Summer Programs
The Aspen Music Festival and School offers a wide variety of kids and family programs meant to inspire the next generation of classical music enthusiasts. Whether you're enjoying a family picnic at Music on the Mountain, singing and dancing at Gotta Move!, or gathering a multi-generational group to enjoy a Family Concert, you're sure to experience the excitement of the Aspen Music Festival and School and create cherished family memories that will last a lifetime. Also, explore our summer long educational programs — not just for kids! These programs allow locals and summer residents the opportunity to learn and grow their musical skills with lessons and musical activities throughout the summer.
Select a program of interest below to learn more
Festival for Kids:
Kids Notes & Family Concerts | Gotta Move! | Tunes & Tales | Sing Play Move
Kids and Family Programs:
Music on the Mountain | Youth Discounts
Summer Educational Programs:
Maroon Bel Canto Children's Chorus - Festival Summer Camp | P.A.L.S. (Passes and Lessons Scholarship) Program | Roaring Fork Valley Music Lesson Program
Festival for Kids
Kids Notes and Family Concerts
Description: Bring your children for free light fare and Kids Notes pre-concert activities at 4 pm followed by a free concert at 5 pm. Open to all ages.
Location & Schedule:
Family Concert 1: BERNARD ROGERS: Musicians of Bremen
Ingmar Beck conductor
A lively, short concert that will introduce kids to the world of classical music. Arrive early for Kids Notes at 4 pm and enjoy free refreshments and activities designed to prepare kids for the concert. Open to all ages.
Location: Meadows Hospitality Tent: pre-concert and reception, Harris Concert Hall: Family Concert
Date: Thursday, July 20
Kids Notes pre-concert event and reception: 4 pm (activities best for ages seven and younger)
Family Concert: 5 pm
With special thanks to Gail and Daniel E. Schmidt IV and The Thrift Shop of Aspen
Family Concert 2: BENJAMIN WALLFISCH: Dirty Beasts (based on the Roald Dahl collection of poems)
Ingmar Beck conductor
Aspen Conducting Academy Orchestra
A lively, short concert that will introduce kids to the world of classical music. Benjamin Wallfisch's Dirty Beasts is based on the Roald Dahl collection of poems about mischievous and mysterious animals, for narrator and orchestra. Open to all ages.
Location: Meadows Hospitality Tent: pre-concert and reception, Harris Concert Hall: Family Concert
Date: Thursday, August 17
Kids Notes pre-concert event and reception: 4 pm (activities best for ages seven and younger)
Family Concert: 5 pm
With special thanks to Gail and Daniel E. Schmidt IV and The Thrift Shop of Aspen
Kids Notes will feature an instrument petting zoo, thanks to Gina Solanyk of Gina’s Flutes!
*Don't forget to join us at Benedict Music Tent for AMFS's annual free Fourth of July concert. Fun for the whole family!*
Gotta Move!
Description: Modeled on “Music Together,” children sing, move, and play instruments, developing their curiosity about music. Always engaging and captivating for young music lovers, kids are sure to have fun in this high-energy, multi-age environment. Easy parking for families in the Benedict Music Tent/Harris Concert Hall lot! Designed specifically for infants through age 5, with an adult.
With special thanks to The Thrift Shop of Aspen
Location & Schedule:
Event 1:
Location: Meadows Hospitality Tent
Date: Monday, July 10, at 10:30 am
Event 2:
Location: Meadows Hospitality Tent
Date: Monday, July 24, at 10:30 am
Event 3:
Location: Meadows Hospitality Tent
Date: Monday, August 7, at 10:30 am
Tunes & Tales
Description: In collaboration with the children’s librarians at the Pitkin County Library (Aspen) and Basalt Regional Library, kids are treated to enchanting stories blended with music performed by AMFS students. For kids under age 9, with an adult.
Location and Schedule:
Tunes & Tales at Basalt Regional Library: Tuesdays at 10:30 am (July 11, 18, 25; August 1)
Tunes & Tales at Aspen's Pitkin County Library: Thursdays at 10:30 am (July 13, 20, 27; August 3, 10)
For more details, visit the AMFS Events page
Sing Play Move
An early childhood music education program for the youngest classical music fans! Sing Play Move’s curriculum is based in folk/world music, action and game songs, nursery rhymes, instrumental play, free/creative and guided movement, and simple composition. Children and parents alike will delight in using John Feierabend’s First Steps in Music, a music and movement program for infants through elementary-aged children that focuses on creating students that are tuneful, beatful, and artful. Learn more.
Kids and Family Programs
Music on the Mountain
Description: AMFS music students play spirited chamber music with the stunning Elk Mountain Range as a backdrop. Perfect for the whole family — bring a picnic or purchase lunch at the Sundeck restaurant. (Gondola ticket or strenuous hike required to get to this event.)
Location: Top of Aspen Mountain
Schedule: Saturdays at 1 pm (July 8, 15, 22, 29; August 5, 12)
For more details, visit the AMFS Events page
Youth Discounts
The Festival encourages children to come to concerts to experience the joy of live music. Children can attend events inexpensively with this program, which offers a heavily discounted Youth Season Pass (just $50!) to children ages 6-17 and/or $5 tickets to children ages 3-17 for any regularly scheduled event. Music is a relevant and powerful force in the lives of all people, young and old alike.
For a classic family Festival experience, join us for free on the David Karetsky Music Lawn and in the Kaye Music Garden just outside the Benedict Music Tent. The Lawn and Garden are free and open at all times for those who wish to quietly listen to and enjoy the concert.
Summer Educational Programs
Educational Programs listed below are for locals or summer residents of the Roaring Fork Valley
Maroon Bel Canto Children's Chorus - Festival Summer Camp
Registration opens March 21, 2017!
Camp date: July 31 – August 4, 2017: The Aspen Music Festival and School offers a fun and music-filled summer camp for students entering fourth through eighth grades. The camp will be run by professional music educators and choir directors, along with the AMFS Director of Education Katie Hone Wiltgen. Participating kids will have an opportunity to learn about vocal technique in a choir setting, sing a varied repertoire and perform a camp finale concert, attend AMFS rehearsals and observe closed rehearsals in the Aspen Opera Center, meet Festival guest artists, conductors, and students, and participate in fun acting, movement, and outdoor activities. Only $200 for the entire week! Learn more.
P.A.L.S. (Passes and Lessons Scholarship) Program
Application opens March 18, 2017!
The P.A.L.S. program identifies and develops musically gifted and motivated musicians in the Roaring Fork Valley and offers them focused lessons during the summer, along with music education-specific activities and exclusive access to the Aspen Music Festival and School's summer programming. P.A.L.S. events are scheduled throughout the summer to ensure that students are able to find events that work within their summer schedules. High school and middle school students (entering grades 6 through 12) can apply for acceptance into the eight-week P.A.L.S. summer program, and students entering grades 1 through 5 are eligible to apply for the Little P.A.L.S. summer program. Learn more.
Roaring Fork Valley Music Lesson Program
Lessons with top AMFS students are available to all interested (part-time or full-time) residents of the Roaring Fork Valley each summer at an extremely reasonable price. This opportunity is open to music enthusiasts of all ages! $25 per half hour lesson. Learn more.
To learn more, please contact:
Katie Hone Wiltgen
Director of Education and Community Programming
970 205 5055
khonewiltgen@aspenmusic.org
Festival for Kids is generously underwritten by the Thrift Shop of Aspen.