2018 Annual Report

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ANNUAL REPORT 2018 FISCAL YEAR October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018

ROBERT SPANO Music Director ALAN FLETCHER President and CEO


“When we invest in the future of music, we invest in the future of humanity.” - R OBERT SPANO


COVER Angela Fiorini, 2018 French horn student, at the Maroon Bells in Aspen. OPPOSITE AMFS brass students busk in downtown Aspen. ABOVE AMFS student Cathryn Gaylord plays her bassoon while Sing Play Move instructor Kate Klotz encourages a participant to “feel� the music. PHOTOS Elle Logan, Grittani Creative, Aubree Dallas, Alex Irvin

4 Letter from the Board Chair 5 Letter from the President and CEO 6 Artistic Highlights 16 Student Experience 2 0 Education and Community Programming 2 4 Benefits 2 6 Salon 27 Where Dreams Begin Campaign 30 Media and Broadcasts 33 Board of Trustees 34 Artist-Faculty 3 6 Family of Supporters 48 Financial Overview


The Aspen Music Festival and School’s 2018 season was another marked by artistic excellence. On our stages and in our rehearsal halls, the AMFS achieved success both artistically and financially. From our partnerships with Walt Disney Animation Studios, Seraphic Fire, and the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet—among countless others—to the inaugural year of the American Brass Quintet Seminar @Aspen, we renewed our commitment to the principles of innovation, institutional growth, and collaboration. More than 680 of the world’s most promising studentmusicians vigorously pursued their studies under the watchful eyes and ears of our peerless artist-faculty and guest artists. Thanks to over 1,000 individual contributors and support from local businesses, national foundations, and government agencies, more than 75 percent of these students received scholarship and fellowship assistance. And with the growth of AMFS’s endowed scholarship funds, we hope to secure these experiences for countless generations of students to come. The summer was also notable for our resilience and a sense of shared community given the Lake Christine Fire, which burned nearly 13,000 acres just downvalley from Aspen during the month of July. The situation presented significant challenges, yet the AMFS rose to face the adversity with grace, including offering free musical performances to evacuees and first responders.

Our Education and Community programming, which is designed to cultivate the next generation of classical music enthusiasts, continued to mature. More than 650 local students are currently enrolled in our AfterWorks programs, learning to play stringed instruments or singing in one of our two children’s choruses, while our summer Festival for Kids attracted over 1,000 young people and family members. I was honored to assume the role of chair of the Board of Trustees this summer, taking the reins from the incomparable Bob Hurst. He has provided extraordinary leadership for which the institution will forever owe a debt of gratitude. The Board welcomed five returning members this year: Richard Felder, Mary Giese, Linda Vitti Herbst, Dana Powell, and Caryn Scheidt. Together, the AMFS looks forward to bringing our audiences another dynamic season of music and artistry. On behalf of the Aspen Music Festival and School, thank you all for your support of our shared mission and work.

Michael Klein Chair, Board of Trustees


Last June, I stood at the podium at the 2018 Season Convocation, looked out at our 650-plus music students, and asked something of them. I asked them to think deeply about their lives in music—and about why their work as a musician is important. In my remarks, I proposed that artists play a crucial role in our society, and part of that role is in being truth-tellers. The essence of our work in music is in uncovering one’s own honest—often searingly honest— interpretation. In a culture where truth and facts are now so debased, we need that honesty even more than ever. It was with this on my mind that the 2018 summer season began. Throughout the summer, I watched truth unfold through music. Time after time, I watched our student and professional musicians have the courage to open themselves to one another in the rehearsal hall, or to an audience from the stage. Our artist-faculty veritably embodied this tender virtue, imparting it every day in both their performances and teaching. One example was in the new American Brass Quintet Seminar @Aspen where our longtime brass faculty gave fully of themselves to mentor four student brass ensembles with an intense schedule of musical, professional, and personal growth experiences. Another example was the concert in which artist-faculty member Andrew Bain, rising from his seat as principal horn in the Aspen Chamber Symphony, performed with alumnus tenor Benjamin Bliss in Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings—a spectacularly exposed and challenging work for both solo artists.

Our visiting alumni and guest artists showed an equal willingness to step up, whether it was Alisa Weilerstein’s three-hour solo exploration of Bach, or Midori reprising Bernstein’s Serenade, a musical work that played a defining role in her life, or Daniil Trifonov sharing another side of himself as he performed his own composition. The summer also included moments of sheer fun. A collaboration with Disney on a new film-andmusic compilation filled the Music Tent with giddy concertgoers, many sitting in the Tent for the very first time. A sassy Figaro, student baritone Juan Carlos Heredia (of Cuauhtémoc Chihuahua, Mexico, and Los Angeles), enchanted audiences at The Barber of Seville—a star in the making. And not least, our audiences showed up to bear witness to these revelations, and to be delighted and enriched by them. For without our patrons, there would be no partners in this most human dialogue that is living art. It is only all together that we create such an important and truth-telling journey in Aspen each summer. My heartfelt thanks to each and every one who showed up and played a part. I hope this report in your hands recalls some of the joy we shared and reminds you that it is beautiful—but also critical—work we do together.

Alan Fletcher President and CEO


ARTISTIC HIGHLIGHTS


The 2018 summer of music in Aspen was delivered with a beguiling French flair, given the season theme, “Paris, City of Light.” Native French composers, as well as Francophiles, made many appearances—Debussy, Ravel, Ibert, Boulez, Offenbach, Canteloube, and more. Nicholas McGegan’s beloved annual Baroque night offered lesserknown French Baroque works, delighting regulars with the twist. The season closed with Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, combining sophistication with passion in this kaleidoscopic work. The season comprised much more. There were fresh, large-scale collaborations with Walt Disney Animation Studios and Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, increased choral and brass programming thanks to new training programs with Seraphic Fire and the American Brass Quintet, a celebration of Leonard Bernstein, Beethoven and Bach cycles, world premieres, modern masterpieces like Ligeti’s Violin Concerto, et beaucoup plus.

OPPOSITE Violinist and alumnus Gil Shaham and Music Director Robert Spano piano presented a recital to a sold-out crowd at Harris Concert Hall on August 4. TOP Aspen Opera Center alumna Golda Schultz sang songs by Canteloube and Mozart with the Aspen Chamber Symphony conducted by Vasily Petrenko on July 27. BOTTOM Russian pianist and composer Daniil Trifonov dazzled audiences with a performance of his own Piano Concerto in E-flat minor in the Benedict Music Tent on July 15.

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DAZZLING NIGHTS • The AMFS and Walt Disney Animation Studios collaborated to present the July 30 world premiere of a compilation of the Studios’ hit movies from the past ten years. The film-with-live-orchestra featured clips and music from Frozen, Moana, Big Hero 6, Tangled, and Zootopia. Artist-faculty member and AMFS alumnus David Halen led an orchestra of enthusiastic AMFS students, who enjoyed playing the soundtracks many of them listened to while growing up. The Benedict Music Tent was packed for the evening, with many families and concert-goers there for the very first time. • On August 10 and 11, the AMFS and Aspen Santa Fe Ballet presented evenings of dance and live piano performance with AMFS alumna Joyce Yang. Yang and noted Finnish choreographer Jorma Elo worked closely together on a new work, Half/Cut/Split, set to Schumann’s Carnaval. Also on the program were Jiří Kylián’s seminal Return to a Strange Land set to the music of Leos Janáček, and Nicolo Fonte’s touching Where We Left Off with music by Philip Glass. The innovative program featured Yang performing on stage with the dancers.

TOP Pianist Joyce Yang with an Aspen Santa Fe Ballet dancer. BOTTOM/OPPOSITE Disney fans of all ages—among them the AMFS students who performed the soundtrack live—were enchanted by Walt Disney Animation Studios: “A Decade in Concert” on July 30.


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25TH ANNIVERSARY OF HARRIS CONCERT HALL On July 28, violinist and alumnus Robert McDuffie presented a recital commemorating an auspicious anniversary for the Joan and Irving Harris Concert Hall. Ms. Harris herself was in attendance, along with many other AMFS luminaries. It was in 1993 that the Aspen Music Festival and School debuted the 500-seat concert hall, and it literally and figuratively changed Aspen’s musical landscape. The Hall’s extraordinary quality gave artists and audiences an opportunity to share intimate recital experiences. “Having a year-round chamber music venue of this type and quality has transformed what we can present,” says AMFS President and CEO Alan Fletcher. “The Hall beautifully supports what we put in it, from the most gossamer solo repertoire to our annual brass quintet recital—combinations of instruments and repertoire that just would not work, even in our acoustically successful Music Tent.”

“When I hear my students play here, I really have a sense of who they are at this moment and what their potential is.” — N ADINE ASIN FLUTE Artist-faculty member

Artists who have played in the Hall over the past twenty-five years agree that it’s special: A hall with “beautiful clarity and projection and warmth,” is how artist-faculty member Sharon Isbin describes it; “a place where you reveal your true self,” says cellist David Finckel. Harris Concert Hall also is a spectacular space for teaching and student performances. Says artistfaculty member Nadine Asin, “When I hear my students play here, I really have a sense of who they are at this moment and what their potential is.” Ultimately, it is this combination of the beauty of the moment and faith in the future that defines the great success of Harris Concert Hall. Ms. Harris saw that potential from the beginning. In an interview during the Hall’s opening weekend, she commented, “The building . . . is a metaphor for the faith and planning for the future of the Music School and Festival.” Twenty-five years later, it has proved a faith well-placed.


