OJAI MUSIC FESTIVAL PRESENTS CREATIVE LAB: WADADA LEO SMITH AND REDKORAL FEATURING WORLD PREMIERE OF SMITH’S STRING QUARTET NO. 19 ON FEBRUARY 15, 2025 IN OJAI
(January 10, 2025 OJAI CA) — The Ojai Music Festival presents a Creative Lab concert on February 15, 7:30pm, featuring legendary trumpeter and composer Wadada Leo Smith with the RedKoral string quartet. The concert will be at the Red Canteen at Matilija, a black-box space at the former Matilija Middle School. The Festival’s Creative Lab concerts launched in 2023 and feature a series of performances at various locations in and around Ojai during the year before the flagship June festivals.
The one-night only performance, in partnership with the Ventura College Department of Performing Arts and VC’s Schwab Academy of Music, will feature the world premiere of Smith’s String Quartet No. 19, Central Park: Seneca Village NYC, a Paradise: the Hallett Nature Sanctuary, The Women’s Rights Statue; and The Egyptian Obelisk in Central Park NYC, a work for strings and trumpet in five movements, drawing inspiration from his experiences and reflections in Central Park in New York City.
“We are so honored to welcome the extraordinary Wadada Leo Smith back to Ojai,” said Ara Guzelimian, Ojai Festival’s Artistic and Executive Director. “Festival audiences still talk about his unforgettable duo concert with pianist Vijay Iyer at the 2017 Ojai Festival, which was one of the most magical events in recent years. His close partnership with the four players of the RedKoral string quartet has inspired a flowering of new work and we are so grateful to present a world premiere to our Ojai audience, part of a growing initiative to expand the presence of the Festival throughout the year.”
For bios and program notes for February 15 performance, visit Creative Lab: Wadada Leo Smith & RedKoral – Ojai Music Festival
The Creative Lab concert by the Ojai Music Festival is offered in conjunction with Wadada Leo Smith’s three-day residency with Ventura College’s Department of Performing Arts and the college’s Schwab Academy of Music, headed by conductor and cellist Dr. Ashley Walters, herself a member of RedKoral and a frequent collaborator with the composer. The residency is designed to engage the student body and community through conversations, workshops, and a culminating concert of Smith’s work. The free concert is scheduled for February 14 at 3:00 pm, at Helen Yunker Auditorium at Ventura College. In addition, Wadada Leo Smith and RedKoral will be featured at Tuesdays @ Monk Space presenting a west coast premiere of Smith’s String Quartet No. 17 (The Capitol, Washington D.C: An American Experiment with Democracy and Capitalism). For more information visit Miriam and Henry Schwab Academy of Music | Ventura College.
“It is an honor to welcome Wadada Leo Smith to Ventura College to work with our incredible students. Smith has close ties to our city, having lived in Ventura for over a decade, taking inspiration from daily walks at our beaches, said Dr. Ashley Walters. “The events surrounding his residency will allow students from across the college to explore creativity and expressive courage. I am also thrilled to collaborate with the Ojai Music Festival, whose programming I have followed and admired for years.”
General Admission tickets for the Creative Lab concert on February 15 go on sale on Friday, January 10 with a ‘pay-what-you-can’ model at www.OjaiFestival.org or call 805-646-2053. There will be a complimentary pre-concert mixer for the audience members.
WADADA LEO SMITH
Born on December 18, 1941, in Leland, Mississippi, Wadada Leo Smith began his musical journey steeped in the musical traditions of the South. He composed his first piece of music at the age of twelve, and at thirteen started performing with Delta Blues and other traditional bands. In high school he played in and served as assistant director of the concert and marching bands under the direction of Mr. Henderson Howard.
Smith received his formal musical education from his stepfather, composer/guitarist Alex “Little Bill” Wallace, one of the pioneers of electric guitar in Delta Blues. He was further educated through the U.S. Military band program at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri (1963); Sherwood School of Music (1967-69); and Wesleyan University (1975-76). He has researched a variety of music cultures, including African, Japanese, Indonesian, European and American.
