The 71st Ojai Music Festival was again an eclectic summer adventure this year. This was our third visit to the Californian cultural institution which featured classical, world, and experimental performances for faithful and enrapt audiences. A unique daybreak concert featured a one-woman opera in several Polynesian languages, through which a spectacular singer traced her mixed Asian heritage. She was a multi-instrumentalist who skillfully played passages on a banjo-like Taiwanese moon lute while singing haunting melodies with a `high lonesome sound` reminiscent of Ozark mountain music. It was a cross-cultural experience for the attendees from Missouri.
During a lull in the concert schedule, the BRC founder`s wife toured an open house at a glass artist`s studio to find the sculptor quietly sitting in the corner playing a dobro. They chatted, and he graciously invited her and her Bluegrass husband to a bimonthly jam session with his pickin` pals. The California musicians were graciously receptive to the Show-Me State guests. Instruments, music, and fellowship were generously shared.
The jam session culminated in a performance at the Oak View community center where the BRC founder was invited to play a vintage Gibson Model A mandolin with a patent date of 1909 on the pearloid pick guard.
The out-of-town twosome then returned to the outdoor Festival to enjoy a stunning rendition of Igor Stravinski`s “Rite of Spring”. When asked how he felt after hearing the chamber orchestra`s uplifting performance, the BRC founder quipped, Oh, high!”
The Missouri couple are now making reservations for next year`s Festival in this friendly town that gently greets you with “Oh, hi” upon arrival. If you have an open calendar next June, consider putting Ojai on it. This yearly event is an open-air and sunny Fest filled with innovative musical diversity, so plan on keeping hydrated with some bottles of H2Ojai.
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