TOP, L-R Joan Fabry, Joan Balter, and Joan Harris BOTTOM Robert McDuffie performs with 2018 Dorothy DeLay Fellow Aubree Oliverson. LEFT McDuffie performs with an ensemble conducted by Aspen Conducting Academy alumnus Norman Huynh.

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CELEBRATIONS • The AMFS marked the 100th birthday of Leonard Bernstein with some of his best works, including a concert/concept performance of his one-act opera, Trouble in Tahiti. Singers from the Aspen Opera Center performed this modern opera about 1950s domestic turmoil. As the characters used a movie to escape their unhappiness, the opera was staged with the silent Charlie Chaplin film, A Dog’s Life, behind it. Midori returned to Aspen to reprise Bernstein’s Serenade, after Plato’s Symposium, a work she played at age fourteen with the maestro himself in an astounding performance that was touted on the front page of The New York Times and firmly established her place on the world’s stage. • The AMFS commemorated twenty-five years of service from artist-faculty members Per Hannevold bassoon (an alumnus), Albert Laszlo double bass, and Mark Sparks flute by placing their names on the plaque in the Benedict Music Tent along with others whom have reached this landmark. A party with cake and much cheer followed. Also notable was Mr. Hannevold’s wonderful performance with fellow artist-faculty member Joaquin Valdepeñas of Strauss’s Duet-Concertino, accompanied by the Aspen Festival Orchestra on July 8.

TOP AMFS alumna and violinist Midori performs Bernstein’s Serenade with the Aspen Festival Orchestra conducted by Patrick Summers on August 5. BOTTOM Alumnus and twenty-five-year artist-faculty member Per Hannevold (R) with fellow artist-faculty member Joaquin Valdepeñas (L) and conductor David Robertson.


NEW AND NOTEABLE NEW PROGRAMS • This year, the American Brass Quintet, which has been in residency at the AMFS since 1970, inaugurated a new program for intensive brass chamber music study. Called the American Brass Quintet Seminar @Aspen, it drew an astonishing number of applicants. Four enthusiastic student quintets came from as far away as Australia to participate in the initial year of ABQS @Aspen.

TOP Students participating in the new American Brass Quintet Seminar @Aspen work with artistfaculty member and ABQ bass trombonist John Rojak (standing). BOTTOM Seraphic Fire and students from the new Seraphic Fire Professional Choral Institute at the AMFS perform at Harris Concert Hall on August 22 under the direction of Patrick Dupré Quigley.

Students received private lessons and ensemble coachings, and participated in seminars, demonstrations, and public performance. Artistfaculty member and ABQ bass trombonist John Rojak says that the students learned musical skills that not only “will make them highly successful in all musical endeavors, as chamber music does,” but also will “bring them the art of listening, the art of communication, and teach them lessons that will translate to any life situation they might find themselves in.” • In another first this year, the AMFS partnered with acclaimed vocal ensemble Seraphic Fire to create the Seraphic Fire Professional Choral Institute (PCI). Welcoming forty singers in its inaugural year, the institute is the only summer training program for those preparing for careers in ensemble singing. Together, the professional and student singers performed Mozart’s Requiem with the Aspen Chamber Symphony on August 17 and presented two recitals in Harris Concert Hall on August 20 and 22. Repertoire included a tour de force of rich choral works by Monteverdi, Tavener, Rheinberger, Pärt, and Theofanidis; a selection of spirituals; and Fauré’s poignant and powerful Requiem.

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EXPLORATIONS • Three cycle series appeared on the season: the final recital of Jonathan Biss’s three-year exploration of Beethoven’s complete Piano Sonatas, the first recital of violinist James Ehnes’s presentation of Beethoven’s complete Violin Sonatas, and a marathon evening with cellist Alisa Weilerstein playing all six of Bach’s Cello Suites.

PREMIERES • The season included a number of U.S. and world premieres. On June 28, AMFS Advanced Quartet Studies alumni and ensemble-in-residence the Jupiter String Quartet opened the season with the world premiere performance of alumna Kati Agócs’ Imprimatur. The Aspen Festival Orchestra performed the U.S. premiere of Anders Hillborg’s Mantra—Elegy (Homage to Stravinsky) on July 22; while the Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra presented the world premiere of Crossing, the new work composed by Krists Auznieks, winner of the 2017 Jacob Druckman Prize. British violinist Daniel Hope performed and led an ensemble of AMFS students in the second U.S. performance of a Violin Concerto by President and CEO Alan Fletcher. In comments to The Violin Channel, Fletcher expressed an aspiration that many composers certainly share: “I hope . . . that it provides a window for each listener to see through . . . and feel the undercurrents of emotion.”

In a very special, yet unplanned moment, the lights in Harris Concert Hall went out during Weilerstein’s performance. Demonstrating her spectacular command as an artist, Ms. Weilerstein continued playing without the slightest pause. The audience sat, rapt, wholly in the dark, listening until the lights came back on several minutes later.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Violinist Daniel Hope with composer and AMFS President and CEO Alan Fletcher; the cast of the Aspen Opera Center’s production of The Barber of Seville; student tenor Roy Hage as Hoffmann and student soprano Sydney Baedke as Olympia in the AOC production of Tales of Hoffmann; AMFS alumna Alisa Weilerstein during her July 31 recital of the complete Bach Cello Suites in Harris Concert Hall.


ASPEN OPERA CENTER • The AOC staged Rossini’s comic masterpiece, The Barber of Seville, July 12, 14, and 16 in a colorful, commedia dell’arte style. • In August, Tales of Hoffmann enchanted audience members with its mystical bent and provided a fantastic opportunity for student tenor Roy Hage. In Aspen Mr. Hage studied with Vinson Cole, a legendary tenor who has performed Hoffmann numerous times and is intimately familiar with the role’s demands. • In 2018, many AOC alumni with successful careers on the rise returned to perform on the main stage at the Benedict Music Tent. The elegant Golda Schultz revealed her playful side to followers in a backstage “takeover” of the AMFS Instagram feed before an exquisite performance of Canteloube and Mozart with the Aspen Chamber Symphony. Tenor Benjamin Bliss performed Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings with artist-faculty member Andrew Bain; and soprano Tamara Wilson and bass-baritone Ryan McKinny returned to perform scenes from Wagner’s Die Walküre at the glorious final Sunday concert. Aspen audiences cheered heartily for these artists whom they have seen “grow up” right here in Aspen.

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STUDENT EXPERIENCE


TOP THREE REASONS STUDENTS CHOOSE TO ATTEND THE AMFS 1

The opportunity to study with and/or perform alongside our world class artist-faculty

2

The opportunity to participate in an intensive, high-level program of study

3

The amount of financial aid offered

690 STUDENTS

Average age

22

34 COUNTRIES 40 STATES

FROM AND

TOTAL AMOUNT OF FINANCIAL AID PROVIDED

$

OPPOSITE The Avery Brass Quintet from the University of Colorado - Boulder participated in the new American Brass Quintet Seminar @Aspen. They were featured performers at Music on the Mountain.

38%

are returning students

75 %

2.8 million

received financial aid, in the form of either a scholarship or a fellowship

92% 73

%

rated their AMFS summer as “excellent” or “good”

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MILESTONES AND MOMENTS • Representatives from forty schools across the nation convened for three days at the beginning of the AMFS season to discuss relevant topics in the admissions world. Alan Fletcher delivered the keynote address, a highlight of the conference. • The AMFS continues to promote ethnic and cultural diversity at Aspen and this summer, a record 11 percent of students came from under-represented groups in classical music, exceeding any other summer classical music program or professional orchestra, and most year-round colleges and conservatories.

• Two new programs got off to robust starts this season: + The Seraphic Fire Professional Choral Institute received more applications than anticipated, resulting in forty participating students attending, who gave wildly positively reviews of their experience. + The ABQS @Aspen also received an overwhelmingly enthusiastic response. The program had hoped for two participating groups. Ultimately four were invited to Aspen, including a “creatively expanded sextet,” and a quintet from Sydney, Australia. Exceeding expectations, all applicants were fellowship (preprofessional) level, and the program was modified accordingly to advance the curriculum and provide more performance opportunities.

ABOVE Aspen Conducting Academy Piano Competition winner Harmony Zhu (in red) takes a bow with ACA students (L-R) Pablo Devigo-Vázquez, Hannah Maria Andresen, and Alan Buxbaum. OPPOSITE AMFS President and CEO Alan Fletcher congratulates the 2018 competition winners.


CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2018 COMPETITION WINNERS David Boutin-Bourque Winds (clarinet), student of Michael Rusinek Maya Anjali Buchanan Dorothy DeLay Fellowship, student of Sylvia Rosenberg and Donald Weilerstein Deanna Cirielli Harp, student of Nancy Allen and Sivan Magen Noah Dugan Brass (trumpet), student of Thomas Hooten, James Wilt, and Kevin Cobb

Benjamin Manis Robert J. Harth Conductor Prize

Nicky Sohn Jacob Druckman Prize

Johannes Zahn Aspen Conductor Prize

Mauro Mariani James Conlon Conductor Prize given by Mrs. Mercedes T. Bass

Katherine Woo ACA Violin, student of Masao Kawasaki and Sylvia Rosenberg

Julian Rhee Violin, student of Robert Lipsett and Sylvia Rosenberg

Christine Wu Low Strings (viola), student of Masao Kawasaki and Sylvia Rosenberg

Harmony Zhu ACA Piano, student of Arie Vardi, Yoheved Kaplinsky, and Hung-Kuan Chen

Owen Sidney Richardson Hermitage Prize

Biguo Xing Piano, student of Hung-Kuan Chen and Arie Vardi

Sasha Scolnik-Brower Robert Spano Conductor Prize given by Mrs. Mercedes T. Bass

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EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY


SUMMER PROGRAMMING SUMMER EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING

OPPOSITE/BELOW Tesfa Wondemagegnehu, choral conductor from St. Olaf College, was one of three visiting music educators who worked with young singers from the Roaring Fork Valley and beyond during the Maroon Bel Canto Children’s Chorus – Festival Summer Camp.

