2026 Program Guide | Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music

42 CABRILLO FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC 2026 DEFIANT DREAMS PROGRAM NOTES OF LIGHT AND STONE LEILEHUA LANZILOTTI (B.1983) [West Coast Premiere] Lanzilotti’s symphonic work, of light and stone , is an experiment of melodies passing each other in the night, a resounding documentation of love and admiration for the lāhui. The piece draws inspiration from the lives and compositions of Nā Lani ʻ Ehā, or “the heavenly four”—King Kalākaua, Queen Lili ʻ uokalani, Princess Likelike, and Prince Leleiōhoku—who were all composers and contributed extensively to both preserving cultural traditions and encouraging innovation. The first movement evokes the grandeur of ʻ Iolani Palace. Built in 1882 by King Kalākaua, it represented the modernity and strength of the Kingdom of Hawai ʻ i as an equal partner on the international stage. The second movement opens with foreboding sounds of loss: a ship’s bell signaling the death of Kalākaua, the lonely echoes of a young Prince Leleiōhoku (referencing his song “Moani Ke Ala” in the muted strings). Taking the place of a traditional scherzo, instead, the third movement is a dance of wind, calling forth the melody of one of Likelike’s few compositions, “Ku ʻ u ipo i ka he ʻ e pu ʻ e one.” The final movement centers most of its material around Queen Lili ʻ uokalani’s “Ke Aloha O Ka Haku.” Initially heard in the harmonics of the first movement under the fanfare, we now hear the strings braid the sound in bright, warm colors. The movement ends with a quiet meditation on a harmonic shift in Lili ʻ uokalani’s “Mele Lāhui Hawai ʻ i,” in which Lili ʻ uokalani adjusts the Hawaiian national motto slightly, “e mau ke ea o ka ʻ āina, o kou pono mau / mana nui,” or “the life of the land is perpetuated in your excellence / great energy.” Perhaps Lili ʻ uokalani is not just referencing those in leadership, but “you” who sing this, you who hear this, you in the community who carry your culture—your home—forward. — LEILEHUA LANZILOTTI SHADES OF UNBROKEN DREAMS JAMES LEE III (B. 1975) [West Coast Premiere] My piano concerto, Shades of Unbroken Dreams, is partially inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous speech, I Have a Dream . I chose the title to reflect a continual and unbroken move towards achieving the dream of which Dr. King spoke. The “shades” represent the various people of color who aspire to be a part of that great dream. As I reflected on this speech, I thought about how this concerto is also inspired by the idea of social justice and equality for all men and women. It is a concerto that seeks to inspire conversations about how equal opportunities can be achieved in the classical music industry especially for people of color and women. Regarding the structure of the concerto, it is in three movements. I entitled each movement using the rhetorical lenses of voice merging (first movement), prophetic voice (second movement), and dynamic spectacle (third movement). “Voice merging" is a technique often used by African-American preachers. It combines the voices of previous preachers, excerpts from scriptures, and the speaker’s own thoughts to create a unique voice. The first movement begins evoking the concept of a dreamand the strings play a motivic figure and first theme material based on the words, “I Have a Dream.” As themovement progresses, the second theme uses a rhythmic figure for the texts “One hundred years later.” The two themes are employed throughout the movement and reach their climax in the piano solo cadenza. The movement moves toward a mysteriously dissonant end signifying that we are still waiting for a resolution and true equality. The second movement, “Prophetic Voice,” seeks to display Dr. King’s speech in which he spoke with urgency and crisis, “giving him a prophetic voice." The brass and then strings portray this sense of urgency and anguish before the piano enters with a humblemelody and seeks to solicit positive change. “The prophetic voice must restore a sense of duty and virtue amidst the decay of venality.” After the principal musical material has been presented, I composed an interlude, which is designed to draw the listener into a dreamworld of limitless possibilities for positive action, change, and respect for one another. This is followed by an increase in the orchestral density, which leads to the third and final movement without pause. This last movement “Dynamic Spectacle” incorporates the texts “Let freedom ring” and “Free at last” as rhythmic motives and melodic themes. The structure is loosely related toRondo formwith an emphatic coda of crashing chords in the piano and orchestral hits near the latter stages of the concerto, which bring the work to its exhilarating conclusion. — JAMES LEE III THE GRAIN HOUSE SARAH HENNIES (B.1979) [World Premiere | Creative Lab Festival Commission] The Grain House is titled after the complex, deep nests formed underground by harvester ants, though this played no role in the composition of my piece of music. For the past few years I have been trying to compose without understanding what I’m doing, working on intuition and impulse to see what comes out as I have discovered that my music for almost my entire life has always revealed something about myself that I was not always aware of until much later. I wrote The Grain House freely and without a plan, and as the piece took shape I started to see the orchestra—a massive ensemble made up of “teams” of like instruments—as a community whose citizens are working toward a common goal. Perhaps the music that came out of me was a desire to create