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Festival Mozaic is an annual orchestral and chamber music festival held in the city of San Luis Obispo and various venues throughout San Luis Obispo County, California. Festival Mozaic is organized and presented by The San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival Association, a nonprofit organization governed by a board of local leaders and a managing staff of professionals. The festival presents 20 musical events during July with 500+ people in attendance each year.

History

Festival Mozaic was founded in 1971 by Clifton Swanson, Ronald Ratcliffe, and John Russell, professors of music at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), as the San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival to honor composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

With an initial offering of three concerts in 1971, over its five decades, the festival has grown to 20 concerts with an ever-expanding range of programming, including early music, contemporary classical music, jazz, opera, world music, and new commissions and world premieres. Venues include Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa in the heart of San Luis Obispo, Serra Chapel in nearby Shandon, California, and the Performing Arts Center at California Polytechnic State University. The summer festival includes orchestra, chamber music, solo recitals, choral works, and crossover artists as well as master classes and programs for children. The festival also presents events designed to teach classical music, titled Notable Encounters, and a fall and spring concert series titled Wintermezzo. The festival has been reviewed in various forums such as Musical America, KCET, New Times, the Los Angeles Times, and The Tribune (San Luis Obispo) and is included in various festival lists including The New York Times A Guide to Summer Music Festivals.

Notable performers

Emanuel Ax, Jeffrey Kahane, The Romero Guitar Quartet, Jerome Lowenthal, Richard Goode, Chanticleer, Rod Gilfry, William Bolcom, Paul O'Dette, Christopher Hogwood, Malcolm Bilson, Nicholas McGegan, Carter Brey, Audra McDonald, Jon Kimura Parker, Bela Fleck, Christopher O'Riley, Hilary Hahn, Nathaniel Rosen, Dmitri and Maxim Shostakovich, Mstislav Rostropovich, Edgar Meyer, Kronos Quartet, Turtle Island String Quartet, Jonah Kim, Bion Tsang, Noam Elkies, Kristina Reiko Cooper, Erik Arvinder

Guest conductors

Maxim Shostakovich, Christopher Hogwood, Nicholas McGegan, John Adams

Music directors

• 1971–2004: Clifton Swanson
• 1992–2004: Jeffrey Kahane, associate conductor
• 2005–present: Scott Yoo

See also

• List of classical music festivals

References

1. Jamieson, Larry (August 9, 1971). "First San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival, 1971". Photos From the Vault. The Tribune News. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
2. "Clifton Swanson". www.calpoly.edu/. California Polytechnic State University. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
3. "John Russell". www.calpoly.edu/. California Polytechnic State University. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
4. "47TH annual Festival Mozaic in San Luis Obispo". slochamber.org/. San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce. June 30, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
5. Ginell, Richard (March 31, 2015). "[Off the Beaten Path] Festival Mozaic". musicalamerica.com. Musical America. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
6. Linn, Sara (July 1, 2012). "Festival Mozaic Brings Class Acts To the Central Coast". kcet.com/. KCET. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
7. Rigley, Colin (July 7, 2010). "Classically non-classical". newtimesslo.com/. New Times. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
8. Simon, Stephanie (July 27, 1999). "Moos, Mozart and More". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
9. Linn, Sarah (October 14, 2015). "Festival Mozaic celebrates 45 years this summer". sanluisobispo.com/. The Tribune (San Luis Obispo). Retrieved December 11, 2020.
10. Carlson, June (May 17, 1981). "A Guide to Summer Music Festivals". The New York Times. Retrieved December 11, 2020.

External links

• Official website

• Chamber music festivals in the United States
• Classical music festivals in the United States
• San Luis Obispo, California