The Maroon Bel Canto Children’s Chorus – Festival Summer Camp served up a week of vocal instruction, behind-the-scenes visits to AMFS rehearsals and performances, games, outdoor fun, and a rousing final performance. The camp was conducted by visiting music educators Amanda Sprague Hanzlik, Michelle Bendett, and Tesfa Wondemagegnehu. One-hundred-and-one AMFS students took time out of their busy schedules to teach private and group lessons to 175 local children in the P.A.L.S. (Passes and Lessons Scholarship) program. Sixty-one percent of those P.A.L.S. students received full or partial scholarships. This year the program offered six string, three woodwind, three brass, and two percussion ensembles.

Thanks to the donors who supported education and community programming Alpine Bank of Aspen Aspen Games for Good Aspen Thrift Shop Stephen Brint and Mark Brown Colorado Creative Industries District Les Dames d’Aspen Alan Fletcher and Ron Schiller Golub Family Foundation Tita and Dan McCarty Nina McLemore Nancy Meinig - Meinig Family Foundation National Endowment for the Arts Janet and Tom O’Connor Beverle and Marc Ostrofsky Hensley and James Peterson Anne and Chris Reyes Caryn and Rudi Scheidt, Jr. Jeannie and John Seybold Gordon H. Silver The Town of Basalt Wells Fargo Community Relations Edith Kallas and Joe Whatley

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FESTIVAL FOR KIDS Kids’ summer programming at the Aspen Music Festival served hundreds of children during the 2018 season. Sing Play Move, a music education program for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers led by Kate Klotz of the Boulder Children’s Chorale, delighted eighteen youngsters and their guardians with singing, movement, and music exploration. Gotta Move!—a free program designed for infants and children through age five—gave more than 250 children the opportunity to explore singing, sounds, and movement at the Aspen Meadows Events Tent. Tunes & Tales, offered at Aspen’s Pitkin County Library and the Basalt Regional Library, treated kids nine and under to enchanting stories blended with music performed by AMFS students and staff. On Independence Day, families converged on the Benedict Music Tent to enjoy the Festival’s free Fourth of July Concert. In August, the popular Family Concert featured Kids Notes, an event featuring preconcert snacks and activities designed to prepare children for the concert, followed by a lively interactive performance of Camille Saint-Saëns’s The Carnival of the Animals.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT AMFS percussion student Bryce Leafman (in red hat) lets children try out some instruments during Kids Notes activities prior to the AMFS’s annual Family Concert; the Maroon Bel Canto Children’s Chorus in concert; young string players from the Beginning Strings program; participants from the Lead Guitar program; youngsters experiment with rhythm in the Sing Play Move class.


PROGRAMMING IN LOCAL SCHOOLS The Aspen Music Festival and School’s rapidly growing AfterWorks outreach program provides in- and after-school music education for elementary, middle, and high school students throughout the Roaring Fork Valley. The AMFS partners with AmeriCorps to bring five ArtistYear Fellows to the Valley to teach in both AfterWorks and Roaring Fork School District music programs. • Beginning Strings served 107 students in six Valley elementary schools, plus 40 in an in-school program at the Waldorf School on the Roaring Fork. • Lead Guitar served 88 students in after-school programs at four schools, and 215 students with in-school programs at an additional four schools. • The Maroon Bel Canto Children’s Chorus (MBCCC), a classic children’s choir for grades three to eight, served 203 students in ten schools during the 2017–18 school year, nearly doubling enrollment. That growth led to the creation of a new ensemble for the 2018–19 school year: the Maroon Bel Canto Singers, a select ensemble for students in grades six to eight. Twice during the 2017–18 school year, the AMFS’s Musical Connections program hosted Valley-wide honor ensembles at Harris Concert Hall, uniting students from Aspen to Rifle. The All-Valley Honor Choir, conducted by choral composer and conductor Andrea Ramsey, featured 130 high school students from six schools, while Aspen Conducting Academy alumnus Matthew Forte returned to lead 120 students from six schools in the All-Valley Middle School Honor Band. Musical Connections also partnered with University of Colorado – Boulder to bring music residencies to Valley classrooms. Two former AMFS Advanced Quartet Studies participants—the Ajax Quartet, CU Boulder’s graduate string quartet in residence, and the professional Denver-based Altius Quartet—worked with students. The University’s Brass and Wind Quintets also visited and offered interactive concerts for elementary schools, side-by-side rehearsals and master classes for middle and high school bands, and live performances for all schools.

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BENEFITS


The annual Season Benefit—A Parisian Feast of Music, honoring Walter Isaacson—was held on August 6 in Hurst Hall on the Matthew and Carolyn Bucksbaum Campus. The event raised $1.4 million for the Aspen Music Festival and School. Paula and Jim Crown, Soledad and Robert Hurst, Joan Fabry and Michael Klein, Gillian and Robert Steel, and Nancy and Charles Wall chaired the benefit. Performers included AMFS student Ray Ushikubo piano and violin, artistfaculty member Brinton Smith cello, AMFS alumna (and sixty-sixth U.S. secretary of state) Condoleezza Rice piano, Aspen Opera Center student Avery Boettcher soprano, and AMFS alumnus Robert McDuffie violin.

On July 16, the AMFS held its 15th annual Opera Benefit. The black-tie evening included dinner in a whimsical orange grove at the exclusive Caribou Club in Aspen and concluded with a full performance of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville at the Wheeler Opera House. Richard Edwards, Denise Monteleone, and Jim Martin chaired the event. Other benefit events in 2018 included intimate Artist Dinners hosted in private homes with Daniil Trifonov, Inon Barnatan, and Sarah Chang. Guests enjoyed an evening of cocktails, music, and wonderful food, all while getting to know these extraordinary musicians. Seven House Music concerts rounded out the summer offerings with a special blend of opera and chamber music.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT AMFS alumni Condoleezza Rice piano and Brinton Smith cello; (L-R) Honoree Walter Isaacson, Mercedes T. Bass, and Robert Hurst at A Parisian Feast of Music; Carrie Wells (L) and Shari Applebaum (R) at the 2018 Opera Benefit; Chairman’s Circle members Ben and Beth Wegbreit; Sarah Chang speaks with guests at an intimate Artist Dinner; (L-R) At the Opera Benefit, Jim Martin (benefit co-chair), Denise Monteleone (benefit co-chair), Billy Stolz (benefit sponsor) and Richard Edwards (benefit co-chair).

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THE SALON

The Aspen Music Festival and School’s Salon serves to enlighten and nurture the next generation of classical music enthusiasts by providing a space for intellectual and social exchange through uniquely curated artistic and cultural events.

A WALK INTO MUSIC In July, naturalists from the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES) guided Salon members on a spectacular hike through the Castle Creek Valley, educating them on the surrounding ecosystem. Afterwards, the group enjoyed lunch and nature-inspired music, performed by the Ajax Quartet, at the scenic Catto Center at Toklat.

SALON STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS Jamie Helzberg Cathy Koplovitz Erika Aronson Stern Alia Tutor Carrie Wells Rachel Zimmerman

SALON SPONSOR First Western Trust

ANIMATION FOR CHILDREN AND TEENS Late July brought the Walt Disney Animation Studios to Aspen. Salon members and their families went on a journey into the world of animation with Travis Lacina, Education Studio manager with the Walt Disney Family Museum. This two-hour workshop detailed the basic skills and concepts of animation at a private Aspen residence before the group headed to the Benedict Music Tent for Walt Disney Animation Studios: “A Decade in Concert.”

BEHIND THE CURTAIN – ASPEN SANTA FE BALLET: AN EVENING WITH JOYCE YANG Salon finished out the season with the stunning collaboration between the AMFS and Aspen Santa Fe Ballet. In August, members were treated to an exclusive private dress rehearsal of Aspen Santa Fe Ballet’s latest production featuring world-renowned pianist and AMFS guest artist Joyce Yang. Members enjoyed a postperformance reception at the St. Regis Aspen Resort’s elegant Velvet Buck, where they mingled with Joyce Yang, Jorma Elo, and ASFB dancers.

TOP Travis Lacina, Education Studio manager with the Walt Disney Family Museum, teaches basic animation skills to Salon family members. BOTTOM Renée Hemsing Patten violin and Eric Haugen cello of the Ajax Quartet perform for Salon members at the Catto Center.


WHERE DREAMS BEGIN CAMPAIGN

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WHERE DREAMS BEGIN 2018 UPDATE In his remarks at the Aspen Music Festival and School’s 2018 Convocation, Music Director Robert Spano reminded students that they are a part of a “living stream of tradition”—a wonderful community of composers from ages past. “They all live on through our engagement with them,” said Spano. He went on to emphasize that act of engagement, explaining, “Music only comes to life when we experience it in a shared way, with our audience.” With the capital portion of its Where Dreams Begin campaign successfully completed in 2017, the Aspen Music Festival and School has turned to the endowment phase of its ambitious $75 million

RIGHT Saul and Phyllis Lowitt haven’t missed a summer at the Music Festival in the past thirtyeight years. They are members of the Gordon and Lillian Hardy Planned Giving Society, and were featured this summer in a joint AMFS-Colorado Public Radio “Longtime Listeners” social media campaign.

