2026 Program Guide | Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music

ORCHESTRA ANNIVERSARIES We're thrilled to recognize orchestra members celebrating milestone anniversaries with the Cabrillo Festival. Thank you for your years of artistry, curiosity, and commitment to bringing new music to life—we're grateful to have you as part of our Festival family. Paula Engerer - 25 years! Matt Albert - 25 years! Rita Lee - 20 years! Kathleen Balfe - 15 years! Michael Sheppard - 15 years! Julie Thayer - 10 years! R.R. JONES PHOTOGRAPHER IN RESIDENCE Ron Jones ( aka. rr jones, Jonsey ) has been part of the Cabrillo Festival family for more than four decades. While many know him through his remarkable photography, another lasting legacy is his unwavering support of the Festival and the vibrant arts community of Santa Cruz. Born in Houston, Texas, in 1949, Ron moved to Santa Cruz in 1986, where he continues tomake his living as a photographer. His work has been exhibited at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Denver Museum of Art, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, the Art Center for Visual Art at Stanford University, the University of California Santa Cruz Special Collections, and the Center for Photographic Art. In 2001, he received a Gail Rich Award, and in 2005wasthesubjectofaone-manshowattheSantaCruzMuseum of Art & History. Ron served as staff photographer for Kuumbwa Jazz Center beginning in the early 1990s, published a photography book honoring its 40th anniversary, and photographed artists in Indonesia, Thailand, and Mexico. Beyond his artistic achievements, Jones' generosity, genuine love of the arts, and enduring commitment have strengthened Santa Cruz's cultural life for decades. The Cabrillo Festival is deeply grateful for his friendship, dedication, and the countless ways he has helped the arts flourish in our community. L-R: Julie, Matt, Michael, Rita, Paula, Kathleen KEN WEISNER POET IN RESIDENCE Ken Weisner’s most recent book of poems, Songs for the Great Horned, was published by Shanti Arts Press in 2024. Ken has published three books of poetry with Hummingbird Press in Santa Cruz, including Cricket to Star (2019), Anything on Earth (2010), and The Sacred Geometry of Pedestrians (2002). Ken is emeritus writing faculty at De Anza College in Cupertino, where he edited Red Wheelbarrow for the past 20 years. He is a project director for Right to Write Press, which advocates for incarcerated writers, and for the past ten years has coordinated, with Poetry Center San José, the annual Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize. Ken has lived in Santa Cruz since 1982—and attended Festival concerts since the 1980’s. He graduated from Oberlin College in English and music, the Iowa Writers’ Workshop in poetry writing, and UCSC where he received his PhD in comparative literature— his dissertation was about an early book by the California poet Gary Snyder, Myths & Texts. Ken’s current loves include the great horned owl; the horn (new lead pipe); a healthy heart (new stent); granddaughter Lila and her sister on the way; wife Becky and her music and companionship; family, friends, poetry groups and music compadres; approaching retirement; and to accompany his healthy sense of irony, a joyful belief not only in life but also in humanity, music, language, truth- telling, passion, and craft.