Founded in 1949, the Aspen Music Festival and School is the country’s premier classical music festival and summer training ground for the next generation of musicians.
Each summer, more than 600 exceptionally talented young musicians come from all over the world to study with top artist-faculty who come from every major conservatory and music school—including The Juilliard School, the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, the Curtis Institute of Music, the Colburn School, and New England Conservatory—as well as many major orchestras such as those of Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and the Metropolitan Opera.
These students and professionals also perform, along with select guest artists, in hundreds of events over eight weeks—as part of five orchestras, chamber music groups, operas, recitals, children’s events, and more. Student buskers can be heard downtown all summer long playing arrangements of classical and popular music. Free tours of the Music Festival's venues and recently redeveloped Matthew and Carolyn Bucksbaum Campus, as well as a walking tour beginning in downtown Aspen, are also options for visitors.
Many of today’s leading classical performers studied in Aspen, including violinists Joshua Bell, Sarah Chang, Gil Shaham, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, and Robert McDuffie; pianists Orli Shaham, Joyce Yang, Wu Han, and Conrad Tao; cellist Alisa Weilerstein; conductors Marin Alsop, James Conlon, James Levine, and Leonard Slatkin; composers Philip Glass and Augusta Read Thomas; and bassist Edgar Meyer. These world-renowned artists often return to the Festival as guest artists year after year, making Aspen the perfect location to see up-and-coming as well as established classical music stars—all in the blissful scenery of Aspen.
Local
Eat and Drink
- J-Bar - Aspen (0.6 miles) - Aspen’s iconic J-Bar (short for “Jerome Bar”) remains the town’s social hot spot, with its l...
- Acquolina Trattoria & Pizzeria - Aspen (0.7 miles) - ACQUOLINA: mouth-watering. Acquolina is an informal, yet elegant trattoria & pizzeria where you will ...
- French Alpine Bistro & Fondue Restaurant, La Creperie du Village, Aspen - Aspen (0.7 miles) - French Alpine Bistro & Fondue Restaurant La Crêperie du Village Cosmopolitan culinary connoisseurs s...
See and Do
- Aspen Music Festival and School Aspen (0.0 miles) - Founded in 1949, the Aspen Music Festival and School is the country’s premier classical music fest...
- Snow Queen Lodge Aspen (0.7 miles) - The Historic Snow Queen Lodge was established during Aspen's Wild West Silver Boom and continues...
- Sun Dog Athletics Aspen (0.9 miles) - Since 1996, Sun Dog Athletics "Aspen's Adventure Sports School" has pioneered one of a k...
- Aspen Expeditions Worldwide Aspen (1.9 miles) - Aspen Expeditions Worldwide is a mountain guide service, backcountry center and custom adventure tra...
- Gone Fishing Colorado Basalt (15.8 miles) - Fully guided waded and float fishing trips. All equipment provided.