DR. JOHN AMOS: SHARING A LEGACY fundraising initiative—the crucial work of building lasting support for AMFS students, artist-faculty, and programs. In 2017–18, the AMFS received nearly $2.9 million in campaign gifts from friends and supporters across the country to support the endowment. Just as the Aspen Music Festival and School’s audiences share in the experience of bringing music to life, so, too, do its donors. Gifts such as John Amos’s estate bequest and the Crown family’s leadership gift to the AMFS endowment fund continue many a family tradition and ensure lifechanging experiences for new generations of aspiring musicians and their Aspen audiences. See related sidebars.

In 2018, the AMFS received a generous planned gift from the estate of John Amos, a long-time donor to the Aspen Music Festival and School. Amos grew up in Grand Junction and attended AMFS concerts in his youth. A French horn player as a student and later during his service in the Navy, Dr. Amos continued a family tradition of attending AMFS summer concerts with his mother, Julia V. Amos, a Presbyterian church organist and music teacher, even after establishing his own dental practice in San Francisco. In recognition of the enduring role classical music played in his own life and in memory of his mother, Dr. Amos left half of his estate to the Aspen Music Festival and School. His bequest has led to the creation of the Dr. John E. Amos Endowed Teaching Chair for Brass. The chair not only supports an artistfaculty member for a three-year period, but also provides a full scholarship covering tuition, room, and board for a student recruited by the artist-faculty holding the chair during each year of his or her tenure. The AMFS is tremendously grateful to Dr. Amos and his executors for making a gift that will ensure that the Amos family’s enduring love for classical music lives on through the AMFS, artist-faculty members, and students.


THE CROWN FAMILY: A NEW CHAPTER OF ENGAGEMENT Jim and Paula Crown drew on a longstanding family tradition of engagement when planning their gift to the Aspen Music Festival and School. The Crowns have been a part of the Aspen community since the mid-1980s when the family company first invested in and later assumed full ownership of the Aspen Skiing Company. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Jim’s father, Lester Crown, was one of several civic leaders who played a key role in stabilizing Aspen’s primary cultural institutions. At that time, the Aspen Institute had sold its Meadows property with plans to relocate. Crown and others led a $32 million joint campaign to reclaim and renovate the physical assets of both the Aspen Institute and the Aspen Music Festival and School. “Our support has always been driven by our love for Aspen and our desire for it to be a thriving, diverse community,” says Jim Crown. That support has extended to Paula Crown’s engagement as a member of the AMFS Board of Trustees for the better part of two decades beginning in the late ’80s, and again with their 2018 leadership gift to the endowment phase of the Where Dreams Begin Campaign.

To commemorate their gift, the Crowns made an unusual—and whimsical—request to name the island in the middle of the Great Pond on the Bucksbaum Campus “The Island of Conclusions,” drawing on another beloved family tradition: The Phantom Tollbooth. “As our kids were growing up, Jim and I would always read to them at bedtime,” explains Paula Crown. “That was how we ended the day.” The Phantom Tollbooth was always a family favorite, and, she says, “the story itself communicates some great life lessons.” Three of the Crowns’ four children are now young adults and the youngest is seventeen—not far from the ages of the young musicians who come to the AMFS every summer. Rather than simply naming a built space, the Crowns thought it would be fun to offer a reminder of one of their favorite parables to the students who come here each summer. “The Music School Campus is one of the truly magical places we have here in Aspen,” says Jim Crown. “Being able to live and learn at the foot of a mountain along Castle Creek is a fantastic opportunity—we are happy to be able to support the students, the school, and the festival.”

ABOVE Trumpet student Andrew Heath, pictured from The Island of Conclusions (visible at the lower left) on the Bucksbaum Campus.

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MEDIA AND BROADCASTS


TRADITIONAL MEDIA AND BROADCASTS POSTCARD from...

ASPEN

Rocky Mountain High

At this year’s Aspen Festival and School, an array of leading performers rubbed shoulders with hundreds of enthusiastic young musicians. Bruce Hodges soaked up the clear mountain air

A

lmost 2,500m high in the Rocky Mountains is Aspen, Colorado. Home to celebrities and the wealthy, and dotted with luxury shops and restaurants, the bucolic locale creates an imposing yet informal backdrop for one of the world’s great summer music festivals. Established in 1949, the Aspen Music Festival and School (which this year took place between 28 June and 19 August) draws artists, audiences and students from the world over – and deservedly so. Considering the breathtaking mountain elevations on all sides, the laid-back yet exalted ambience and the presence of scores of artists and teachers – what music lover wouldn’t want to come here? Over an intense 48 hours, crammed with artistry, interviews, a few choice

28

THE STRAD NOVEMBER 2018

meals and a decent quantity of local beers, I succumbed to the Aspen allure. It began on 20 July when, after a long travel day, including a bus ride from Grand Junction (Aspen-Pitkin County Airport was closed, owing to smoke from nearby fires blocking the airspace), I still had ‘fumes’ to spare for a 6pm concert from the Aspen Chamber Symphony, with a brilliantly played and conceived sequence featuring British violist Lawrence Power. After Alexander Shelley conducted a frenzied account of Bartók’s Romanian Folk Dances, but before an elegantly proportioned Schumann Second Symphony, Power unveiled Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Pentatonic Etude (2008), written for the violist as a prelude to Bartók’s Viola Concerto. ‘It’s an etude on the pentatonic scale that comes at the

beginning of the Bartók,’ Power explained to me. ‘Salonen explores every part of the instrument, and he also explores harmonics really well.’ On the Bartók, left incomplete at the composer’s death, Power added: ‘What interests me is the spirit of the piece. We don’t know how much of it is Bartók’s. We have to give the impression of it being his, through the lens of someone else.’ (Power was referring to composer Tibor Serly, who compiled the work from Bartók’s sketches.) Power’s moving encore was a viola arrangement of ‘Kaddisch’ from Ravel’s Deux mélodies hébraïques, with Carla Maria Rodrigues, principal viola of San Francisco Opera, leading the viola section in a sustained drone over which Power spun out a luxurious line. The violist returned on Saturday afternoon with violinists Bing Wang and Cornelia Heard, fellow violist James Dunham and cellist Eric Kim in Mozart’s String Quintet in D major K593, a satisfying conclusion to a chamber music snapshot that began with John Harbison’s Mirabai Songs and Chausson’s Piano Trio in G minor op.3. That night, violinist James Ehnes and pianist Andrew Armstrong showed grace and exactitude in four Beethoven sonatas (nos.3, 4, 8 and 10) – a quietly satisfying, pleasantly introverted affair. Armstrong made an ideal partner, glancing at Ehnes while anticipating every phrase with admirable foresight. The acoustically clear Harris Concert Hall, ideal for chamber music, was packed. In a brief talk prior to the performance, Ehnes commented: ‘Aspen is amazing. If you come here at any given time, you’re going to run into friends and colleagues, and interesting people, coupled with the incredible beauty of the place. The audiences here are tremendous – they’re thirsty!’

T

he festival – comprising more than four hundred events, of which over two hundred are concerts – is the happy result of a comprehensive teaching initiative in which students work closely with renowned mentors. Featuring private instruction, masterclasses and dozens of performance opportunities, it is a heady www.thestrad.com

2018 was a banner year for AMFS print and broadcast coverage. The New York Times set the tone early, proclaiming the AMFS “the big daddy of North American events” in its summer festival preview. Other publications, such as The Wall Street Journal, The Chicago Tribune, and Sunset Magazine followed suit, including the Festival on their recommended summer music itineraries. Several music journalists took that advice and came to Aspen for multi-day reporting residencies. Agence France-Presse writer Shaun Tandon battled wildfire-induced flight delays to explore the Parisian season theme. His article, “Un festival américain met en avant l’héritage français dans la musique Classique,” appeared in numerous French media outlets, and was picked up by more than twenty news organizations worldwide, including The Japan News, Montreal’s La Presse, and the Bangkok Post, as well as others in the Philippines, Lebanon, Belgium, Kuwait, Pakistan, Cameroon, Malaysia, and India. Bruce Hodges, from the prestigious London-based magazine, The Strad, turned a weekend packed with concerts and interviews into a rich, multi-layered “Postcard from Aspen” for the magazine. Colorado Public Radio hosts David Ginder and David Rutherford were in residence in July and August, offering CPR listeners a sampling of sound from student, artist-faculty, and guest artist perspectives. CPR also presented live broadcasts of Pre-Concert Overtures throughout the summer and collaborated with Aspen Public Radio (APR) to offer live broadcasts of the AMFS Independence Day and Final Sunday concerts. Locally, APR—the official voice of the AMFS–kept listeners up-to-date with daily and weekly Festival-

related programming, and, along with CPR and American Public Media, continued to share Festival recordings with regional and national audiences via broadcast and streaming services throughout the year. The Aspen Times and Aspen Daily News also provided ongoing Festival coverage ranging from profiles of visiting artists to behind-the-scenes glimpses for local readers, and the AMFS gained attention from other local and national media outlets, including Aspen Sojourner, Modern Luxury’s Aspen magazine, Mountain Living magazine, Opera News Online, and Gramophone.

OPPOSITE An Aspen Times story about Google software engineer and AMFS cello student Jeffrey Li generated attention in both traditional and social media. From the start, students were encouraged to share their AMFS experiences with the hashtag #AMFS2018. LEFT The AMFS earned coverage in international publications such as The Strad magazine (top) and local papers such as the Aspen Daily News (bottom). ABOVE Media partner Aspen Public Radio broadcast AMFS’s High Notes discussions, including this one featuring President and CEO Alan Fletcher in conversation with pianist and composer Daniil Trifonov.

