Screening of the filmed performance of Sibylle Szaggars Redford’s multidisciplinary work featuring a narration by Robert Redford.

Sibylle Szaggars Redford is a German born multimedia environmental artist whose artwork has been exhibited throughout Europe, Monaco, Peru, Singapore, Japan, Suriname and the United States.

Szaggars Redford is the 2016 recipient of the US State Department’s Art in Embassies Program for the US Embassy in Paramaribo, Suriname where after visiting the countries Rain Forests and Indigenous Peoples, 10 of her site specific Pieces were placed on permanent display in the US Embassy in Paramaribo, Suriname.

Her artistry spans across mediums and decades, from painted oil sketches and photographs of her Moroccan travels, expressions on canvas from her American Indian Pueblo visits, large Oil paintings where she explores “The Shape of Color“ and her recent works of watercolor abstracts shaped by the monsoon rains of Santa Fe, New Mexico, California and abroad.

Having worked as an environmental artist for almost 4 decades, her desire is to create art that transcends words, languages, cultures and politics. Szaggars Redford creates art in order to speak to a deeper universal consciousness that’s connected to and dependent on the earth and its environments. In order to find a stronger voice through art for the Earth, Szaggars Redford entered the world of performance art as an homage to the universal elements and an artistic medium for environmentalism in action.

In 2013 Szaggars Redford in collaboration with Icelandic Composer and Musician David Thor Jonsson, designed a concept for a staged art performance piece “The Way of the Rain” which would incorporate different art forms; music, dance, film, light, spoken word and her first designed stage backdrop of multiple large “Rain Painting Silks” that would symbolize falling water from the heavens.

Since then Szaggars Redford has collaborated with various world renowned composers, choreographers and performers with presentations nationwide, The United Emirates of Abu Dhabi, the Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall and the Opening Night of the 68th United Nations – NGO – International Conference.

In 2015 Szaggars Redford founded The Way of the Rain, Inc. a Non for Profit Organization with the specific purpose of developing, producing and performing educational and artistic performances – themed and designed to promote public awareness to support the protection of our Earth.

In addition to presenting “The Way of the Rain” performances and developing new staged versions of “The Way of the Rain” Szaggars Redford continues to create and exhibit new art.

Beginning of March 2020 during the time of the Covid – 19 lockdown and isolation, Szaggars Redford in collaboration with Composer Tim Janis and environmental activist Robert Redford began creating “The Way of the Rain – Reflections on Earth” video series shorts – a Gift of Hope to the World and an invitation to reflect on the beauty and wonders of our Planet Earth.

“The Way of the Rain – Reflections on Earth” Ocean video series shorts have been screened around the world at the “Virtual“ Earth X Conference – April 22-27, 2020, the United Nations Oceans Day “Virtual” Earth X Oceans and National Geographic Conference – June 9-10, 2020, Earth X Australia / Oceana Conference – June 11, 2020 and the United Nations “Peace Boat” Conference on June 12, 2020.

“The Way of the Rain – Reflections on Earth” video series shorts continue to focus on the World’s Natural Environments; their delicate Ecosystems and Biodiversity which are important and necessary to maintain in order to preserve the existence of all life on Earth.

For more information: www.sibylleszaggarsredford.com

Robert Redford

Robert Redford (born August 18, 1936, Santa Monica, California, U.S.) is an American motion-picture actor and director known for his diversity of screen characterizations, commitment to environmental and political causes, and for founding the Sundance Institute and Film Festival in Utah.

After years of drifting and studying art in both Europe and the United States, Redford enrolled at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and soon thereafter made his Broadway debut in the play Tall Story (1959). Landing roles in several television dramas of the early 1960s, such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Twilight Zone, and Route 66, he scored the biggest triumph of his early career with the lead role in Neil Simon’s Broadway hit Barefoot in the Park (1963).

He costarred with Paul Newman in the enormously popular comic western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), in which he portrayed the outlaw Sundance Kid. The film became the top-grossing picture of the year, and Redford was soon one of Hollywood’s most popular and bankable stars, next appearing in such successful films as Downhill Racer (1969; written by James Salter) and The Candidate (1972). He starred with Barbra Streisand in The Way We Were and reteamed with Newman in The Sting—the two most successful films of 1973—and was ranked as the top American box office attraction. The Sting won that year’s Academy Award for best picture and earned Redford an Oscar nomination for acting. He then won Best Director in 1980 for Ordinary People.

