...Bruce Berger says of the Aspen Music Festival and School's campus in his book, A Tent in the Meadow. "It began in 1879 when George Newman opened a mine on the spot, then converted it into a Tudor estate on the earnings. He enlarged two natural springs into ponds and modeled the main building after an English club on Piccadilly Circus in London..."
So begins the story of this extraordinary 23-acre site. Most recently renamed the Matthew and Carolyn Bucksbaum Campus, it is a profoundly tangible example of the Aspen experience: a coming together of rigorous education, artistic expression, and natural beauty. Perhaps it is its diverse and colorful history - as mining camp, executive retreat, hunting ground, school - that makes the place hum with a sort of cultural yin and yang. It has been the scene of back-breaking work and joyful recreation; devoted teaching and passionate learning; inspired architecture and the vicissitudes of nature. On any given summer's day, the cacophonous rush of creek water underscores the sweet, measured notes of a sonata.
The Aspen Music Festival and School has owned this land since 1964, when it was given to the organization by Robert O. Anderson, a close associate of Walter Paepcke's and one-time president of the Aspen Institute. Since that time, it has served as the home of the Music School and geographic counterpoint to the Festival's performance facilities in Aspen's West End. The nine buildings on the site include teaching studios, classrooms, and office space; they are shared with Aspen Country Day School.
Since 1951, the Aspen Music School has offered a select group of the world's finest young music students the opportunity for study at the highest levels of professional development. An underlying philosophy of the School is that no qualified musician will be prevented from attending because of the cost. Almost 70 percent receive some form of financial assistance.
The nine-week program provides a diverse combination of classroom and practical experiences designed to encourage students to develop their talents and skills to their fullest. A broad curriculum includes individual lessons, master classes, concerts, and recitals. More than 750 attend the School from throughout the United States and around the world.
Most important, the master teacher/apprentice relationship, the foundation of music education, is completely realized at the School. As part of their training, Aspen students have the unusual opportunity to perform as fully participating orchestra members with some of the world's finest artists under the leadership of world-renowned conductors. Musicians of all ages learn from their instructors not only in classroom settings, but also as they perform side-by-side with them. Alumni fill important positions around the globe, serving in leading orchestras, opera houses, and on music school faculties. James Conlon, Lynn Harrell, James Levine, Itzhak Perlman, Leonard Slatkin, Sarah Chang, Gil Shaham, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Renée Fleming, Philip Glass, and Ursula Oppens are among those whose careers have roots here.
The AMFS Castle Creek campus campaign will result in a place of learning that matches the extraordinary potential of both these young musicians and the talented faculty members who nurture them. Capital funds will support the construction of new, acoustically superior facilities; the renovation of historic structures; and a thoughtful landscaping plan to enhance the area's safety and natural beauty. Endowment funds will strengthen the Festival and School's commitment to student assistance and faculty support, and sustain both existing and emerging programs that are integral to the organization's mission.