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The AMFS had a large presence on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram this summer, connecting with students, artist-faculty, guest artists, and patrons. New social media initiatives that found success and engagement included profiles of competition winners, opera students, and longtime listeners, and Instagram takeovers by students and guest artists.

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

LEFT/BELOW Instagram takeovers by Aspen Opera Center students like Hunter Enoch and guest artists like alumna and soprano Golda Schultz (pictured backstage during rehearsal with pianist Inon Barnatan) were popular with followers.

The AMFS gained 1,585 new Facebook followers over the summer, bringing the total number to 20,472 by the end of August. Daily posts reached an average of 2,600 people; posts featuring competition winners and opera student spotlights reached nearly 24,000 people over eight weeks with high engagement. Facebook also contributed the greatest percentage of clickthroughs to the AMFS website. Twitter followers remained around 20,000. The AMFS saw a 49 percent increase in Instagram followers this summer, largely due to popular Instagram takeovers by guest artists and students, bringing total follower count to 5,181. Takeovers—consisting of photos, short videos, and stories—were done by guest artists Ray Chen, Simone Porter, Josh Roman, Golda Schultz, and Seraphic Fire as well as students from instrumental, opera, brass, and conducting programs. Pianist Conrad Tao and French horn student Angela Fiorini’s takeovers were shared with the Aspen Chamber Resort Association’s Instagram, which reached an audience of 87,700. Social media has had a significant impact on student recruitment as well. Just a few years ago, the AMFS Student Services Department was investing eight weeks and nearly $30,000 in recruitment travel. The department now relies primarily on social media to connect with prospective students. The number of applications has remained steady and the caliber of students has only improved.

49.44%

43.81%

40.67%

36.49%

29.82%

25.73%

17.54%

The 2018 season also saw an explosion of content in social media and webbased classical music content providers such as theviolinchannel.com, which featured British violinist Daniel Hope’s performance of Alan Fletcher’s Violin Concerto, and blogger Laurie Niles’s in-depth interview with violinist Augustin Hadelich on violinist.com.

INCREASE IN INSTAGRAM FOLLOWERS | 2018 SEASON

5.60%

SOCIAL MEDIA

AUDIENCE | WHERE WE FOUND THEM

Students Students’ parents Patrons

Guest artists News outlets

Students Alumni Guest artists


October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Jonathan Haas

Erika Aronson Stern

Michael Klein, Chair

Per Hannevold

Alia Tutor

Ann Friedman, Vice Chair

Connie Heard

Joaquin Valdepeñas

Janet O’Connor, Treasurer

Linda Vitti Herbst

Charles Wall

Gail Engelberg, Secretary

Allison Kanders

Robert J. Hurst, Co-President of National Council

Paul Kantor

Carrie Wells, Co-President of National Council

Cathy L. Koplovitz

Alan Fletcher, President and CEO

Jonathan Lee

Richard Aaron Nadine Asin Amy Margerum Berg Edward C. Berkeley Sandra K. Bishop Stephen Brint Sam Brown Martin Carver Warren Deck Stephen Drimmer James Dunham Alan Englander Richard Felder John Fullerton Mary Giese Arjun Gupta

Gerald Katcher Barbara Koval Anthony Mazza Willem Mesdag Alexandra Munroe Michael Murray Anton Nel Patricia Papper Fonda Paterson Aaron Podhurst Dan Porterfield, ex-officio Dana Powell Anne Reyes John Rojak Arlene Lidsky Salomon Caryn Scheidt Victoria Smith Gillian Steel Judith Z. Steinberg

HONORARY TRUSTEES Joan W. Harris Itzhak Perlman Robert Spano, Music Director Pinchas Zukerman LIFE TRUSTEES Paula Bernstein William Bernstein Carolyn Bucksbaum Noël R. Congdon Marian Lyeth Davis, in memoriam Alfred Dietsch John Doremus Stefan Edlis Gerri Karetsky Nancy Odén Charles Paterson, in memoriam Betty Schermer W. Ford Schumann Dennis Vaughn

LEFT 2018 AMFS students Andrew O’Donnell clarinet, Josh McClendon cello, and Angela Fiorini French horn at the Maroon Bells.

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ARTIST-FACULTY 2018 SEASON


VOICE

Laurie Carney

Masao Kawasaki

CLARINET

TUBA

Vinson Cole

Laura Park Chen

Pierre Lapointe

Michael Rusinek

Warren Deck

Renée Fleming, artist-in-residence

Robert Chen

Milan Milisavljevic

Joaquin Valdepeñas

David Coucheron

CarlaMaria Rodrigues

Elizabeth Hynes

Simin Ganatra

Jonathan Vinocour

Stephen King

David Halen

Carol Vaness

Robert Hanford

ASPEN OPERA CENTER Edward Berkeley, director Elizabeth Buccheri, head of music William Billingham Kenneth Merrill Charles Prestinari Mary Duncan Steidl Diane Zola

Austin Hartman Cornelia Heard Paul Kantor Masao Kawasaki Alexander Kerr Julianne Lee Espen Lilleslåtten Robert Lipsett Robert McDuffie Sylvia Rosenberg

PIANO

Naoko Tanaka

Fabio Bidini

Danbi Um

Hung-Kuan Chen Andrew Harley Yoheved Kaplinsky Julian Martin Anton Nel Ann Schein◊ Rita Sloan Arie Vardi Virginia Weckstrom Wu Han Vivian Hornik Weilerstein

Almita Vamos Bing Wang Donald Weilerstein Peter Winograd VIOLA Daniel Avshalomov Guy Ben-Ziony Heidi Castleman ◊ Choong-Jin Chang Victoria Chiang Christian Colberg

PERCUSSION

BASSOON

Jonathan Haas

Stephen Wyrczynski

Nancy Goeres

Douglas Howard

Per Hannevold

Joseph Pereira

CELLO

Sue Heineman

Markus Rhoten

Richard Aaron

Edward Stephan

HORN

Darrett Adkins

Andrew Bain

David Finckel

Stefan de Leval Jezierski

Desmond Hoebig Eric Kim Wolfram Koessel

GUITAR

Erik Ralske

Sharon Isbin HARP

Kevin Rivard

Brinton Averil Smith

Nancy Allen

John Zirbel

Brook Speltz Brandon Vamos

Anneleen Lenaerts ◊

TRUMPET

DOUBLE BASS

Karin Bliznik

Christopher Hanulik

Kevin Cobb

Sivan Magen ◊

William Gerlach

Albert Laszlo

Louis Hanzlik

Leigh Mesh

Cynthia Yeh

Jennifer Montone Eric Reed

Michael Mermagen

Thomas Stubbs

LUTHIER Joan Balter

Thomas Hooten

ASPEN CONDUCTING ACADEMY

David Krauss

Robert Spano, director

Raymond Mase

Federico Cortese

Aaron Schuman

Nadine Asin

Jane Glover

Stuart Stephenson

Aralee Dorough

Hugh Wolff

James Wilt

Edgar Meyer Timothy Pitts FLUTE

Mark Sparks

Per Brevig

ASPEN CONTEMPORARY ENSEMBLE

Brook Ferguson

TROMBONE

Demarre McGill

SUSAN AND FORD SCHUMANN CENTER FOR COMPOSITION STUDIES Stephen Hartke, composer-inresidence Christopher Theofanidis, composer-inresidence VISITING COMPOSERS Kati Agócs Helen Grime Andrew Norman Eric Nathan Gabriela Lena Frank Sebastian Fagerlund Krists Auznieks

Joseph Kalichstein, piano Catharine Carroll Lees, viola Eugene Levinson, bass

Theodore Oien, clarinet

Louis Ranger, trumpet

Patrick Muehleise

Christopher Rouse, composition

Clara Osowski

W. Stephen Smith, voice

ARTIST-FACULTY EMERITUS Adele Addison, voice

Timothy Weiss

Jeffrey Irvine

Elaine Douvas

Timothy Higgins

Robert Biddlecome, trombone

Alex Klein

James Miller

Bonita Boyd, flute

Elizabeth Koch Tiscione

Michael Powell

ENSEMBLES IN RESIDENCE

Mingjia Liu

John Rojak

Pacifica Quartet

Jennifer John, violin

Sara Guttenberg

Randall Hawes

Escher String Quartet

Sydney Hodkinson, Aspen Contemporary Ensemble conductor, composition

Charles Evans

John Engelkes

R. Douglas Wright

Alan Harris, cello

Sylvia Plyler, Aspen Opera Center

OBOE

Richard Woodhams

Thomas Haines, film scoring and audio recording

James K. Bass

James Dunham

OPPOSITE Artist-faculty member Demarre McGill, principal flute of the Seattle Symphony, warms up outside the Benedict Music Tent.

Irene Gubrud, voice

Antoinette Perry, piano

Renata Arado

American String Quartet

William Grubb, cello

Patrick Dupré Quigley, director

VIOLIN

John Graham, viola

Jorge Mester, music director

Donald Crockett

American Brass Quintet

Michael Czaijkowski, composition

SERAPHIC FIRE PROFESSIONAL CHORAL INSTITUTE

Wesley Collins

Adam Barnett-Hart

Carole Cowan, violin

Bruce Bransby, double bass Earl Carlyss, Center for Advanced Quartet Studies, violin

Paul Sperry, voice Sabina Thatcher, viola Viviane Thomas, voice George Tsontakis, composition Martin Verdrager, theory David Wakefield, French horn Dick Waller, clarinet Won Bin Yim, violin ◊

leave of absence

Gabriel Chodos, piano

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FAMILY OF SUPPORTERS


The Aspen Music Festival and School gratefully acknowledges those who

$150,000 AND ABOVE

Jessica and John Fullerton

have made contributions to the organization between October 1, 2017, and

INDIVIDUALS

Shirley and Barnett C. Helzberg, Jr.