In 1980 Redford established the Sundance Institute, which provides a workshop for young filmmakers each summer and sponsors the annual Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. By the 1990s the festival had become one of the leading international film festivals, and it is regarded as a vital showcase for new talent. For his work with Sundance and other contributions to film, Redford was presented with an honorary Academy Award in 2002. His numerous other awards included the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize (2008) and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2016).

With millions of albums sold, five national public television specials, and two No. 1 Billboard-charting CDs, composer, producer, and performer Tim Janis has worked with some of the top artists in the music and entertain-ment business—from Sir Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, Ray Charles, Dick Van Dyke, Andre Previn, and Sarah McLachlan to George Clooney, Kate Winslet, Jane Seymour, Maya Angelou, Emanuel Ax, and James Earl Jones. Mr. Janis is committed to creat-ing music that can heal and promote peace on a global level. His music has traveled across the world, from presti-gious venues like Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, to Africa, China, and Eastern Europe, and he has conducted Symphonie Fantastique with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra as guest of the U.S Ambassador Craig R. Stapleton. His music has also been per-formed and played by the the American Symphony Orchestra, conducted by David Snell; The London Symphony Orchestra; The New York Philharmonic, conducted by Kurt Mazur; The Hartford Symphony Orchestra; The Kansas City Orchestra; The Kwazulu Natal Philharmonic in Durban, Africa; and many others.

Julien Benichou is the General and Artistic Director of the Washington Opera Society (WOS), and Music Director of the Chesapeake Youth Symphony Orchestra (CYSO).

As a guest conductor, Benichou has garnered high acclaim through his work with the New York City Ballet, Annapolis Symphony, Ballet Theatre of Maryland, Baltimore Concert Opera, and Baltimore Symphony Orchestra collaborations with Mobtown Modern Synchronicity. Abroad, he has conducted the Orquestra Sinfonica do Parana in Brazil, St. Petersburg State Symphony and Siberian State Symphony in Russia, and the Free State Symphony in South Africa. In 2021 he conducted the Portuguese Philharmonic both in Portugal and at the Champs-Elysees Theater in Paris and ZhangomusiQ Orchestra and Choir of the Monte – Carlo Opera. 2022 he guest conducts the Dallas Symphony, the Pasdeloup Orchestra in Paris and the Marseille Chamber Orchestra. In 2023 he returns to South Africa, to guest conduct at the Stellenbosch Festival, South Korea to guest conduct the Paju Philharmonic and return as a clinician for YSL Classic.

In 2017, Benichou premiered “The Way of the Rain – Voices of Hope” at Carnegie Hall, a concert featuring Robert Redford and Vice President Al Gore and in 2021 the world premiere of “The Way of the Rain – Hope for Earth” for the 15th Anniversary of the Prince albert II of Monaco Foundation. Benichou sits on the advisory board of The Way of the Rain, Inc.

When not traveling between conducting engagements, he shares his time between his homes in Baltimore, Maryland and the French region of Provence.

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About Festival del Sole
The story of Festival del Sole, as its name suggests, starts in Italy in the 1990’s, where, arts entrepreneur and pianist Barrett Wissman and wife, cellist Nina Kotova, had often discussed organizing an event somewhere in the world where friends could make music together in a warm welcoming atmosphere.

In 2003, the Festival del Sole was born in Cortona in Tuscany, and incorporated a vast array of events including  concerts, fine art exhibitions, culinary events, wine tastings, and literary events.  In 2006,  Barrett Wissman brought the Festival Del Sole to Napa Valley, which has now become Festival Napa Valley.

Over the years, the Festivals have attracted a stunning lineup of some of the world’s greatest musicians, artists, actors, chefs and personalities including Robert Redford, Placido Domingo, Renee Fleming, Sting, Thomas Keller, Antonio Pappano, Sophia Loren, Pinchas Zukerman, John Malkovich, Midori, and many, many more.

Barrett Wissman has decided to bring back the style, artistic level, tradition and excitement of the Festival del Sole back to the wine country of Northern California in 2024, in partnership with the stunning acoustic and architectural gem, the Green Music Center at Sonoma State University and its Executive Director Jacob Yarrow.