2026 Program Guide | Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music

4 CABRILLO FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC 2026 Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music 147 South River Street, Suite 232 Santa Cruz, CA 95060 | 831.426.6966 info@cabrillomusic.org | www.cabrillomusic.org Program Book Production & Management: StephC. Sherwood Program Book Graphic Design: AmandaHarrisAltice Program Book Advertising Sales: Sam Barrow with help from the Cabrillo Festival Hospitality Committeeand interns Printing: CharlesGulledgeand the incredible teamatCommunityPrinters Spanish Program Book Translation Fatima Sanchez Printed locally on recycled paper using plant-based inks 1 Music Director’s Welcome 2 Calendar of Events 3 Livestreaming & Broadcast Schedule 6 Board of Directors & Hall of Fame 7 Staff, Vision & Mission, and DEIB Statements 9 President & Executive Director Messages 10 Borders of Belonging, Lobby Art Instalation 11 Festival History 13 Music Director Cristian Măcelaru 15 Featured Composers 23 Guest Artists 27 New Works in the Works 28 Cabrillo Festival Orchestra 30 Leadership Support 31 Donors Concert 32 C onductors/Composers Workshop 33 I n the Works Concert 35 Youth Ensemble Program & Concert 37 On Freedom Concert 41 Defiant Dreams Concert 45 Family Concert 48 Host Family Appreciation 49 Control Concert 53 Hope as our Banner Concert 56 Journeying Song, A Poem by Rita Dove 57 Festival Poetry by Joan Zimmerman 58 In Memoriam 59 New Music Forever Endeavor 60 D onors Make the Difference! 64 A rtistic Initiative Reserve (AIR) Fund 65 Grantmakers 66 C ommunity Partners 67 A cknowledgements 68 I ndex to Advertisers CONTENTS THE LANDWE'RE ON Cabrillo Festival takes place on the unceded territory of the Awaswas-speaking Uypi Tribe. The Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, comprised of the descendants of indigenous people taken to missions Santa Cruz and San Juan Bautista during Spanish colonization of the Central Coast, is today working hard to restore traditional stewardship practices on these lands and heal from historical trauma. LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT PRACTICE We understand land acknowledgements are a small but necessary first step to acknowledge the history and legacy of colonialism. They commemorate and help us recognize and respect indigenous peoples’ principal kinship to the land. Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music is committed to making our land acknowledgements authentic and meaningful. A printed acknowledgement is included here, on our website, and at the opening of each performance. As with all we do, our goal is to present an opportunity for celebration, reflection, and conversation with the hopes of creating change and understanding to increase everyone’s sense of belonging in community. Land acknowledgments are merely a starting point. We invite you to explore these next steps, turning your awareness into action: Donate your time and/or money to Indigenous organizations. Learn about and support Indigenous-led grassroots movements and campaigns. Support the Land Trust work of the local Amah Mutsun Tribal Band at amahmutsunlandtrust. org or via the QR code. SAVE THE DATES! 2027: AUG 1-AUG 15 Digital Spanish & English Program Guides are available at: cabrillomusic.org/programguides