POSITIVES OF A NEGATIVE REVIEW
After Brad Kava’s Aug 12 editorial, i was excited to read Christina Waters’s blistering review, which even called the whole Festival to account for its inclusion, despite The Grain House being a piece commissioned as a world premiere for the festival and written in 2026, implying that the piece was not known to the Cabrillo staff, board or orchestra. When I read a hugely negative review, I want to at least hear or see a little of the work because it provoked an intense reaction on a professional arts writer. After reading the description, I was slightly disappointed to remember hearing In the Grain House in open rehearsal without any strong emotions and a slight feeling of being in grassy plains on a windy day.
When I used to review visual art and interview artists and musicians, I chose to highlight works that I appreciated to give readers notice and publishers went along with my choices. In this case, for the well-established Cabrillo Festival, Waters clearly had a message for the Festival and others. That is part of a critic’s role, especially when they know their subject well.
Dorah Rosen | Santa Cruz
NEGATIVES OF A NEGATIVE REVIEW
Firstly, my apologies as I have never written a Letter to the Editor. I believe in free speech, in the diversity of opinion, and the subjectivity of taste. I also believe wholeheartedly that we live in a world devoid of real, constructive art and music criticism. That said, there is a difference between fostering critical dialogue, posing questions, providing points of comparison, and challenging our audiences, and the vitriolic review that I read of Sarah Hennies’ work at the Cabrillo Festival. I have immense respect for Christina Waters and what she has contributed to our understanding of Santa Cruz’s arts and cultural landscape. I also have the utmost admiration for Riley Nicholson, the Cabrillo Festival and the work of Sarah Hennies—truly my favorite contemporary composer and the primary reason I came to Cabrillo Festival this year.
As I mentioned previously, taste is subjective. However, after reading Waters’ August 5th review of Sarah Hennies’ The Grain House, I was incredibly puzzled and found this to be inappropriate media coverage. There was nothing “stagnant” about Hennies’ piece. While Waters felt “nothing but pity for the orchestra”, I commented to friends about how exhilarating and thrilling it must be for classically trained musicians to push themselves and their instruments, to experiment with new materials, improvisation, and even vocalization. Waters was held hostage and I was held rapt, sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for every minute change of note and phrase.
As someone who has worked with Sarah Hennies, it stung to hear her referred to repeatedly as a narcissist, as there is nothing further from the truth. She is humble and kind, funny, a mother and teacher, and someone who cares deeply for others and her community. I heard no such proclamations for Hennies’ “hatred of the current social landscape”…rather I heard someone who is seeking to find meaning in a senseless world. And why must we attack the idea of community? Now more than ever, people are actively seeking community and a sense of belonging in our increasingly chaotic world.
There is a vast difference between “uncomposed” and “improvised”. There was a framework, there was direction. Why is improvisation encouraged in jazz but not in orchestral music? Moreover, the unique relationship between gender and sound is something not explored nearly enough in orchestral music—making the invisible visible, pushing the limits of what the mind, body and instrument can accomplish. The call for “authentic artistry” was exactly what this piece presented to me.
It was stated in the article that the Cabrillo Festival has been known to “stretch the exceptional abilities of its orchestra”, and that is precisely what I experienced at this concert. It was challenging and provoking, and while Waters might not think so, I believe Cabrillo Festival successfully achieved its mission of “bringing the most exciting and skilled new composers to the Festival.”
Lastly, I just hope that we remember that when we write such hateful reviews, we’re pushing audiences and donors away. Now more than ever arts organizations like Cabrillo Festival NEED audiences, but not nearly as much as audiences need Cabrillo Festival and what it can provide emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. I left that concert with a sense of lightness, of freedom, of curiosity. We need to protect the arts and those that go against the grain like Sarah Hennies. Bravo to Cabrillo Festival for providing one of the most exciting new voices in music an opportunity to experiment and challenge herself and others.
Ginger Porcella | Executive Director, Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History
