Cabrillo Festival Executive Director Ellen Primack. Photo by Adriane White.
“Ellen Primack, whose committed and visionary work as executive director of the Cabrillo Festival for Contemporary Music in Santa Cruz has made it a national reference point for new music, will step down following this summer’s festival, after 32 years with the organization,” writes Joshua Kosman in Tuesday’s (1/17) San Francisco Chronicle. “The decision … comes as the festival is … emerging in full from an extended shutdown brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Both the 2020 and 2021 iterations of the three-week annual summer festival were conducted online; last summer’s programming marked the first return to live performance…. ‘The festival is thriving artistically, so this seemed like a good time for me to step down, find more time for family and friends, and perhaps try something new,’ ” said Primark. “As with so many cultural institutions, the artistic leadership … tends to be the public face of the organization…. But it is Primack’s dedication and organizational savvy, often behind the scenes, that has kept Cabrillo on steady ground, both financially and artistically…. The goal is to have someone in place to take over following the 2023 festival in August.”
