Colorado
Aspen Music Festival
Program No. 13900RJ
Enjoy insider access at the Aspen Music Festival and School, where you’ll attend four concerts, witness an opera scenes master class and speak with industry professionals backstage.
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Itinerary
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date.
Read More.
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. As a result, some program activities, schedules, accommodations, personnel, and other logistics occasionally change due to local conditions or circumstances. Should a major change occur, we will make every effort to alert you. For less significant changes, we will update you during orientation. Thank you for your understanding.
Duration
6 days
5 nights
What's Included
12 meals (
5B, 3L, 4D
)
3 expert-led lectures
4 expert-led field trips
5 performances
An experienced Group Leader
5 nights of accommodations
Taxes and customary gratuity
Road Scholar Assurance Plan
Day
1
Check-in, Orientation, Welcome Dinner
Location:
Aspen/Snowmass Village, CO
Meals:
D
Stay:
The Stonebridge Inn
Activity Note
Hotel check-in from 4:00 p.m. Remember to bring your nametag (sent previously).
Afternoon:
4:00 p.m. After you have your room assignment, join us at the Road Scholar table in the lobby to meet with program staff and get your welcome packet containing the up-to-date schedule that reflects any changes, other important information, and to confirm the time and location of the Orientation session. If you arrive late, please ask for your packet when you check in. Orientation: 5:30 p.m. The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. We will learn from the Group Leader as well as local experts who will give lectures and lead field trips. Program-related travel and transfers will be via private motorcoach unless noted otherwise. Meal times will be adjusted throughout the program to accommodate performance schedules. Periods in the schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding.
Dinner:
At the hotel.
Evening:
At leisure. Continue getting to know your fellow Road Scholars, settle in, and get a good night’s rest for the day ahead.
Day
2
Aspen Music School Campus, Presentation, Concert
Location:
Aspen/Snowmass Village, CO
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
The Stonebridge Inn
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 24 miles roundtrip, approximately 2 hours total riding time with stops for field trips. Walking about 1 mile throughout the day; maintained dirt trails and sidewalks.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We’ll depart from our hotel by motorcoach to go on a docent-led field trip to explore the Aspen Music School Campus, a former silver mine located in a beautifully landscaped and natural mountain valley. The Festival and School was founded by Elizabeth and Walter Paepcke of Chicago and is rooted in the lofty idea that it is the combination of art and nature that fosters the growth of the human spirit. This principle still informs every aspect of the organization. Substantial artistic collaboration was provided by Henri Temianka and his Paganini Quartet during the formative years. For music students, the program provides a combination of classroom and performance experiences. A broad curriculum includes playing in an orchestra, individual lessons, master classes, and recitals. Seven hundred and fifty young musicians attend the School from throughout the United States and the world. Almost 40 nations are represented, including Australia, China, Iceland, Mexico, Sweden, and Venezuela. The average age is 23.
Lunch:
In the hotel restaurant.
Afternoon:
In the hotel conference room, we’ll attend a presentation and discussion given by our knowledgeable staff regarding the festival and upcoming concert performances.
Dinner:
At the hotel.
Evening:
After dinner, we’ll board our motorcoach and attend a ticketed festival concert. "A Recital by the Van Cliburn Competition Winner" piano Program to be announced We’ll then return to the hotel.
Day
3
Ashcroft & Mountain Valley, Backstage Experience, Concert
Location:
Aspen/Snowmass Village, CO
Meals:
B,L
Stay:
The Stonebridge Inn
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 24 miles roundtrip; about 2 hours total riding time with stops for field trips. Walking about 1 mile throughout the day; maintained dirt trails and sidewalks.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We’ll set out from the hotel via motorcoach for a field trip to the abandoned and preserved village of Ashcroft with local experts. Founded in 1879 and at an elevation of 9,580 feet, the picturesque “ghost” town is surrounded by 14,000 feet peaks and a lush mountain valley. After a short historical presentation, we will walk around the buildings or sit and enjoy the scenery. We will reboard our motorcoach and transfer to the Aspen Music Festival Performance Campus. The Music Festival Performance Venues share the park-like campus with the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. Chicago industrialist Walter Paepcke and his wife, Elizabeth, invited intellectuals, artists, and philosophers to convene in 1949 for the fledgling Institute honoring the 200th birthday of humanist Johann van Goethe. The Institute became a permanent location and fostered the creation of the annual Aspen Music Festival, Aspen Ideas Festival, and Aspen Design Festival.
Lunch:
At Aspen Music Festival Performance Campus, we’ll have boxed lunches with water.
Afternoon:
Docents will lead us on a special backstage walk of the Klein Music Tent and Harris Concert Hall while teaching us about the unique history of each. Both offer distinctive settings, from the acoustically impressive Klein Music Tent’s open-air seating of over 2,000, to the beautiful wooden interior of the nearby 500-seat Harris Concert Hall, circa 1993, which is ideal for chamber music and solo performances. We return to the hotel. Next, we’ll board our motorcoach and attend a ticketed festival concert. "Aspen Chamber Symphony: Glover Leads Schubert’s “The Great” Symphony" Jane Glover conductor, Jeremy Denk piano Program: ANNA CLYNE: ATLAS,Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (AMFS Co-Commission) —— SCHUBERT: Symphony No. 9 in C major, D. 944, “The Great” We’ll then return to the hotel and dinner on own.