Smith defines his music as “Creative Music,” and his diverse discography reveals a recorded history of music centered in the idea of spiritual harmony and the unification of social and cultural issues of his world.
He has created Ankhrasmation, a symbolic image-based language for performers or musicians. He started his research and designs in search of Ankhrasmation in 1965, and his first realization of this language was in 1967, when it was illustrated in the recording of The Bell (Anthony Braxton: ‘Three Compositions of New Jazz’). Ankhrasmation has played a significant role in his development as an artist, ensemble leader and educator.
Smith’s Ankhrasmation language scores have been exhibited in major American museums including The Renaissance Society at The University of Chicago, which in October 2015 presented the first comprehensive exhibition of these language scores. In 2016, the Hammer Museum’s ‘Made in L.A.’ exhibition featured the scores and presented Smith with the Mohn Award for Career Achievement honoring “brilliance and resilience.” His scores have also been shown at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts in Michigan, the Kadist Art Foundation in San Francisco, The Museum of Rhythm Łódź, Poland and the Clemente Gallery in NYC.
REDKORAL
RedKoral is a string quartet devoted to playing the music of the legendary composer and trumpeter, Wadada Leo Smith. Their recordings include Smith’s String Quartets 1-12 on a 7-CD box set and his Rosa Parks: Pure Love. An Oratorio of Seven Songs.
RedKoral has performed live with Smith at festivals and concerts in Europe, Brazil, and throughout the United States, including in Chicago, Washington D.C, Los Angeles, Austin, New Orleans, Houston, and Tuscaloosa. Performance highlights include performances over several years of Smith’s iconic work, Ten Freedom Summers, two evenings dedicated solely to Smith’s quartets at Monday Evening Concerts in Los Angeles in 2022, Smith’s America Transformed at Brooklyn College in 2023, and a performance at the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2024. RedKoral’s members are: Shalini Vijayan, violin; Mona Tian, violin; Andrew McIntosh; viola, and Ashley Walters, cello.
OJAI MUSIC FESTIVAL
The Ojai Music Festival represents an ideal of adventurous, open-minded, and openhearted programming in the most beautiful and welcoming of settings, with audiences and artists to match its aspirations. Marking its 79th season, the Festival remains a creative laboratory for thought-provoking musical experiences, bringing together innovative artists and curious audiences in an intimate, idyllic outdoor setting. Each Festival’s narrative is guided by a different Music Director, whose distinctive perspectives shape programming — ensuring energized festivals year after year.
Throughout each year, the Ojai Music Festival contributes to Southern California’s cultural landscape with in-person and online Festival-related programming as well as robust educational offerings that serve thousands of public-school students and seniors. The organization’s apex is the world-renowned four-day Festival, which takes place in Ojai, a breathtaking valley 75 miles from Los Angeles, which is a perennial platform for the fresh and unexpected. During the immersive experience, a mingling of the most curious take part in concerts, symposia, free community events, and social gatherings. During the intimate Festival weekend, considered a highlight of the international music summer season, Ojai welcomes up to 5,000 patrons and reaches 35 times more audiences worldwide through live and on- demand streaming of concerts and discussions throughout the year. The Festival’s Creative Lab concert events launched in 2023 and features a series of performances which align artistically with the Festival and are between the flagship June weekend at various locations in and around Ojai.
SERIES PASSES FOR THE 2025 OJAI MUSIC FESTIVAL
The Ojai Music Festival will present the 79th edition on June 5 to 8, featuring flutist Claire Chase as music director. Libbey Bowl Series Passes for the 2025 Festival are on sale now with single tickets on sale in spring 2025 at OjaiFestival.org.
Creative Lab: Wadada Leo Smith & RedKoral
SAT Feb 15, 2025
7:30PM performance with a pre-concert reception
The Red Canteen at Matilija (at the former Matilija Middle School), 703 El Paseo Road
Tickets are “pay-what-you-can” with a suggested price of $25/General Admission
www.OjaiFestival.org / 805-646-2053