September 30, 2018. This includes support of the Annual Fund, memorial

Mrs. Mercedes T. Bass

Barbara and Jonathan Lee

Stefan Edlis and Gael Neeson

Mona Look-Mazza and Tony Mazza

Joan Fabry and Michael Klein

The Marc and Eva Stern Foundation, Eva and Marc Stern, Erika Aronson Stern, and Adam Stern

and honorary gifts, Winter Music sponsorships, Benefit and Artist Dinner support, special projects, and the AMFS Salon. Annual contributions are the backbone of support necessary for the realization of the Festival and School’s mission. With these gifts, donors support artist-faculty teaching, concert performances, opera productions, student education, guest artist appearances, community outreach, and many other essential projects. We remain profoundly grateful to each donor listed here.

Nancy and Charles Wall

INDIVIDUALS

BUSINESSES/FOUNDATIONS/ GOVERNMENT

Anonymous

The Polonsky Foundation

$100,000 AND ABOVE

Soledad and Robert Hurst Lynda and Stewart Resnick Gillian and Robert Steel BUSINESSES/FOUNDATIONS/ GOVERNMENT Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation $80,000 AND ABOVE INDIVIDUALS Allison and Warren Kanders Leonard and Judy Lauder Lisa and Will Mesdag Alexandra Munroe and Robert Rosenkranz Becky and Mike Murray Kelli and Allen Questrom Beatrice and Anthony Welters

ABOVE Generous and longtime supporter Mrs. Mercedes T. Bass and Music Director Robert Spano. OPPOSITE Violinist and AMFS alumnus Ray Chen enjoys a moment of solitude before his performance with the Aspen Chamber Symphony on July 6.

Tippet Rise Fund of the Sidney E. Frank Foundation $35,000 AND ABOVE INDIVIDUALS Edward P. and Sasha C. Bass Amy Margerum Berg and Gilchrist Berg Stephen Brint and Mark Brown Ruth Carver Ann and John Doerr Richard Edwards Gail and Alfred Engelberg Linda and Alan Englander Ann and Tom Friedman Mary E. Giese, in memory of Erik Giese Arjun Gupta

BUSINESSES/FOUNDATIONS/ GOVERNMENT

Irving Harris Foundation, Joan W. Harris

City of Aspen

Judith Z. Steinberg and Paul J. Hoenmans

$55,000 AND ABOVE

Jane and Gerald Katcher

INDIVIDUALS

Barbara Koval

Anonymous

Toby D. Lewis Philanthropic Fund

Kay Bucksbaum

John P. and Anne Welsh McNulty Foundation

Martin Carver The Crown Family Jane and Michael Eisner, The Eisner Foundation

Nancy Meinig - Meinig Family Foundation David Newberger Janet and Tom O’Connor

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Patricia M. and Emanuel M. Papper Foundation

BUSINESSES/FOUNDATIONS/ GOVERNMENT

Dana and Gene Powell

The Dana Foundation

Anne and Chris Reyes

LLWW Foundation

Ali and Lew Sanders Mary and Patrick Scanlan

National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency

Betty and Lloyd Schermer

Steinway & Sons, Inc.

Jane and Larry Sherman

Yvel Jewelers

The Simms/Mann Family Foundation, Victoria and Ronald Simms

$13,000 AND ABOVE

Alia and Ron Tutor

Susan Beckerman

Beth and Ben Wegbreit

Deborah and Gabriel Brener

BUSINESSES/FOUNDATIONS/ GOVERNMENT

Sam Brown and Alison Teal Centennial Partners

The Aspen Times

NoĂŤl and Tom Congdon

Louis & Harold Price Foundation, Inc. The Rob and Melani Walton Foundation

INDIVIDUALS

Sylvie and Gary Crum Mr. and Mrs. David Dreman/The Dreman Foundation Shannon Fairbanks Nanette Finger

$20,000 AND ABOVE INDIVIDUALS Giancarla and Luciano Berti Antonia Paepcke DuBrul and the DuBrul Family Marcy and Leo Edelstein Deborah and Richard Felder Donna Genet Sharon and Lawrence Hite Steve Marcus Denise Monteleone and Jim Martin William Mayer Jeannie and Tom Rutherfoord Caryn and Rudi Scheidt, Jr. Jeannie and John Seybold Carol and Mack Trapp Edith Kallas and Joe Whatley

Jane and Bill Frazer Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation Harriett and Richard E. Gold

Jean and Allen Parelman

Ramona Bruland and Michael Goldberg

Fonda and Charlie* Paterson

Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts

Pat and Ed Peterson

Mountain Living Magazine

Jan and Ronald Greenberg

Pauline Pitt, The William H. Pitt

Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County

Jane Harman

Foundation

Ellen and Irv Hockaday

Dorothy and Aaron Podhurst

Gerri Karetsky and Larry Naughton

Arlene and Chester Salomon

Sylvia and Dick* Kaufman

Carrie and Joe Wells

Cathy and Jonathan Koplovitz Ann and Tom Korologos

BUSINESSES/FOUNDATIONS/ GOVERNMENT

$8,500 AND ABOVE INDIVIDUALS Anonymous Pamela Gross and Charles Anderson

Marianne and Sheldon Lubar Charitable Fund

America-Israel Cultural Foundation

Marilyn and George Baker

Holly and John Madigan

Aspen Magazine

Charles Balbach

Marlene and Fred Malek

Clarence Dillon Wines

Vivian and Norman Belmonte

Bettie McGowin Miller

Maja DuBrul

Barbara and Bruce Berger

Nedra and Mark Oren

Hotel Jerome

Katie Bergman


OPPOSITE AMFS cello student Josh McClendon.

Bishop Family Foundation

Alan Fletcher and Ron Schiller

Neil G. Bluhm

Nancy Swift Furlotti

BELOW Board of Trustees and Salon Steering Committee member Cathy Koplovitz and her son learn the basics of animation at an AMFS Salon event.

Deborah and Mark Breen

Barbara and Richard I. Furman

Suzanne D. and M. Peyton Bucy

Virginia and Gary Gerst

Jon Busch

Sandy and Lee Godfrey

Pamela and Richard Cantor

Barbara Gold

Katherine and Dane Chapin

Thorey and Barry Goldstein

Tina Chen and Marvin Josephson Janet F. Clark

Andi and Jim Gordon, The Edgewater Funds

Martha and Bruce Clinton

Arthur Greenberg

Bunni and Paul Copaken

Julia Hansen

Barbara and Herschel Cravitz

Ann F. and Edward R. Hudson, Jr.

Ginny Dabney

Mary Ann Hyde

Bonnie and Ken Davis

Marianne and Dick Kipper

Laura Donnelley

Anna-Lisa Klettenberg

Nadia and Stephen Drimmer

Ellen and Fred Kucker

Pam and Ken Dunn Leatrice and Melvin Eagle

Katharine C. Kurtz, in memory of James B. Kurtz

Sandy and Paul Edgerley

Joe LaDou

Gail Elden

Bette MacDonald

Judith Barnard and Michael Fain

Linda McCausland and Peter Nicklin

IN MEMORIAM It is with sadness we note the passing of members of the AMFS community, including: ROBERT MANN artist-faculty, violin (1955, ’68–69, ’73–74); founding first violinist, Juilliard Quartet GARY ROSENAU long-time donor, founding father of Snowmass MICHAEL TREE artist-faculty, violin (1994–2004); violist, Guarneri Quartet SHIRLEY GIVENS long-time artistfaculty member, violin, and director of the first Aspen Festival String Workshop with Dorothy DeLay, Itzhak Perlman, and Isaac Stern CLAUDIO SCIMONE AMFS guest conductor IRWIN BLITT Long-time donor and National Council member OWEN FREEMAN long-time donor and National Council member RUTH GRINSPOON long-time donor JANE KESSLER long-time volunteer and donor JUDITH NEISSER long-time donor and National Council member DENNIS SMYLIE artist-faculty emeritus, bass clarinet

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BELOW Alumna and violinist Midori (left) speaks with concertgoers backstage.

Leslie and Mac McQuown Gail and Alec Merriam

Lisa and David T. Schiff, The Schiff Foundation

Encore Capital Group, in honor of Will Mesdag

Renee and Bruce Michelson

June and Paul Schorr lll

First Western Trust, Aspen

Susanne H. Goldstein, in memory of Edward A. Goldstein

Diane and Ronald Miller Charitable Trust

Phyllis and David Scruggs

Fusion Design and Catering

Christine Grad, M.D.

