The Wallis to Host An Evening with Peter Sellars in Conversation with Alex Ross, 5/16

The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts joins forces with the Ojai Music Festival for the first time to present a lively Arts & Ideas conversation between groundbreaking opera and theater director Peter Sellars and The New Yorker music critic Alex Ross. The conversation will take placeon the stage of the Bram Goldsmith Theater on Monday, May 16 at 7:30pm.

Sellars, Music Director of the 2016 Ojai Music Festival in June, has gained international renown for his transformative interpretations of artistic masterpieces such as John Adams' Nixon in China and The Death of Klinghoffer, as well as for his distinctive collaborations with an extraordinary range of artists including Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, dance pioneer Reggie Gray and Nobel Prize-winning novelist Toni Morrison. Ross, a 2008 MacArthur "Genius" Fellow, is the author of The Rest is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award and finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

"I'm thrilled to welcome Peter and Alex to our stage for the first time," said Paul Crewes, The Wallis' new Artistic Director who takes the reins full time next month in April 2016. "Our Arts & Ideas series has enjoyed great success this season, and our new collaboration with partner Ojai Music Festival will surely deliver a captivating discussion between these two brilliant men."

"We are delighted to be collaborating with The Wallis for this exciting event with Peter Sellars, our 2016 Music Director and a passionate advocate for the intersection of music and community, and Alex Ross, music critic of The New Yorker and acclaimed writer on music of our time," expressed Thomas W. Morris, Artistic Director of the Ojai Music Festival.

Tickets for An Evening with Peter Sellars are now available for $25 - $35. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit TheWallis.org, call 310.746.4000, or stop by in person at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts Ticket Services located at 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90210. Ticket prices subject to change.

About the Ojai Music Festival
The Ojai Music Festival marks its 70th year this June with Peter Sellars, one of the most innovative and powerful forces in the arts both in America and abroad, as Music Director. Sellars' partnership with Ojai dates back to 1992, when he directed a daring version of Stravinsky's Histoire du soldat with Music Director Pierre Boulez. He returned to Ojai in 2011 to direct the critically acclaimed world premiere of the staged production of George Crumb's The Winds of Destiny with Music Director Dawn Upshaw.

The milestone 70th Ojai Music Festival (June 9-12, 2016) pays tribute to a defining hallmark of the Festival - reimagining each year by affording the appointed music director creative freedom to explore their artistic interests and collaborations. Sellars' vision for the upcoming Festival honors its long-held spirit of challenging audiences musically and intellectually.

The Festival welcomes Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho and showcases her works including the American premiere of the chamber version of La Passion de Simone. Highlights include a commissioned work by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw, Don't Let Me Be Lonely, and the world premiere of Josephine Baker: A Personal Portrait with arrangements and music by multi-instrumentalist/composer Tyshawn Sorey. For the complete program, visit www.OjaiFestival.org. Following the 70th Festival in Ojai, Cal Performances' Ojai at Berkeley takes place from June 16 to 18.

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