May 17, 2019
Music by the Masters Opening Reception
The Museum of Ventura County presents Music by the Masters, a new exhibit charting the history of the Ojai and Ventura Music Festivals. Music by the Masters opens May 23, 2019 and is on display until August 25, 2019. This exhibit will showcase the breadth and diversity of the Ojai and Ventura Music Festivals, both of which are celebrating their 73rd and 25th years, respectively.
Join us at the Museum on May 23, 2019 from 5:30 p.m. — 7:30 p.m. for the opening reception. Admission is free for members of the Museum and $5 for nonmembers. Beverages and light hors d’oeuvres will be served.
“The Ojai Music Festival, founded seven decades ago in Ventura County’s beautiful Ojai Valley by its residents, has brought together groundbreaking contemporary composers and performers with such renown artists as Igor Stravinsky and Aaron Copland serving as early Artistic Directors. We are honored to be a part of the Museum of Ventura County’s Music by the Masters exhibit which highlights our rich history as we look towards this year’s June festival featuring Music Director Barbara Hannigan,” Ojai Music Festival President and CEO Jamie Bennett expressed in the lead up to the exhibit’s opening.
The exhibit will display a wide-ranging history and selection of ephemera, including festival posters, artworks, programs, images and stories dating back to the inaugural festivals in 1947 and 1994. “Both festivals have become signature cultural events for these two artistic communities. The festivals serve to showcase the work of international artists, performing classical, world, contemporary and often groundbreaking experimental music,” says Denise Sindelar, Programs Director from the Museum of Ventura County.
“The Museum’s exhibit is a perfect opportunity to celebrate our 25th Anniversary season and July festival, and tell our story through the Museum’s unique lens,” says Susan Scott, the Executive Director of the Ventura Music Festival. “I hope we can capture some of the magic involved in engaging 300,000 participants in over 200 concerts by artists ranging from Herb Alpert to Itzhak Perlman, with Judy Collins, Pink Martini and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band in between.”