Tom Morris and I spent a few days together last week. Yes, Tom made it out of the historic winter storms on the East Coast last week--only delayed by a day! We spent time in Ojai refining the Festival schedule (you'll see that we will be moving the Friday symposium a little earlier than originally planned to accommodate the artists' schedules). Tom and I then flew up to Oakland to meet with a friend of ours, Matias Tarnapolsky, who recently assumed the responsibility of running Cal Performances from the legendary Robert Cole. Tom and I have always been interested in the idea of exporting some of our unique Ojai programs to different venues after the Festival as a way to broaden the Festival's brand; we thought that we might want to explore this idea with him. In short, the three of us are all very enthusiastic about the idea and are now in the process of seeing if this works for the artists that we have booked starting in 2011. More to come as details unfold!

While I was in Berkeley, I also enjoyed meeting with board member, Russ Irwin, at the famous landmark Cafe Strada. We talked about the recent San Francisco Contemporary Players concert featuring Brad Lubman, who will of course will be in Ojai this summer! He also talked about his excitement about talking with George Benjamin while he was in residence at the SF Symphony. I also enjoyed catching up with former board member Sara Sackner, who is now Director of Development for the Berkeley Art Museum and the Pacific Film Archive. While at the museum she shared with me the exhibit by James Castle -- well worth seeing .

We then enjoyed a nice lunch at Adagai across the street. I had a few extra minutes to explore the area and was pleased to find one classical CD store/cafe that still exists, The Musical Offering. Of course, I had to support them and buy some CDs!

- Jeff Haydon

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One of our amazing BRAVO! Artists in Residence, Judy Piazza, came to the office today. We know her primarily as a tremendously engaging teacher, but her professional musical career is in world music, specifically percussion. So since I had her attention, I asked her what she could tell me about ragas.

I had been watching this mesmerizing raga video, but even after a few viewings, I was still utterly unable to comprehend what I was seeing. Despite a robust and advanced study of music, I was adrift. I got that it was beautiful, and it certainly sounded complex, but I couldn't quite piece together what was happening in the music.

Judy said, "I think Indian music is a unique challenge for Western ears," in an effort, I suspect, to make me feel better.

I started the video (below) which features Aashish Khan on sarod (Khan is on our 2010 program) and a young Zakhir Hussain on tabla (drums). Judy was amazed.



"Zakhir Hussein is the most famous tabla player ever. Surely you know who he is."

I didn't.

As the music played, Judy confirmed what I had suspected - the raga is largely improvised, but with very strict music theory rules. A raga is a bit like a mode in western music. Of course the people who really get Indian classical music would say that I'm wrong about this, that it's actually much more complex, and while I'm sure that's generally true, one has to start somewhere.

I asked what I could listen for, and Judy mentioned the tihai, which is a melodic pattern repeated three times to signal the entry into a new section of the raga. I was delighted to discover that they are relatively simple to hear in the selection below.

Judy also talked about the tala. The tala is the rhythm of the piece, typically complex meters. Apparently when she was traveling in India, Judy attended performances where the audience would keep time with the tabla player by counting on their fingers, and the whole room would "arrive at the one together." I'm not totally sure what that would entail, but it sounds really beautiful and interconnected, doesn't it?

In case you're curious, the woman in the back is playing the drone, which is not just one note, but several played in a repeated pattern. I couldn't ever quite clue into what she was playing, but perhaps you can.

So this is a quick and exceedingly basic intro to Indian music. As we learn more about the world of ragas, we will continue to share it here.

- Christiana Thomas

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The Festival family lost a dear friend last weekend. Marty Fujita, who spearheaded the first ever Ojai Festival Green Initiative died of complications from cancer. Her loss grieves so many in the Ojai community, who will always remember her great energy, and the passionate commitment that she had for environmental and health causes. The Festival family will continue to honor Marty's memory by working to keep the Festival green, and by pushing ourselves (as we know she would have pushed us) to continue to do more to make our program environmentally sustainable.

- Christiana Thomas

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George Benjamin visited Ojai for the first time in January. In two events – one in Ojai on January 18 at the Wachtells and another in Los Angeles on January 19 at the Rosens – George confessed to having had a personal spy over the years who kept him up to date on everything about Ojai. Her name was Betty Freeman, one of George’s closest and dearest friends. Betty was aware of George’s coming to Ojai this June as music director, and promised she would be there looking after him in some way.

We kept George busy with these two events, several press interviews in Ojai and LA, and planning meetings. His infectious enthusiasm and energy proved contagious to everyone. The visit was marred by only one thing – incessant rain. It poured so hard while in Ojai, the only time he actually saw Libbey Bowl was 9pm one evening when there was a slight break in the deluge. I have promised him, and in fact offered to put it in his contract, that when he returns in June, the weather will be “better”! He laughed and admitted he found even a drenched Ojai alluring.

Click here to watch video highlights from the two events with George. In the first two, we talk about his compelling chamber opera, Into the Little Hill, which by the way was recently hailed "opera of the decade" by the London Telegraph.

-- Tom Morris



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In mid-December, the Festival office had a nice surprise visit from Trimpin. He shared with us that he was in Ojai to present his proposal to Ojai's Art Commission for the public art installation which will coincide with the opening of the new Libbey Bowl in 2011...and now, I am happy to report that the good news is out! Trimpin's amazing interactive "Sound Arch" was selected out of 30 applications.

We'll have some pictures of the model to share soon,but right now, read the Ojai Valley News blog for the full story!

-- Posted by Gina Gutierrez

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