2026 Program Guide | Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music

58 CABRILLO FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC 2026 IN MEMORIAM There are some who bring a light so great into the world that even after they have gone the light remains. JOANZIMMERMAN (1945-2026) Former Poet in Residence ROSEFILLICETTI (1953–2025) Executive Director for Nonprofit Connection Santa Cruz County Joan Zimmerman, Poet in Residence and longtime devoted friend of the Festival, died January 19, 2026, at her home in Santa Cruz. A haiku master, Joan was the Festival’s first Poet in Residence in 2014 and curated the Festival poetry blog in 2025. As a longstanding donor since 1999, Joan co-commissioned Festival works including When There Are Nine by Kristin Kuster in 2019; RIFT by Anna Clyne in 2016; and Woman of the Apocalypse by James Mac Millanin2012. Joanwas a championof open rehearsals and an enthusiastic advocate of increasing audience access to the creative process. Whether as usher, season ticket holder, donor, commissioner of new works, or Poet in Residence, Joan Zimmerman was a Festival mainstay for a generation. Joan was born in the English Lake District where she grew up in a cottage in farm country. She studied science at Leeds and attained her DPhil at Oxford studying "experimental solid-state physics." When Joan married an American, David Zimmerman, they moved to St. Louis in the 1970s where they both studied the moon rocks returned by Apollo 14 and 15 astronauts. After David’s accidental death in 1978, Joan moved to California where she worked for Tandem Computers for 23 years, primarily in Software Development Quality Assurance. One of her titles was “Software Poet.” Joan was always a writer, primarily of poetry, which she studied at both Cabrillo College and independently with her beloved local teacher, Joseph Stroud. In the 1990s she began to focus on Japanese poetry forms: the haiku, the tanka, and the haibun. Joan's sharp, concise poems moved beyond the strict 5-7-5 syllable count often associated with haiku. She explored nature, feeling, and social observations with deep insight, was published widely, and received many Pushcart nominations. She was appointed adojin (leading member and mentor) in the distinguished Yuki Teikei Haiku Society, founded in San José in 1975. Joan also curated a marvelous, richly detailed personal website that features selections of her poetry along with a trove of information especially about traditional Japanese poetic forms. Joan's last days right up to her moment of departure from this world were filled with music, friendship, and gratitude. In the manner of creating a magnum opus poem or musical composition, Joan created her end-of-life using the California End of Life Option Act (EOLOA). Her friends near and far were dazzled by Joan’s loving choices and grace over her final days. She some how thought of everybody, and reassured and remembered everybody, including her beloved Cabrillo Festival. Cabrillo Festival is honored to be among those remembered in her estate plans, as part of the New Music Forever Endeavor. Throughher legacy, Joan’s love of music and creativity will endure for years to come. We will maintain the Festival poetry blog in Joan Zimmerman's name this season in memoriam, and always carry with us Joan Zimmerman's clarion, passionate spirit for the arts. —Joan Zimmerman & Ken Weisner PATRICIAREBELE (1929-2025) Community philanthropist CAROLMERRELL (1939-2025) Scullery Crew Member of almost 20 years, longtime patron, host CRISTIANGANICENCO (1967-2025) Orchestramusician 2024 season ALANSCHLENGER (1937-2025) Longtime usher, host, donor