Lois Siegel

Galerie Maximillian

Maryann and Adrian Gruia

Karen Setterfield and David Muckenhirn

Helen E. Stone

Brenda and James Grusecki

Marcia Strickland

The Gant Condominium Association

Stephanie and Michael Naidoff

Laurie Tisch

The Little Nell

Jamie and Bush Helzberg

Ilene and Jeff Nathan

Leslie and Joe Waters

Miners’ Building Hardware

Deborah and Larry Hoffman

Sara and Don Nelson

Tamara and Frank Woods

Mountain Chalet-Aspen

Hojel-Schumacher Foundation

Pitkin County Dry Goods U.S. Bank

Erica Hartman-Horvitz and Richard Horvitz

Woody Creek Distillers

Debbie and Richard Jelinek

$4,000 AND ABOVE

Shana Johnstone/Shenandoah Foundation

Ann and Bill Nitze Dr. Amy D. Ronner and Michael P. Pacin Merbie and Tom Payne Kathryn and Richard Rabinow Catherine and Thomas Reagan Myra and Robert Rich Judy and Gary Rubin Lois and Tom Sando Gloria Scharlin

BUSINESSES/FOUNDATIONS/ GOVERNMENT Alpine Bank of Aspen Asian Cultural Council The Aspen Community Foundation Aspen Sojourner Aspen Square Condominium Hotel Caribou Club, Ltd. Carl’s Pharmacy Colorado Creative Industries

INDIVIDUALS Anonymous Ronald Ager, in memory of Ellie Ager David Baer Connie and Buddy Bates Nancy Blank Susan and Richard Braddock Susan L. and Robert Brown Jackie and John Bucksbaum Catherine and Bill Cabaniss Newton Bartley and Eric Calderon Merle Chambers Alex Dell Eleanore and Domenico De Sole Brian and Susan Dickie Muffy and Andy DiSabatino Debbie and Jerry Epstein Theba and Buster Feldman Fisher Family Fund at the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo Julie Gerson, in memory of Peter Gerson Lisa Braun Glazer and Jeff Glazer

Barbara and Gary Goldstein

Marianne Gunzler

Barbara Bluhm-Kaul and Donald Kaul Harriet Washton and George Kaye Don Keltner Nancy and Don Kempf Hyunja and Jeff Kenner Sally and Jim Klingbeil Elizabeth and Michael Klump Mary Jo and Dick Kovacevich Katie Kitchen and Paul Kovach Nancy and Bart Levin Linda Dresner and Ed Levy, Jr. Judy and Sam Linhart Mary Ralph Lowe Phyllis and Saul Lowitt Tita and Dan McCarty Diane and Mead Metcalf Ellie and Bob Meyers Maria and Ramon Moran Robert Prentis Morris and JoAnn Ross Laura Taylor and David A. Mulkey, M.D. Erin Leider-Pariser and Paul Pariser Margot and Tom Pritzker Mr. and Mrs. Robert D. Pugh


REMEMBERING LIFE TRUSTEE MARIAN RUBEY LYETH DAVIS JULY 5, 1918–MAY 26, 2018 Late this spring, the Aspen Music Festival and School lost one of its earliest and most enthusiastic supporters with the death of Marian Rubey Lyeth Davis. Davis was born Marian Neal in the District of Columbia and spent her childhood and early adult years in Texas. She moved to Aspen with her late husband Bill Rubey and their children in 1958, and quickly adopted the community as home.

Gail Scott and Thomas Quinlan

Andrea and Lubert Stryer

Pixie and Jimmy Reiss

Linda and Dennis Vaughn

Lecie and Jack Resneck

Melani and Rob Walton

Marilynn and Charles Rivkin

Linda and Steve Webster

Phyllis and Sidney Rodbell

Rivka and Seth Weisberg

Sarah Broughton and John Rowland

Andrea Yablon

Clare and Marius Sanger

Rachel and Paul Zimmerman

Alece and David Schreiber Susie and Barry Schub

BUSINESSES/FOUNDATIONS/ GOVERNMENT

Patsy and John Shields

Aspen Thrift Shop

Evelyn Siegel

Bessemer Trust

Nancy and Bruce Stevens

Clark’s Market

Gayle and Paul Stoffel

The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc.

Billy Stolz

Les Dames d’Aspen

Curt Strand

European Caterers, Ltd.

Not content merely with financial donations, Davis was well known throughout Aspen for the energy and service she shared with the organizations she believed in—especially those involving the arts, education, and care for her fellow human beings. She first became involved with the AMFS in the late ’50s, not only as an annual donor, but also sponsoring a student each summer for more than forty years, providing for all of their expenses so that they could focus on their musical studies. She continued her service to the Festival as a longtime member of the Board of Trustees, remaining a Life Trustee until her death.

ABOVE Guest violinist Augustin Hadelich at his July 18 recital in Harris Concert Hall with conductor David Robertson.

Marian Davis touched the lives of countless AMFS students with her generosity, and the entire organization with her enthusiastic service and support. We share our condolences with her children and grandchildren.

ASPEN MUSIC FESTIVAL AND SCHOOL 2018 ANNUAL REPORT

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GORDON AND LILLIAN HARDY PLANNED GIVING SOCIETY

First Republic Bank Frias Properties of Aspen, Chuck Frias and Tim Clark

Named for Gordon Hardy’s rich legacy as president of the AMFS for twenty-eight years and his dedication to the music world, the Gordon and Lillian Hardy Planned Giving Society honors those donors who have included our organization in their estate plans. Martha Aarons Estate of John E. Amos* Pamela Gross and Charles Anderson Nadine Asin Thomas H. Baer Susan Beckerman Dr. Eugene L. Brand Stephen Brint and Mark Brown Kay Bucksbaum NancyBell Coe and William Burke Helen and Phil Burnett Jon Busch Dr. Janet Claman NoÍl and Tom Congdon Evelyn R. David Jim and Adelaide Davis Sheryl and Michael DeGenring Lee W. Dorsey Mrs. Charles B. Edison Audrey A. Sattler and Donald J. Fleisher Alan Fletcher and Ron Schiller Jane and Bill Frazer Rich Garvin Mary E. Giese

Barbara and Gary Goldstein Estate of Loette Goodell Howard Gottlieb Christine Grad, M.D. Estate of Gordon and Lillian Hardy Shirley and Barnett C. Helzberg, Jr. Casady M. Henry Juliane Heyman Soledad and Robert Hurst Montae and Richard Johnson Linda and Eugene Kalnitsky Estate of Jane Kessler Estate of Bob Klineman Barbara Koval Estate of Christine H. Leister Dr. and Mrs. Harold Leventhal Nancy R. Levi Estate of Mary Crouch Lilly Phyllis and Saul Lowitt Mona Look-Mazza and Anthony Mazza Estate of Elaine and James McDade

Joyce McGilvray Lydia Morrongiello Bert Neirick Estate of Heinz G. Neumann Ann and Bill Nitze Jean and Allen Parelman Merbie and Tom Payne Terry Lee and Bill Perich Lt. Col. and Mrs. R. L. Pickard Estate of Jean Pokress Marilynn and Charles Rivkin Noyes W. Rogers Betty and Lloyd Schermer Estate of Vera Sears Eric Simon Alicia and Alan Sirkin Estate of Freda Gail Stern Norma and Don Stone Marcia Strickland Barb and Bob Sypult Magda B. Tenser Michael Teschner Leslie and Joe Waters Estate of Cynthia and Gerald Weinbrum Laura Werlin Kay and Ken Whiting

Martha Dougherty, in memory of Newton G. Dougherty Sherri Draper

Golub Family Foundation

Caroline W. Duell

Harriman Construction, Inc.

Merle Dulien

Fred and Elli Iselin Foundation

Eliza and Johnny Duncan

Lin Yao Ji Scholarship for Summer Studies in Music

Bernice and Loyal Durand

Ernst and Wilma Martens Foundation

Charles B. Edison Memorial, Mrs. Charles B. Edison Diana M. Elton

John P. McBride Family and the ABC Foundation

Marja Engler

Ochestre Symphonique de Montreal

Susan and George Fesus

United Jewish Appeal Aspen Valley powered by JEWISHcolorado Vulcan Materials Company Matching Gifts $2,000 AND ABOVE INDIVIDUALS Ruth C. Abramson - Stephen Abramson Scholarship Tracy and Dennis Albers Becky Ayres Marilyn Hayes and John Balson Chuck Bellock Wilma and Stuart Bernstein Sue and Jock Bickert J. Michael Bishop Lucia and Louis Brandt Shelley Senterfitt and Ken Canfield Sandy and Michael Collins Mary and John Cronin Dave Danforth The Patricia Dedman Family Foundation Sheryl and Michael DeGenring Inanna Donnelley and Jeffrey Taback and the Gaylord Donnelley Charitable Trust

Anne and Alan Feld Marcia and Don Flaks Fleck Family Foundation Karen and Jim Frank/J.S. Frank Foundation Mary Ann Frenzel The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Joseph and Alma Gildenhorn Louise and David Gitlitz Darby Glenn and Patsy Malone Jean Golden Tiffany and Steve Haddad Alexander Henkin Dorene and Frank Herzog Linda and Steven Hill Ruth and George Hopfenbeck Elizabeth Katz and Reed Hundt Dorothy S. Jacobs Sandy and Dick Jones Laura and Michael Kaplan Sally B. Kaplan Thomas S. Kenan, III Laura and Gary Lauder Rosemarie Lavender Elaine and Rob LeBuhn Bruce Lee, The Rockwood Charitable Trust


