“For the first full day of music at this year’s Ojai Music Festival, music director Steven Schick (pictured left) has programmed John Luther Adams’ ‘Sila: The Breath of the World,’ a 75-minute wash of sounds produced by 80 musicians positioned around the festival’s downtown venue,” writes Rick Schultz in Sunday’s (5/31) Los Angeles Times. “ ‘It should sound like the park is humming,’ Schick said.” Forty-nine composers will be represented at the festival, from June 10 to 14. “ ‘I’m older than the oldest major piece composed for my instrument,’ Schick [a percussionist] said recently … On June 12, cellist Maya Beiser joins Schick … for Osvaldo Golijov’s emotional ‘Mariel’ for cello and marimba…. The cellist is joined by Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche and guitarist Gyan Riley…. There is the premiere of Julia Wolfe’s string orchestra version of ‘Four Marys.’ … This year’s festival will also present a celebration of Pierre Boulez … who turned 90 in March…. Schick conducts several concerts with his percussion ensemble, ‘red fish blue fish,’ and on June 12 he’s scheduled to perform an all-percussion solo concert, including one of the first major works for percussion solo, Karlheinz Stockhausen’s ‘Zyklus’ (1959), and Iannis Xenakis’ ‘Psappha’ (1975).”
Posted June 1, 2015
Photo of Steven Schick at Grand Park in Los Angeles by Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times
