WEDNESDAY, MAY 31: 

The Ojai Music Festival hosts a free 2023 Festival Preview with Artistic Director Ara Guzelimian, on May 31, 7:00-8:30pm, at Bart’s Books. 

Learn about the 77th edition slated for June 8 to 11, featuring award-winning composer and musician Rhiannon Giddens. Guzelimian will share insights on the programs and artists.  Free and open to the public. The 77th Festival – June 8 to 11, 2023 – welcomes Grammy-winning musician and composer Rhiannon Giddens as Music Director. Programs touches on Giddens’ interests across musical boundaries, from opera and Baroque music to Black traditions in American roots music, from the classical traditions of music from China and Persia to the influence of non-Western music on American contemporary music. A few of the concert pillars include the world premiere of Omar’s Journey, an Ojai-commissioned chamber work for voices and small ensemble from drawn from the opera Omar, which recently was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for music; a reimagining of Tan Dun’s pioneering Ghost Opera; and a performance of Carlos Simon’s cycle Between Worlds. Joining Giddens will be Kayhan Kalhor, Steven Schick, Francesco Turrisi, Wu Man, members of the Silkroad Ensemble, and Attacca Quartet. For information click here.