REMEMBERING LIFE TRUSTEE CHARLES G. PATERSON

Bertel M. Lewis

The Solid Rock Foundation

Julia and Michael Fink

Perry J. Lewis

Velvet Buck at the St. Regis Aspen Resort

Pam Finkelman

Wells Fargo Community Relations

Ricki and Peter Fuchs

$800 AND ABOVE

Karen Goldman, in memory of Jerry Goldman

C. Glenn McLoughlin

INDIVIDUALS

Jane and Allen Grossman

Betty McManus

Anonymous

Bette and Donne Moen

Yuni and Richard Aaron

Betty Kelly Moore

June and Hovik Abramian

Joan and Rodger Gurrentz, in memory of Susan and Morton Gurrentz

Jane and Marc Nathanson

Michael Antonello

Navias Family Foundation

Todd Arcomano

Donald and Judith Norris

Claudia and Richard Balderston

Nancy Odén

Edward C. Berkeley

Beverle and Marc Ostrofsky

Melissa Eisenstat and Jonathan Blau

Cyrena and Lee Pondrom

Dr. Eugene L. Brand

Ellen Roeser

LesLianne and Richard Braunstein

Phil Rothblum

Kathy and Richard Broussard

Helen and Marc Rubenstein Linda J. Sandell

Dr. Margaret Waisman and Dr. Steven S. Callahan

Lorraine and Mark Schapiro

Ellie Caulkins

Enika and Richard Schulze Gordon H. Silver

Shirley Chann, in memory of Earl Kai Chann

Madeline and Michael Silverman

Laura and Robert Chen

Herb Silverstein

Dr. Janet Claman

Sandy and Stephen Stay

The Community Foundation Mortimer and Josephine Cohen Fund

Drs. John and Mary Sanfelippo Lilley Kristin and Chuck Lohmiller Mr. and Mrs. H. Montgomery Loud

Bill Stirling Alana Spiwak and Sam Stolbun Marion W. Weiss Mary and Hugh Wise Judith Wyman Zanin Family Foundation John Zrno BUSINESSES/FOUNDATIONS/ GOVERNMENT

Sistie Fischer

Gurrentz Family Anna and Jonathan Haas Margot and Dick Hampleman Paula and David Harris Barbara and Gerald D. Hines Barbara Reid and David Hyman Sandra and Bob Ireland Sandy and Charles Israel James Janossy Christine Karnes Ann and Stephen Kaufman, in honor of Ed Berkeley Bonnie Levinson and Dr. Donald Kay Martha and Garnett Keith Lisa See and Richard Kendall Gail Mizner and Michael Kendrick Lorraine and Bob Kingsbury

Phyllis M. Coors

Nancy R. Levi

Suzi Cordish

Lucia Swanson and Ted Levine

David J. and Vicki Perlmutter Dansky Fund

Rochelle and Max Levit

Sandra and Lynn Davis

Margaret and Daniel Loeb, Third Point Foundation

Terry and Ronny Davis

Marc Lipton

Mary Dominick-Coomer and Sven Coomer

Sam and Pete Louras

Aspen Self Storage Warehouses

Beverly and Shelley Don

ExxonMobil Foundation, Inc.

Evi and Evan Makovsky

Marsha and David Dowler

Maison Ullens

Nancy Manderson

Delia Duson

Neil-Garing Insurance

Margaret and Larry Marsland

Jerry Eberhardt

Sashae Floral Arts & Gifts

Dr. Nancy Maruyama

Cinda and Donnelley Erdman

Roberta McCoy

Patty and Robert Mack

JULY 7, 1929—AUGUST 8, 2018 Charlie Paterson made indelible contributions to our organization and to life in Aspen. He was an usher and rope-puller in the Eero Saarinen Tent at the very first summer of music in Aspen in 1949. After completing architecture study with Frank Lloyd Wright, he returned to build a historic role in Aspen’s development, culminating in his design and leadership of the Boomerang Lodge. His service to the Aspen Music Festival and School went beyond being an enthusiastic and influential Board member and eventual Life Trustee. He was a wise counsellor, generous donor, avid and knowledgeable music lover, and, always, a loving and true friend. Charlie, born Karl Georg Schanzer in Vienna, Austria, had a dramatic and consequential life story, chronicled in his wonderful memoir, Escape Home, yet he was always quiet, modest, and empathetic to all. In everything, he sought to help others be their best, never calling attention to himself. His love for his family was beautiful to see and know. His wife, Fonda, and daughters Carrie Paterson and Jenny Rose are in our thoughts.

ASPEN MUSIC FESTIVAL AND SCHOOL 2018 ANNUAL REPORT

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Cynthia and Jeffrey McCreary

Laura Werlin

Lucy Tremols and Galen Bright

Kristen Henry

Joyce McGilvray

Robert P. “Chet” Winchester

Mr. and Mrs. Douglas M. Cain

Dale and Stephen Hoffman

Carol Hood Peterson and Brooke A. Peterson

Karen Mende-Fridkis

Jeffrey Woodruff

Richard Carrigan

Dr. Leonard Horwitz

Joyce and Ken Polse

Robbie and John Michelman

ZG-CHICKS Advised Fund at Aspen Community Foundation

Carol and David Clemons

Virginia and Richard Irwin

The Pope Foundation

Sheila M. Cleworth

Melanie and Myron Roschko

Robert T. Connery

Dr. and Mrs. Joseph and Cathy Jankovic

Alix and John Corboy

Susan and Donald Jarzemsky

Judith C. Schalit

Judy and Archibald Cox, Jr.

Meg and Ralph Jones

Susan and Sheldon Schneider

Toby and Carleton Cronin

Elyse Seidner-Joseph and Kenny Joseph

Debra and Dennis Scholl

Suellen and Larry Kadis

Susan and Ford Schumann

Kathy and Richard Kaplan

In memory of George and Bertha Seifert

Ellen and Ed Monarch Caroline Y. and John Moore Betty Naster* Judith E. Neisser* John J. Nicholson Glenda and Doug Otten Essie Perlmutter Hensley and James Peterson Joanne Pittard Leslie and Harold Porosoff Pam and Jim Porter Irma Prodinger Robin and Harold Quinn Clare and Charles Reel Noyes W. Rogers Elaine and Marvin Rosenberg Nancy Goeres and Michael Rusinek Drs. Ruth and Steven Ryave Sally Saunders Kitty P. Sherwin Susan A. Ingerman and Arlene Siegelman Mr. and Mrs. Heinz K. Simon Robert Skolnick Susan Slaughter Susanne and Jack Sogard Austine Stitt Norma and Don Stone Cathy Mitchell Toren and Peter Toren Mi Hyon and Joaquin Valdepeñas The Vicino Family Charitable Fund of the Community Foundation of Broward County

BUSINESSES/FOUNDATIONS/ GOVERNMENT Aspen Skiing Company Family Fund at Aspen Community Foundation BBC Destination Management The GE Foundation Hearthstone House Hotel Monteleone

Anna Beth Culver John Czuwak Claire and Wayne Dailey Pat Damoorgian

Maury and Gerry Kaplan

Diana Rumsey

Cecily Cameron and Derek Schrier

Prof. Carolyn Fairbanks and Nick Kereakos

Mary Shafey

Dr. Edith W. King and Matthew King

Phyllis and Nathan Shmalo

Carmen and Jeffrey Kobacker

Bobbi and Gary Siegel

Christa Kohler

Alicia and Alan Sirkin

Valerie and Patrick Lally

Rona and Norman Smith

Melony and Adam Lewis

Linda Rae and J. Daniel Snyder

Dori and Robert Libson Nancy Machiah

Ziao Lan Zhang and Christopher Sommer

Laura Maggos Properties

Phyllis and Ron Steinhart

Nancy Magoon

Barb and Bob Sypult Nicole and Lex Tarumianz

Jeannette Mandelbaum

Anne and Bill Tobey

Carole and Arnold Bailis

The Jack, Karen, Hillary, and Max Friedman Philanthropic Fund of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh

Susan and Jay Mall, in honor of Fonda and Charles Paterson Sally and Bruce McMillen

Margaret F. Walker

Margaret Bates and Scott Johnson

The Gerson Family

Mary Mendenhall

Angi Wang

Janice Baucum

Elvie and Yale Gieszl

Connie Heard and Edgar Meyer

Hanna M. Warren

Michael Behrendt and Ivan Cassar

Ethel and Bill Gofen

Carol Murphy and Michael Miller

Sam and Marshall Webb

Phyllis and Sanford Beim

Dr. and Mrs. William Mitchell

Sheila and Jack Weinberg

Meredith Bell

Lisa Levy Goldberg and Jon Goldberg

Shelah and Marc Moller

Beth Anne Goodman, in honor of Susan Beckerman

Donna and Roger West

Peggy Scharlin and Shlomo Ben-Hamoo

Eudice M. Morse

Peggy Wise

Carla F. and R. Stephen Berry

Anne and Wes Goyer

Judy B. Biondini

Lulie and Gordon Gund

Naughton-Nicholson Foundation/ Will F. Nicholson, Jr.

BUSINESSES/FOUNDATIONS/ GOVERNMENT

Nina McLemore National Federation of Music Clubs Oates, Knezevich, Gardenswartz, Kelly & Morrow, P.C. Pfizer Inc. Sigma Alpha Iota Texas Instruments Foundation Two Leaves and a Bud Tea Company $400 AND ABOVE INDIVIDUALS Anonymous

Drs. Nancy Thomas and Roger Davis Adelaide and James Davis Lee W. Dorsey Kay and Tom Dunton Lesha and Thomas Elsenbrook Zoe Eskin Nancy and Mike Estrada Mynan and Sam Feldman Barbara and Don Findlay Edmund Frank and Eustacia Su

Sally Shiekman-Miller

MaryAnn Tittle

Musselman Family

Sandra Blake

Kenneth H. Hannan

Jane and Carroll Novicki

AMFS Artist-Faculty Fund

Patti and Jay Webster

Rita and Herschel Bloom

Mary Ann and Jim Harris

Karin Reid Offield

The Arts Federation

Sallyann Wekstein

Sandra M. Moses and Harvey S. