born Elena Kats-Chernin is one of Australia’s leading contemporary composers, and her dramatically vivid music combines strong rhythmic figures with elements of cabaret, tango, ragtime, and klezmer. Her piece, Heaven is Closed, is a quick, energetic, and rhythmically driven work that will receive its U.S. Premiere. She describes it as an "emotional journey," one inspired by the despair of discovering the incurable illness of a son, and yet holding onto the hint of optimism. In Philip Glass' Cello Concerto, featuring soloist Wendy Sutter, the composer creates a haunting, beautifully poignant, and almost baroque experience for the audience. A champion of contemporary works, Sutter was a member of the Bang on a Can "All Stars," and her "fearless playing and rich, mahogany tone" (San Francisco Classical Voice) has earned her critical acclaim. In 2001, Pierre Jalbert, an American of French-Canadian heritage, earned the BBC Masterprize for his orchestral work In Aeternam, selected from among more than 1,100 scores by a jury that included Marin Alsop, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, and Sir Charles Mackerras. The work was written as a memorial to his niece who died at birth, and the Latin title, In Aeternam, means In Eternity. The final work of the Festival was written by George Walker, the first African-American composer to win a Pulitzer Prize for composition and the only living composer-pianist to be inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame. Under Maestra Alsop’s baton the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra will present the West Coast premiere of his Foils for Orchestra (Hommage à Saint George). A work in one movement, Foils was commissioned and premiered by the Eastman School of Music. The title suggests swords used in a fencing match and conjures up associations with the myth of Saint George and the Dragon as well as the exploits of the Chevalier de Saint George. Walker describes the music as "suggesting explosive clashes and a violent duel of thrusts and parrying. The victor emerges scarred, but triumphant."
CABRILLO FESTIVAL CONCERT TICKETS, SCHEDULE & SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
August 1-15, 2010
Maestra Marin Alsop conducts the award-winning Cabrillo Festival Orchestra in two World Premieres, one U.S. Premiere, and seven West Coast Premieres, with all 13 featured composers in residence—an historic first!
TICKETS:
Festival tickets range from $30-$50 with many events free and open to the public. As of April 13, the public may access information on the Festival website at http://www.cabrillomusic.org/new/2010-season/order-tickets.html or call (831) 426-6966.
Tickets may be ordered by mail beginning mid-May through the Festival’s Advance Ticket Order Form; and then via phone, walk-up, or on-line beginning June 15.
Opening Night: On a Wire
Friday, August 6, 2010, 8pm, Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
Mark-Anthony Turnage: Scherzoid (West Coast Premiere)
Jennifer Higdon: On a Wire, concerto for sextet and orchestra, featuring eighth blackbird (West Coast Premiere, Cabrillo Festival co-commission)
Michael Hersch: Symphony No. 3 (World Premiere, Cabrillo Festival Commission)
(Preceded by a Pre-Concert Dinner & Talk on Church Street outside the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, beginning at 6:30pm.)
Rewind
Saturday, August 7, 2010, 8pm, Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
Anna Clyne: <<rewind<< (West Coast Premiere)
Jennifer Higdon: Percussion Concerto, featuring Colin Currie
Mark-Anthony Turnage: Chicago Remains (West Coast Premiere)
Mark-Anthony Turnage: Drowned Out (West Coast Premiere)
(Followed by a Talkback Session with Marin Alsop, featured composers, and soloists.)
Free Family Concert
Sunday, August 8, 2010, 1pm, Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
Petting Zoo-Style Tour of the Orchestra
Nathaniel Stookey: The Composer is Dead (narrator, Nathaniel Stookey)
Recital: In the Blue Room with eighth blackbird and Kronos Quartet
Sunday, August 8, 2010, 8pm, Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
A special concert to benefit the Cabrillo Festival marks the first time eighth blackbird and Kronos Quartet will share the concert stage. They will split the program to present the groundbreaking repertoire for which they've each earned critical acclaim. Program TBA.
Dalliance
Saturday, August 14, 2010, 8pm, Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
Michael Shapiro: Roller Coaster (West Coast Premiere)
Sean Hickey: Dalliance (World Premiere)
Kevin Puts: Night, piano concerto, featuring Kevin Puts
John Adams: City Noir
Music at the Mission: In Aeternam
Sunday, August 15, 2010, 4:30pm & 8pm, Mission San Juan Bautista
Elena Kats-Chernin: Heaven is Closed (U.S. Premiere)
Philip Glass: Cello Concerto featuring Wendy Sutter
Pierre Jalbert: In Aeternam
George Walker: Foils for Orchestra (Hommage à Saint George) (West Coast Premiere)
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
Two World Premieres
Michael Hersch: Symphony No. 3 (Cabrillo Festival commission)
Sean Hickey: Dalliance
One U.S. Premiere
Elena Kats-Chernin: Heaven is Closed
Seven West Coast Premieres
Anna Clyne: <<rewind<<
Jennifer Higdon: On a Wire featuring eighth blackbird (Cabrillo Festival co-commission)
Michael Shapiro: Roller Coaster
Mark-Anthony Turnage: Scherzoid
Mark-Anthony Turnage: Chicago Remains
Mark-Anthony Turnage: Drowned Out
George Walker: Foils for Orchestra (Hommage à Saint George)
Thirteen Featured Composers
John Adams
Anna Clyne
Philip Glass
Michael Hersch
Sean Hickey
Jennifer Higdon
Pierre Jalbert
Elena Kats-Chernin
Kevin Puts
Michael Shapiro
Nathaniel Stookey
Mark-Anthony Turnage
George Walker (not attending)
Guest Artists
Colin Currie, percussion
eighth blackbird, sextet
Kronos Quartet
Kevin Puts, piano
Nathaniel Stookey, narrator
Wendy Sutter, cello
CABRILLO FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC is America’s longest running new music festival dedicated to orchestra, and winner of the League of American Orchestra and A.S.C.A.P.'s 2008-2009 John S. Edwards Award for Strongest Commitment to New American Music, and of the national A.S.C.A.P Award for Adventurous Programming of Contemporary Music from 1982-2009.
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June 11, 2009
Contact: Mona Baroudi
415.615.2735
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CABRILLO FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC
WINS 2008-2009 ASCAP AWARD: THE JOHN S. EDWARDS AWARD
FOR STRONGEST COMMITMENT TO NEW AMERICAN MUSIC
SANTA CRUZ, CA-June 11, 2009-The Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music will be honored with a 2008-2009 ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, the John S Edwards Award for Strongest Commitment to New American Music, in an awards ceremony today at the League of American Orchestras' 64th Annual Conference in Chicago.
ASCAP and the League of American Orchestras present the ASCAP awards each year to orchestras of all sizes for programs that challenge the audience, build the repertoire, and increase interest in music of our time.
The Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, America's longest running new music festival dedicated to orchestra, has won the national ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming of Contemporary Music in the Festival orchestra category every year since 1982. This year's award, the John S. Edward Award for Strongest Commitment to New American Music, is the top ASCAP award, and a first for the Cabrillo Festival.
"It is a great honor to receive this national recognition for the Cabrillo Festival's longstanding role in championing new works for orchestra and in engaging audiences in innovative and meaningful ways," said Festival Music Director and Conductor Marin Alsop. "The Festival is a source of great discovery and inspiration for me, and the commitment and involvement of so many have brought us to this wonderful culmination."
Previous recipients of the John S. Edwards Award for Strongest Commitment to New American Music include the Minnesota Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Seattle Symphony, among many others.
Led by Maestra Alsop, the Cabrillo Festival is poised to celebrate its 47th season in Santa Cruz, California, August 2-16, 2009. The Festival, celebrated for its commitment to new American music, widens its commitment this year and takes its programming global-with works by the hottest composers from Argentina, Australia, Finland, Israel, Mexico, Scotland, the UK and the US. This season includes one World premiere, five US premieres and three West Coast premieres. The ten composers-in-residence for 2009 include: Enrico Chapela (Mexico), 2009 Grawemeyer Award-winner Brett Dean (Australia), Avner Dorman (Israel), Grammy-award winner Osvaldo Golijov (Argentina), David Heath (United Kingdom), Matthew Hindson (Australia), Lee Johnson (US), Ingram Marshall (US), Kevin Puts (US), and Joby Talbot (UK). The season will also feature works by composers James MacMillan (Scotland), Pulitzer-Prize winner Aaron Jay Kernis (US), Grawemeyer Award-winner George Tsontakis (US) and Magnus Lindberg (Finland).
Tickets go on sale next week on June 15 and range from $30-$50 with many events free and open to the public. Information is available at www.cabrillomusic.org or (831) 426-6966.
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APRIL 15, 2009
Contact: Mona Baroudi
415.615.2735
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CABRILLO FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC
ANNOUNCES 2009 SEASON
The nation’s longest running new music festival dedicated to orchestra presents its 47th Anniversary season featuring new works by composers from all over the world, including Argentina, Australia, Israel, Mexico, Scotland, the UK and US
Santa Cruz, California, August 2-16, 2009
Music Director, Marin Alsop
SANTA CRUZ, CA—April 15, 2009—The Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music is pleased to announce its 47th season, led by Music Director and Conductor Marin Alsop, August 2-16, 2009.
Most recently named Musical America’s 2009 Conductor of the Year, Alsop’s vision for her 18th season at the Cabrillo Festival spans across the globe—and features works by the hottest composers from Argentina, Australia, Finland, Israel, Mexico, Scotland, the UK and the US. This season includes one World premiere, five US premieres and three West Coast premieres in what the Wall Street Journal has hailed as “two of the most thoughtful and original summer musical weekends anywhere in America."
“The Cabrillo Festival remains an artistic oasis in the world,” said Festival Music Director and Conductor Marin Alsop. “It’s all about the creative process and individuals expressing themselves in the here and now. I believe it is at the core of who we are as human beings, and everyone who experiences the Festival—musicians, composers, and audiences—comes away with their own personal revelation. It’s an incredibly inspiring and life-affirming experience. And my programming this year reflects that sense of celebration and expansiveness.”
The ten composers-in-residence for 2009 include: Enrico Chapela (Mexico), 2009 Grawemeyer Award-winner Brett Dean (Australia), Avner Dorman (Israel), Grammy-award winner Osvaldo Golijov (Argentina), David Heath (United Kingdom), Matthew Hindson (Australia), Lee Johnson (US), Ingram Marshall (US), Kevin Puts (US), and Joby Talbot (UK). The season will also feature works by composers, James MacMillan (Scotland), Pulitzer-Prize winner Aaron Jay Kernis (US), and Grawemeyer Award-winner George Tsontakis (US).
The roster of guest artists this season is equally impressive and includes cellist Alisa Weilerstein, hyper-accordionist Michael Ward-Bergeman, percussionists Jamey Haddad, Cyro Baptista, Galen Lemmon and Steve Hearn, trumpet player Craig Morris, and assistant conductor Carolyn Kuan.
“Each year the Cabrillo Festival produces four, first-rate, symphonic programs of new works," said Festival Executive Director Ellen Primack. "Nowhere else in the world are so many new pieces performed at one time, to such a warm and devoted audience. Composers, professional orchestra players, and audiences travel from across the globe to participate in two weeks of exhilarating, intense, and wonderful music-making. Open rehearsals, composers' forums, pre-rehearsal talks, and a chance to meet and hear from the greatest contemporary composers of our time make the Festival a profoundly meaningful educational and social experience.”
And in true Santa Cruz spirit, Maestra Alsop and the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra mark the 14th Anniversary of Jerry Garcia’s death on August 9 with Lee Johnson’s orchestral tribute to the Grateful Dead, Dead Symphony, no. 6. Encompassing some of the Grateful Dead’s most popular melodies while staying true to the band’s magical jams, Dead Symphony no. 6 is a work in 12 movements.
Opening Night: Azul - Friday, August 7, 2009, 8pm - Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
The 47th season of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music kicks off on Friday, August 7 with Azul, at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium. Maestra Marin Alsop leads the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra in the US premiere of Brett Dean’s Amphitheatre. Winner of the prestigious 2009 Grawemeyer Award, Dean was a permanent member of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra for 15 years, after which he returned to his native Australia, where he currently serves as Artistic Director of the Australian National Academy of Music. The evening also features the World Premiere of Rise from the Dark, by British composer David Heath. Based rhythmically and harmonically on the music of John Coltrane and Miles Davis, and structurally on classical music, Rise from the Dark is a triumphant work that honors a life taken too soon. The evening concludes with Grammy-award winner and MacArthur fellow Osvaldo Golijov’s celebrated work, Azul. Featuring cellist Alisa Weilerstein, hyper-accordionist Michael Ward-Bergeman, and percussionists Jamey Haddad and Cyro Baptista, Azul is a work in four movements inspired by the color of the night sky, and influenced by The Heights of Macchu Picchu by poet Pablo Neruda. This concert is preceded by a Pre-Concert Dinner & Talk on Church Street outside the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, beginning at 6:30pm.