Dinner:
This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like in Snowmass Village. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.
Evening:
At leisure.
Day
4
Opera Encounters Master Class, Aspen Town, Evening Concert
Location:
Aspen/Snowmass Village, CO
Meals:
B,D
Stay:
The Stonebridge Inn
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 16 miles roundtrip, approximately 1.5 hours total riding time with stops for field trips. Walking approximately 1 mile throughout the day; maintained dirt trails and sidewalks.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We will set out from our hotel by motorcoach for a morning visit to the historic Wheeler Opera House in downtown Aspen for a ticketed Opera Encounters performance. Built in 1889, the Wheeler House has been magnificently preserved and it still functions as a beautiful venue for opera and all other performances. The Opera Encounters Master Class is a favorite performance of our program featuring aspiring artists in operatic roles with on the spot critiques.
Lunch:
On your own in historic downtown Aspen, one block from the Wheeler Opera House.
Afternoon:
After plenty of time for lunch and to explore the historic downtown, we will rendezvous at a designated location and return to our hotel by motorcoach for a rest. When people were migrating west during the Silver Boom of the 1880s, many settled in the area presently known as Aspen, named so for the abundance of aspen trees throughout the region. After the silver market crashed in 1893, the population began to steadily diminish and eventually reach less than 1,000 residents by the time the Great Depression hit. Upon the conclusion of World War II, however, Aspen was revived as a ski resort community and has been an attractive destination for visitors from all over the world.
Dinner:
Early at the hotel.
Evening:
After dinner, we’ll board our motorcoach and attend a ticketed festival concert. "Davóne Tines—Recital No. 1: MASS" Davóne Tines bass-baritone, John Bitoy piano Program: CAROLINE SHAW: Kyrie J. S. BACH: “Wie jammern mich doch die verkehrten Herzen,” from Cantata Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust, BWV 170 CAROLINE SHAW: Agnus Dei TYSHAWN SOREY: “Were You There” from Songs for Death BONDS: “To a Brown Girl Dead” TYSHAWN SOREY: “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” from Songs for Death CAROLINE SHAW: Credo J. S. BACH: Mache dich, mein Herze, rein from St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244 CAROLINE SHAW: Gloria TRADITIONAL/HOGAN: Give Me Jesus CAROLINE SHAW: Sanctus EASTMAN: Prelude to The Holy Presence of Joan d’Arc IGEE DIEUDONNÉ/ DAVÓNE TINES: VIGIL We’ll then return to the hotel.
Day
5
Presentation, Museum Visit, Afternoon Concert
Location:
Aspen/Snowmass Village, CO
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
The Stonebridge Inn
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 16 miles roundtrip, approximately 1 hour total riding time with stops for field trips. Walking approximately 1 mile throughout the day; maintained dirt trails and sidewalks.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
Meeting in the hotel conference room, we’ll settle in for a presentation and discussion given by our expert staff.
Lunch:
At the hotel.
Afternoon:
Following lunch, we’ll travel by motorcoach to the beautifully landscaped festival grounds. Time will be allowed for independent exploration of the festival grounds and the newly inaugurated Bayer Museum that preserves the art and legacy of Herbert Bayer (1900–1985), an influential modern artist and designer who studied and taught at the Bauhaus before emigrating from Germany to the United States in 1938. Bayer helped lead the postwar revitalization of the city of Aspen and designed the historic Aspen Meadows campus. We will attend a pre-concert lecture by the Orchestra Conductor in Harris Concert Hall. Then, we’ll attend the afternoon's major ticketed concert featuring Aspen Festival Orchestra in the Klein Music Tent before returning to the hotel. "Aspen Festival Orchestra: Hadelich Plays Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto" Stéphane Denève conductor, Augustin Hadelich violin Program JENNIFER HIGDON: blue cathedral TCHAIKOVSKY: Violin Concerto in D major, op. 35 —— R. STRAUSS: Eine Alpensinfonie, op. 64
Dinner:
At the hotel. Share favorite experiences and enjoy camaraderie with new Road Scholar friends during our farewell dinner.
Evening:
At leisure. Be sure to prepare for check-out and departure in the morning.
Day
6
Program Concludes
Location:
Aspen/Snowmass Village, CO
Meals:
B
Activity Note
Hotel check-out by 10:00 a.m.
Breakfast:
At the hotel. This concludes our program.
Morning:
If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Don’t forget to join our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram. Best wishes for all your journeys!
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Please Note:
This program has itinerary variations on certain dates.
Aug 06, 2025 - Aug 11, 2025
Jul 23, 2025 - Jul 28, 2025
Jul 30, 2025 - Aug 04, 2025
Aug 06, 2025 - Aug 11, 2025
Aug 6 - Aug 11, 2025 Itinerary Differences:
CONCERTS TO BE ATTENDED THURSDAY AUGUST 7
A Recital by the Van Cliburn Piano Competition Winner
FRIDAY AUGUST 8
Aspen Chamber Symphony: Glover Leads Schubert’s “The Great” Symphony
SATURDAY AUGUST 9
Opera Encounters: Arias and Scenes Collaborative Pianists
Davóne Tines—Recital No. 1: MASS
SUNDAY AUGUST 10
Aspen Festival Orchestra: Hadelich Plays Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto
