Festival Mozaic

In May of 1970, a trio of music professors at the California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) came together to brainstorm the possibility of starting a summer music festival in beautiful San Luis Obispo, California. A year later, the inaugural season of the San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival took place with three performances in venues on Cal Poly's campus, as well as the historic Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa. Fifty years later, the vision of Clifton Swanson, Ronald Ratcliffe, and John Russell lives on through Festival Mozaic, which hosts a two-week summer festival of more than 30 events, a year-round chamber music and presenting series, and a vibrant virtual presence. Over its five decades, the Festival has offered an ever-expanding range of programming, including early music, jazz, contemporary music, opera, world music, new commissions and world premieres. The Festival places an emphasis of offering performances in unique Central Coast venues, including the historic Mission and beautiful outdoor spaces, as well as contemporary concert halls. Clifton Swanson served as Music Director of the Mozart Festival until 2005. During the decades of his tenure, the Festival hosted luminaries such as Edgar Meyer, the Kronos Quartet, Turtle Island String Quartet, and many stars of the classical music world, including Richard Goode, Hilary Hahn, and Jeffrey Kahane. In 2005, Clif passed the baton to conductor and virtuoso violinist Scott Yoo. Click here to learn more about our beautiful 50th Anniversary Commemorative Hardcover Book, which chronicles the 50+ year history of the Mozart Festival and Festival Mozaic complete with memoirs, stories and photos from 1971-2021.