Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music

The mission of Cabrillo Festival is to transform the orchestral experience for artists and audiences by building a vibrant community dedicated to the creation and performance of profound, relevant, and innovative music.

Since its founding, the Festival has presented 175 world premieres, 78 U.S. premieres, 170 West Coast premieres and countless local premieres and included the participation of more than 300 composers, including John Adams, William Bolcom, John Cage, Elliott Carter, Aaron Copland, John Corigliano, Philip Glass, Lou Harrison, Jennifer Higdon, Libby Larsen, Tania Leon, James MacMillan, Pauline Oliveros, Arvo Pärt, Kevin Puts, Christopher Rouse, Virgil Thomson, and Joan Tower.

WQXR named Cabrillo Festival “one of the top five incubators of new music” in the world, and The Wall Street Journal described the Festival as “two of the most thoughtful and original summer musical weekends anywhere in America.” Following Cristian Macelaru’s second season at its helm, The Monterey Herald claimed “Santa Cruz’s Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music is a national treasure with a strong international identity and importance. The Festival is a bright beacon of creativity and inspiration for living composers and new music lovers throughout the world.”