Spices, Perfumes, Toxins! - Saturday, August 8, 8pm - Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
On Saturday August 8, the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, under the direction of Alsop, perform the West Coast premiere of composer Enrico Chapela’s hit symphonic poem, ínguesu, based on the infamous 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup soccer match between Mexico and Brazil. The Mexican-born Chapela is one of the most exciting young talents to emerge from Latin America, with a growing number of international performances and commissions. The Dallas Morning News describes how the composer “transmutes the cheers and jeers of the 1999 Mexico vs. Brazil soccer match into an Ivesian collage of chatter, blast and slide.”
Israeli-born Avner Dorman, who at 25 was the youngest composer to ever win Israel's prestigious Prime Minister's award, and most recently was recognized by the Israel Cultural Excellence Foundation as a chosen artist, joins the evening’s roster of superstar composers. His concerto, Spices, Perfumes, Toxins!, features Festival Orchestra principal percussionists Galen Lemmon and Steve Hearn in a high-energy work that combines Middle-Eastern drums, orchestral percussion, and rock drums with orchestral forces. Zubin Mehta wrote of the work: “This music is just going to sweep the audience. The Indian influence in the first movement makes me feel at home. The Middle Eastern atmosphere of the second movement is just magical, and the third movement is a tour de force.” The evening concludes with another work by Australian composer Brett Dean, Moments of Bliss. Awarded “Best Composition” at the Australian Classical Music Awards, Moments of Bliss is an orchestral precursor of the esteemed composer’s forthcoming opera Bliss.
The evening is followed by a Talkback Session with Marin Alsop, featured composers, and soloists.
Free Family Concert - Sunday, August 9, 1pm - Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
The Cabrillo Festival hosts its annual Free Family Concert on Sunday, August 9 at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium. The Cabrillo Festival’s Free Family Concerts have become legendary—a staple in the musical education and upbringing of area youngsters, and a no less entertaining and engaging experience for their parents. The concert begins with the popular petting zoo-style Tour of the Orchestra, where kids get to meet the orchestra players—up close and personal! This is followed by a grand concert experience with Maestra Marin Alsop, Assistant Conductor Carolyn Kuan and the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra. This year the Family Concert features excerpts from two wonderful, accessible works, Matthew Hindson’s Rave-Elation and Avner Dorman’s Spices, Perfumes, Toxins! featuring the lively sounds of percussionists Galen Lemmon and Steve Hearn.
Sugar Magnolia: A Special Benefit Concert/A Tribute to the Grateful Dead - Sunday, August 9, 8pm - Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
In honor of the 14th Anniversary of Jerry Garcia’s death, conductor Alsop and the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra delve into the psychadelic world of the Grateful Dead with American composer Lee Johnson’s popular Dead Symphony no. 6. The first orchestral tribute to the legendary band responsible for sparking a cultural revolution, Dead Symphony no. 6 has been a hit with audiences and critics alike. Dead Symphony no. 6 dedicates separate movements to Grateful Dead hits Saint Stephen, Here Comes Sunshine, Mountains of the Moon, Blues for Allah, Sugar Magnolia, To Lay Me Down, If I Had the World to Give, Stella Blue, Bird Songs and China Doll. The work includes a symphonic jam session. The concert also features the US premiere of Australian composer Matthew Hindson’s Rave-Elation (Schindowski Mix), another work that uses popular music as a starting point—this time techno music. Hindson’s inspiration for this work came from dance and rave parties—particularly the partygoers’ single-minded indulgence in physical enjoyment.
The evening is followed by a Q&A with Composer Lee Johnson; Dennis McNally, longtime publicist and biographer of the Grateful Dead; and David Gans, author and host of the nationally-syndicated Grateful Dead Hour. The China Cats, a Grateful Dead cover band, will perform that evening on the outdoor Church Street Stage as part of the Cabrillo Music Art Food & Wine Festival.
