“We the Dreamers is both an invitation and a responsibility”; says Music Director Cristian Măcelaru. “At this historic moment, we are asking how music can help us imagine a more expansive ‘we’—one that listens deeply, embraces complexity, and dares to hope. These works remind us that dreaming is essential to shaping a more just and connected future.”

The Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music presents its 64th season, We the Dreamers, running July 26 through August 9, 2026. Framed by the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, this transformative season asks one of the most resonant civic questions of our time: Who is the “we” of America—and who are “we” still becoming? The answers unfold across four world premiere Festival Commissions, eight West Coast premieres, and two U.S. premieres, brought to life by a dynamic global roster of over 20 composers and an extraordinary array of guest artists.

Highlights include the second-ever performance and West Coast premiere of Philip Glass’s Symphony No. 15 Lincoln, which draws on Lincoln’s urgent reverence for the Constitution and his prescient warnings against internal division, alongside an appearance by Former U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove and new works by Clarice Assad, Vivian Fung, Sarah Hennies, and Pedro Emanuel Pereira—together offering a compelling portrait of our contemporary moment through the lens of history, civic reckoning, and global perspective.

For more information: Cabrillo Festival 2026