The Willows Are New

About

THE WILLOWS ARE NEW was a morning concert at the 2023 Ojai Music Festival in the Libbey Bowl on June 10, 2023, at 10:00 AM. The program brought together works by members of the Iranian Female Composers Association and Chinese/Chinese-American composers, creating a dialogue between traditions and contemporary voices. The ensemble combined Western classical instruments (piano, cello, viola) with pipa and kamancheh, shaping a distinctive, cross-cultural sound world. The sequence moved from composed chamber works toward a final solo improvisation. Renowned kamancheh player Kayhan Kalhor and pipa virtuoso Wu Man anchored the program alongside pianist Gloria Cheng and string players Karen Ouzounian and Nathan Schram. The title of the concert echoes Chou Wen-Chung’s The Willows are New, featured as one of the central works.