Behold the Sun - Saturday, August 15, 8pm – Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
The Cabrillo Festival’s second weekend kicks off on Saturday, August 15 at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium with Maestra Marin Alsop leading the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra in the US premiere of Scottish composer James MacMillan’s The Sacrifice: Three Interludes, a symphonic suite taken from MacMillan’s celebrated opera, The Sacrifice, a work based on a medieval Welsh tale and focusing on issues of love and conflict. The US Premiere of British composer Joby Talbot’s Desolation Wilderness, featuring the Festival Orchestra’s principal trumpet Craig Morris, was inspired by the composer’s visit to the Sierra Nevada in Northern California. Desolation Wilderness was celebrated as a "lavish, panoramic piece of Americana inspired by a drive through the untamed expanses of the north Californian landscape, whose musical moods mirror the quicksilver changes of the desert climate." (Guardian). The evening concludes with composer Magnus Lindberg’s Seht die Sonne (Behold the Sun), hailed as “an extravagant and glittering piece on a grand scale, full of bold gestures and big effects” (Financial Times). The most popular Finnish composer since Sibelius, Lindberg is soon to be Composer-in-Residence at the New York Philharmonic.
Music at the Mission: Kingdom Come - Sunday August 16, 4:30pm and 8pm – Mission San Juan Batista
Maestra Marin Alsop, the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, and American composers George Tsontakis, Ingram Marshall, Kevin Puts and Aaron Jay Kernis bring the 2009 to a resounding close with two concerts and two West Coast Premieres at Mission San Juan Bautista. Tsontakis is the recipient of two of the richest and most prestigious awards in all of classical music: the Grawemeyer Award and the Ives Living award. His work, Clair de Lune is a colorful homage to 20th Century French music. In Ingram Marshall’s work, Kingdom Come, the composer combines taped sounds from the outside world with orchestral sounds in a piece that was celebrated in the New York Times as "some of the most stirring spiritual art to be found in America today." The final concerts conclude with Alsop conducting two anticipated West Coast Premieres: Two Mountain Scenes by young composer Kevin Puts, whose work has been described as “...inventive, clever, haunting and poetic” (Los Angeles Times) and Invisible Mosaic III by Pulitzer-Prize winner Aaron Jay Kernis.
CABRILLO FESTIVAL CONCERT TICKETS, SCHEDULE & SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
August 2-16, 2009
Maestra Marin Alsop conducts the award-winning Cabrillo Festival Orchestra in one World Premiere, five US Premieres, and three West Coast Premieres.
TICKETS:
Festival tickets range from $30-$50 with many events free and open to the public. As of April 15, the public may access information on the 2009 Festival website at www.cabrillomusic.org or call (831) 426-6966. Tickets may be ordered by mail beginning mid-May through the Festival’s Advance Ticket Order Form; and then via phone, walk-up, or on-line beginning June 15.
Opening Night: Azul
Friday, August 7, 2009, 8pm, Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
Brett Dean: Amphitheatre (US Premiere)
David Heath: Rise from the Dark (World Premiere)
Osvaldo Golijov: Azul, featuring Alisa Weilerstein, cello; Michael Ward-Bergeman, hyper-accordion; Jamey Haddad, percussion; Cyro Baptista, percussion
(Preceded by a Pre-Concert Dinner & Talk on Church Street outside the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, beginning at 6:30pm.)
Spices, Perfumes, Toxins!
Saturday, August 8, 2009, 8pm, Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
Enrico Chapela: ínguesu (West Coast Premiere)
Avner Dorman: Spices, Perfumes, Toxins!, featuring Galen Lemmon and Steve Hearn, percussion
Brett Dean: Moments of Bliss (US Premiere)
(Followed by a Talkback Session with Marin Alsop, featured composers, and soloists.)
Free Family Concert
Sunday, August 9, 2009, 1pm, Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
Open to all ages, this free event features a “petting-zoo” style tour of the orchestra, and a performance by the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, led by Maestra Alsop and assistant conductor Carolyn Kuan.
