The Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, even at a seasoned 52
years old itself, is all about the new—the here and now of contemporary
works for orchestra. During the first two weeks of August each year,
audiences are joined by both preeminent and emerging composers, an
orchestra of dedicated professional musicians led by famed conductor
Marin Alsop, and renowned guest artists from across the globe to give
voice to works which are rarely more than a year or two old, and
sometimes still wet on the page. The opportunity for composers to work
with Maestra Alsop and musicians skilled and enthusiastic about bringing
these new works to life, in the beautiful coastal college-town of
Santa Cruz, California, makes this an artistic paradise.
In a recent article for Marin on Music on NPR, Music Director
Marin Alsop described the Festival this way, “Cabrillo is an artistic
oasis for me and, happily, for everyone that attends. We are dedicated
solely to new music and to offering an in-depth, accessible, inspired
artistic experience for every single person that performs, attends,
passes by or breathes the nearby air!” With a professional training
workshop for early career conductors and composers, open rehearsals
almost daily, educational programming for all ages, a “Meet the
Composers” forum, a street festival showcasing Santa Cruz County
performers and artists, and much more, the Cabrillo Festival has dozens
of opportunities for meaningful engagement. If you can resist that, then
explore no further. Otherwise, dig deeper into our website. Look.
Listen. And then join us at the Festival this summer!
Maestra Alsop’s special gift is understanding fully the power of
the Cabrillo Festival’s purpose and place, and curating for everyone
involved the experience of a lifetime. Every concert and every Festival
season is unique, with a confluence of events, personalities, and
musical passages that builds on all the brilliant seasons that have come
before—relationships carefully fostered, an orchestra at the top of its
game, audiences, composers and musicians clamoring to join, and a sense
of adventure in the midst of a surprisingly familial and comfortable
setting.
To quote Financial Times music critic Allan Ulrich, "...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."