This past month I celebrated my 8th anniversary at the Festival. I feel pretty lucky. I get to be a part of an outstanding music organization with a rich legacy of creating trailblazing programs, and best of all, I get to work with a talented, committed staff who also bring baked goodies to share!I also get to work with my other cohorts not in the office but "behind the scenes" like our graphic designer Christopher Quiming who helps capture Ojai's adventurous spirit with great design concepts...for the last seven years! Then, there is Brooke Irish who I have also known about that long, who works feverishly to get the fresh look on our web site on the crazy deadlines that I give her! Both have such a Can-Do attitude especially when I say "wouldn't it be great if we could..."
So with that said, hope you have checked out our updated web site. It was a collaborative effort that continues to progress daily. Let us know what you think? What more would you like to read about? Listen to? See?
-- Gina Gutierrez
[ 3 comments ] ( 19 views ) | permalink |
( 2.9 / 557 )
John Zeretzke, master musician, and acclaimed teacher has long been with the BRAVO! program as one of our sought-after Artists-In-Residence. His program has always incorporated a strong geographical and cultural element, teaching students about the traditional musics of South America, the Middle East, Appalachia, and the Pacific Islands, among other far-flung locales. Last year he decided to enhance his program by taking a truly audacious step. Inspired by Sir Ed Artis, of Knightsbridge International, and the incredible work he does delivering humanitarian relief to the most desperately needy people, John asked Ed if he could join in one of the missions and bring a cultural element into the program. Ed was pleasantly surprised and said yes.
So John tweaked his BRAVO! curriculum somewhat. He decided that rather than having his students each make one flute for themselves, that he would have them make two - one to keep and one to decorate and to give away to a student in the Philippines. The local students then learned how to play their flutes, learned about the traditional music of the Philippines, and about the Philippine culture.
John then took the flutes on Ed's next mission - to one of the most remote, and frankly dangerous, areas of the Philippines. Wearing a flak jacket, and guarded by Navy Seals (!) John gave local students flutes, and in-class flute lessons. They learned traditional Filipino melodies, and a few American ones as well.
Once back in the states, John returned to his local classrooms with pictures, recordings, and souvenirs to share with our BRAVO! students. And somehow the U.N. learned about the mission and awarded John the medal for peacekeeping. So we are all very proud of him over here. John hopes that the trip to the Philippines was only the first of many such trips - plans for missions to South America and Africa are next.
To learn more about the incredible, and heartbreaking relief work that Knightsbridge does, click here.
[ add comment ] ( 20 views ) | permalink |
( 2.9 / 609 )During the summer (which has flown right by) we did a lot of data crunching, thanks to the survey respondents and interviewees. Now four months later, we finally have the results to share. The information we collected echoed past data - our audience members are highly committed; love the adventurous programming; and are culturally sophisticated and musically inclined!
I personally enjoyed reviewing participants' 'fondest memories' and audience interviews conducted by some of our boardmembers. The memories that were shared gave me goosebumps! Some recalled the Finland invasion with Esa-Pekka Salonen; one remembered being here when Messiaen was here in the 1980s; and who could forget Dawn Upshaw's beautiful performance in 2008!
We hope you will continue to share more of your fondest Ojai experiences with us as we move forward to create more Ojai moments for 2009-2010! - Gina Gutierrez
[ add comment ] ( 16 views ) | permalink | related link |
( 3 / 559 )George Benjamin (b. 1960) is that rare specimen of a musical prodigy who has redeemed in maturity all the promise of his youth. He began composing at nine and at sixteen was already studying with Olivier Messiaen (and piano with Yvonne Loriod). Now, at 50, Benjamin has retained the appealing spontaneity of his earlier works while probing ever deeper into the mysteries of musical communication. It is telling that Benjamin’s music has so often been the subject of portrait festivals in Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, and Japan because his is an oeuvre striking in its range and diversity. Each exquisitely crafted piece seems to inhabit a sound world of its own. What these works share in common, however, is their creator’s fascination with texture and sonority and his capacity for rendering ingenious complexity utterly accessible – be it intricate structure, layered rhythms, or the interplay of timbres. Benjamin’s music is an irresistible invitation to the delights of listening.
- Chris Hailey
Benjamin's Into the Little Hill will have its West Coast Premiere at the 2010 Festival.
[ 1 comment ] ( 20 views ) | permalink |
( 2.9 / 646 )So every year, when we welcome the new crop of interns, we have an introductory go-round and the staff tells everyone what they do for the Festival, and the interns tell us their primary instrument. And, invariably, some time during the Festival, an intern will ask me whether or not the staff also studied music. And it's hard to tell whether what they mean is the innocuous "Have you always loved music?" or the slightly darker "Is this where failed musicians go for work?" Maybe it's both.
The short answer is yes, half the staff were serious musicians in college. And, for whatever it's worth, comparing the lifestyle of a professional musician, and that of a Festival employee, I really have no complaints. Working for the Festival is pretty sweet.
I was put in mind of this last week when the staff started analyzing the 2009 audience surveys with the great arts sector consultant Jerry Yoshitomi. What we found was that well over half our audience had either been, or currently were active professional musicians. Ojai turns out to be the place where musicians themselves come to be renewed and inspired.
It's certainly worked for me. I thought I knew music before I started working here, but Ojai has opened my ears to stranger and more wonderful musical experiences than I've had anywhere. And I got motivated to get back in the game a bit, and auditioned and was accepted to a choir.
The 2010 season is starting to be solidified, and we'll be making announcements about the program in the coming weeks. It promises to be another fascinating program. Our outgoing Board President recently said, "Ojai doesn't do beige." How true.
- Christiana
[ 1 comment ] ( 11 views ) | permalink |
( 3 / 541 )
Calendar
