Ojai Music Festival

In february 2020, the covid-19 pandemic was beginning to ravage our country and potential lockdowns became expected to slow the pandemic from spreading. As the festival staff and board of directors monitored the crisis, it became increasingly clear that it was not viable to hold an in-person festival as the pandemic worsened. The board of directors made the painful but necessary decision to cancel the 2020 Ojai music festival.to ensure that the festival sustained engagement and connectivity with its festival community of ticket buyers, donors, artists, students, families, and volunteers, the staff began to create various online opportunities and events. Reimagining the 2020 festival:produced a free weekly virtual series called tune in tuesday using festival concert archives and enlisting the help of festival artist alumni to record their favorite festival experiences. To honor the spirit of the 74th festival, june 11-14, the staff produced four days of free online content. The virtual festival included original interviews with ara guzelimian, music director matthias pintscher, composer olga neuwirth, members of the calder quartet, and composer steve reich, each highlighting selections of music that had been planned for the in-person festival. This digital version of the festival was entirely accessible via the festival'Festivals's website: ojaifestival.org and promoted on social media. In addition to interviews, the calder quartet, who was slated to perform at the festival, created an original "quarantine-style" performance featuring the music of gyorgy kurtag, john cage, and johannes ockeghem.the festival'Festivals's bravo education program provided free remote-learning sessions for all Ojai public elementary schools which continues into the 2020-2021 academic year. Working with the Ojai unified school district, the festival'Festivals's education coordinator, laura walter, creates online videos, called song and play, that students stream from home. In addition, the festival offers accompanying written materials that students download. The goal with the online adaptation of the music education program is to keep the learning experiences social and family-oriented, helping students to find inspiration and mental stimulation to be their best selves through music. Typically, the Ojai music festival draws more than 3,500 attendees during the four days with multiple impressions. The free virtual edition of the festival received close to 10,000 views over the four days. It remains accessible on our website and continues to draw steady viewership.due to the success of its virtual offerings during summer 2020, the festival continues to share free online Ojai talks - conversations and musical performances with 2021 artists and composers. These well-attended zoom gatherings has brought the festival'Festivals's dedicated donors and subscribers much-needed connection to music.