Sugar Magnolia: A Special Benefit Concert/A Tribute to the Grateful Dead
Sunday, August 9, 2009, 8pm, Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
Matthew Hindson: Rave-Elation (Schindowski Mix) (US Premiere)
Lee Johnson: Dead Symphony no. 6
(Followed by a Q&A with Composer Lee Johnson; Dennis McNally, longtime publicist and biographer of the Grateful Dead; and David Gans, host of Dead Radio)
Behold the Sun
Saturday, August 15, 8pm, Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
James MacMillan: The Sacrifice: Three Interludes (US Premiere)
Joby Talbot: Desolation Wilderness (US Premiere), featuring Craig Morris, trumpet
Magnus Lindberg: Seht die Sonne (Behold the Sun)
Music at the Mission: Kingdom Come
Sunday, August 16, 2009, 4:30pm & 8pm, Mission San Juan Bautista
George Tsontakis: Clair de Lune
Ingram Marshall: Kingdom Come
Kevin Puts: Two Mountain Scenes (West Coast Premiere)
Aaron Jay Kernis: Invisible Mosaic III (West Coast Premiere)
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
World Premiere
David Heath: Rise from the Dark
U.S. Premiere
Brett Dean: Amphitheatre
Brett Dean: Moments of Bliss
Matthew Hindson: Rave-Elation (Schindowski Mix)
James MacMillan: The Sacrifice: Three Interludes
Joby Talbot: Desolation Wilderness (concerto for trumpet)
West Coast Premieres
Enrico Chapela: ínguesu
Kevin Puts: Two Mountain Scenes
Aaron Jay Kernis: Invisible Mosaic III
Ten Composers-in-Residence
Enrico Chapela
Brett Dean
Avner Dorman
Osvaldo Golijov
David Heath
Matthew Hindson
Lee Johnson
Ingram Marshall
Kevin Puts
Joby Talbot
Guest Artists
Carolyn Kuan, conductor
Alisa Weilerstein, cello
Michael Ward-Bergeman, hyper-accordion
Jamey Haddad, percussion
Cyro Baptista, percussion
Galen Lemmon, percussion
Steven Hearn, percussion
Craig Morris, trumpet
CABRILLO FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC is America’s longest running new music festival dedicated to orchestra. Winner of the national ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming of Contemporary Music for 25 consecutive years, and in 2009 winner of ASCAP's John S. Edwards Award for Strongest Commitment to New American Music.
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OCTOBER 10, 2008
Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music awarded James Irvine Foundation Grant
Third Phase of Irvine Foundation’s Arts Regional Initiative Continues Commitment to Leading Regional Arts Institutions
Contacts:
Ray Delgado
Communications Manager, The James Irvine Foundation
415.777.2244 or 415.290.1143 (cell)
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Ellen Primack
Executive Director, Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music
831.426.6966
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SANTA CRUZ, CA — On October 8, The James Irvine Foundation awarded $3.8 million in grants to 14 arts institutions along California’s Central Coast that are committed to broadening and diversifying their audiences and strengthening their financial sustainability. As part of the Arts Regional Initiative, the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music has been selected for a grant of $225,000, disbursed over a 3-year period.
Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music plans to use this grant for the development of its digital and Internet capabilities, for fundraising outreach to communities beyond Santa Cruz County, for staff development, and to continue its role in commissioning new works. “We’re thrilled with the incentive this award gives to so many important initiatives, and the vote of confidence in the leadership role the Festival is beginning to have in our industry,” said Ellen Primack, Executive Director of the Cabrillo Festival. “It challenges us to not only secure the Festival’s long-term organizational health, but to make significant advances in the field of modern symphonic music during the grant period.”
“We are excited to support these institutions because they are producing high-quality arts programming and are ready to continue deepening and diversifying their audience base as the Central Coast becomes increasingly diverse,” noted James E. Canales, the Irvine Foundation’s President and CEO.
The organizations represent a mix of artistic disciplines, including music, dance, opera, literary arts, theater, visual arts and multidisciplinary arts. The grants will be awarded over three years and grantees will share resources, best practices and lessons learned. Grantees will also develop common goals focused on leadership development, operations, marketing, fundraising, technology and audience development.
The first phase of the Arts Regional Initiative in 2006 focused on organizations in the Inland Empire and Orange and San Diego counties. The second phase in 2007 focused on organizations in the Central Valley.
The James Irvine Foundation is a private, nonprofit grant-making foundation dedicated to expanding opportunity for the people of California to participate in a vibrant, successful and inclusive society. The Foundation’s grant-making is organized around three program areas: Arts, Youth and California Perspectives, which focuses on improving decision making on significant state issues. Since 1937 the Foundation has provided over $1 billion in grants to more than 3,000 nonprofit organizations throughout California. With current assets of over $1.8 billion, the Foundation expects to make grants of $81 million in 2008 for the people of California.
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