Established in 1947 by music aficionado John Bauer, the Ojai Music Festival has fostered a healthy spirit of eclecticism in its adventurous programs, gaining a worldwide reputation for attracting artists who are given artistic freedom as they perform exceptional pieces of classical music.

That spirit was reinforced in 1954 with the appointment of Lawrence Morton as the Festival Artistic Director. A man of broad musical tastes, Morton was a visionary whose constant curiosity and unwavering integrity shaped the Festival's future direction. Under his leadership, the Ojai Festival developed an enduring concept whereby the artistic director engages a different Festival music director each year around whom that year's Festival is built.

Among the Festival's diverse music directors have been such renowned musical luminaries as composers John Adams, Ingolf Dahl, Peter Maxwell Davies, Lukas Foss, John Harbison and Oliver Knussen; conductors Kent Nagano, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Esa-Pekka Salonen; and instrumentalists Emanuel Ax and Mitsuko Uchida.

In its sixth decade, the Festival - under the leadership of Artistic Director Thomas W. Morris - continues this unparalleled musical legacy in which the creativity of the moment and the artists define each year's event.

The Ojai Music Festival offers educational programs for students attending Ojai Valley public schools, enriching the region's cultural opportunities and promoting classical music to future generations.