2026 Program Guide | Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music

GUEST ARTISTS JUSTIN BRUNS SPONSORED BY JACK & SUSAN CARLSON JustinBrunsfirstjoinedtheCabrilloFestivalin2005andbeganhistenureasConcertmaster in 2012. During the 25/26 season Bruns began a new adventure as Concertmaster of the North Carolina Symphony in Raleigh, adding to 20 seasons as Associate Concertmaster with the Atlanta Symphony and as Concertmaster of Bellingham Music Festival. This past season he appeared as guest Concertmaster of Fort Worth Symphony and Principal 2nd of Houston Symphony Orchestra. Additional highlights included performing  Ein Heldenleben with Richardson Symphony and   The Four Seasons with Richmond Symphony, collaborating with the North Carolina Ballet and North CarolinaMuseumof Art, and stepping in last minute to make his chamber music debut at UNC-Chapel Hill. An active chamber musician, Bruns regularly performs with the Atlanta Chamber Players, Georgian Chamber Players, and at Jackson Hole Chamber Music. His performances from the ASO Chamber Music Series frequently air on Performance Today. Previousmemorable experiences include his Carnegie Hall debut, and residences at the Savannah and San Miguel Chamber Music Festivals. As a teacher, Bruns worked with students at National Youth Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, NTSO Festival (Taiwan), as an orchestra mentor at the McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University, as advisor and faculty of the ASO Talent Development Program, and as Artist Affiliate at Emory University. Bruns began his own violin studies at age three and earned degrees at the University of Michigan and Rice University. ALEXANDRA DARIESCU SPONSORED BY MARCI & FRED SMITH AND ANONYMOUS Alexandra Dariescu is an acclaimed pianist renowned for her fearless curiosity and innovative artistry. From beloved classics by Tchaikovsky, Grieg, and Rachmaninoff to rediscovered works by Clara Schumann and Nadia Boulanger, she is recognized as a distinct voice on the international stage. Asought-after soloist, DariescuhasperformedwithBBCSymphony, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Melbourne Symphony, London Symphony, Orchestre National de France, the Royal Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestras and the Sydney, Houston, Detroit, Seattle and Vancouver Symphonies. She has collaborated with renowned conductors including Ádám Fischer, Cristian Măcelaru, and JoAnn Falletta. In addition to making her BBC Proms debut, Dariescu’s 2025/26 season performances have included the Philharmonia Orchestra at the Enescu Festival, followed by concerts with the Estonian National Symphony, the Brussels Philharmonic, the Malmö and Aalborg Symphony Orchestras, the Royal Philharmonic and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and a critically acclaimed U.K. tour with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra. Additional debuts included performances with the Pacific Symphony and on the Southbank Centre’s Piano Recital Series. Her multimedia project The Nutcracker and I has reached global audiences, recently celebrating its 100th performance at London’s Barbican Centre. Her acclaimed discography spans nine albums, including concertos by Clara Schumann, Grieg, and Tchaikovsky. ALEXANDRA DARIESCU JUSTIN BRUNS An advocate for diverse repertoire, Dariescu has premiered and recorded works by Pejačević, Carwithen, James Lee III, and Kashperova. She co-created educational programs for the London Symphony and Leeds Piano Competition and launched the Alexandra Dariescu Award to honor female composers. Mentored by Sir András Schiff and Dame Imogen Cooper, Dariescu received the Order 'Cultural Merit' (Knight) from Romania and is Professor of Piano at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London. RITA DOVE SPONSORED BY JIM PETERSEN AND THE COONERTY-PROTTI FAMILY IN CELEBRATION OF BOOKSHOP SANTA CRUZ'S 60TH ANNIVERSARY Rita Dove was born in Akron, Ohio, in 1952. A 1970 Presidential Scholar, she attended Miami University of Ohio, Universität Tübingen in Germany, and the University of Iowa, where she earned her creative writing MFA in 1977. In 1987 she received the Pulitzer Prize for her third collection of poetry, Thomas and Beulah , and from 1993 to 1995 she served as U.S. Poet Laureate. Author of a novel, a book of short stories, essays, and numerous volumes of poetry, among them the NAACP Image Award winner Collected Poems 1974–2004and,most recently, Playlist for theApocalypse, she also edited The Best American Poetry 2000 and The Penguin RITA DOVE 23 CABRILLO MUSIC.ORG