Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music: Difference between revisions
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The '''Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music''' |
The '''Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music''' is an annual Festival dedicated to contemporary symphonic music primarily by living composers. The music director since 1992 has been noted conductor [[Marin Alsop]]. According to Jesse Rosen, CEO of the [[League of American Orchestras]], the Festival is "distinctive for being focused entirely on contemporary works." <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/23/us/23bcculture.html?_r=0|title=New Music at Festival, but Familiar Players|publisher=New York Times|accessdate=April 17, 2013}}</ref> Each year, a tenured orchestra gathers in [[Santa Cruz, California]] to rehearse five programs of contemporary music, often world, US, or West Coast premieres. Most of the composers whose work is performed each season come to the Festival to be in residence and participate in the rehearsals and performances of their work, as well as to participate in public panel discussions, lectures, and concert introductions. The Festival also occasionally presents guest artists and ensembles known for contemporary music performance, such as [[Kronos Quartet]] or [[eighth blackbird]]. |
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==History== |
==History== |
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Revision as of 21:27, 17 April 2013
| Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Orchestra, new music |
| Dates | late July-August |
| Location(s) | Santa Cruz, California, USA |
| Years active | Annual |
| Founded by | Lou Harrison |
| Website | www.cabrillomusic.org |
The Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music is an annual Festival dedicated to contemporary symphonic music primarily by living composers. The music director since 1992 has been noted conductor Marin Alsop. According to Jesse Rosen, CEO of the League of American Orchestras, the Festival is "distinctive for being focused entirely on contemporary works." [1] Each year, a tenured orchestra gathers in Santa Cruz, California to rehearse five programs of contemporary music, often world, US, or West Coast premieres. Most of the composers whose work is performed each season come to the Festival to be in residence and participate in the rehearsals and performances of their work, as well as to participate in public panel discussions, lectures, and concert introductions. The Festival also occasionally presents guest artists and ensembles known for contemporary music performance, such as Kronos Quartet or eighth blackbird.
History
The Festival was founded in 1963, primarily by the composer Lou Harrison, on the campus of the newly-opened Cabrillo College just outside of Santa Cruz in Aptos, California. The first music director was Gerhard Samuel. [2] The Festival quickly grew to prominence, thanks in part to Harrison's stature and the participation of well-known composers such as John Cage and Aaron Copland. Subsequent music directors included Mexican composer Carlos Chávez, conductor Dennis Russell Davies, and American composer John Adams. After the devastating Loma Prieta earthquake caused major damage around Santa Cruz in 1989, the Festival moved off of the Cabrillo College campus and became an independent non-profit organization. The majority of the Festival's performances since 1989 have taken place at Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium or at Mission San Juan Bautista in San Juan Bautista, California.
In 1992, Marin Alsop was chosen as the Festival's new music director. Alsop rose to significant fame in the 2000s after being the first conductor awarded a MacArthur Genius Grant in 2005 and the first woman named to direct a major American orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, in 2007. In 1992, she was a young up-and-coming musician. She decided to more exclusively focus the Festival on the work of living composers. Since her tenure began, the Festival has promoted the careers of an number of prominent composers, notably Christopher Rouse, Jennifer Higdon, Kevin Puts, and Michael Daugherty. The Festival also frequently features the music of Philip Glass, John Adams, James MacMillan, and Osvaldo Golijov, among others. [3]
Activities
In 2013, the Festival celebrated its 50th anniversary with a series of commissioned world premieres by such composers as Laura Karpman and James MacMillan. This followed celebrations of Marin Alsop's 20th anniversary as music director, which also included a number of substantial commissions by John Corigliano, Mark Adamo, Philip Glass, and others. The Festival has a commissioning series for young composers identified for the Festival by former music director John Adams that has included new works by Zosha Di Castri and Dylan Mattingly. The Festival also runs a "Conductors/Composers Workshop" in which young conductors study with Maestra Alsop while three emerging composers study with a faculty member chosen from among the season's composers-in-residence.
Because of its unusual focus on contemporary work, the Festival has been called a "new music mecca." [4]
References
- ^ "New Music at Festival, but Familiar Players". New York Times. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
- ^ "Festival History". Cabrillo Festival. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
- ^ "searchable program history". Cabrillo Festival. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
- ^ "New Music at Festival, but Familiar Players". New York Times. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
External links
- Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music (official website)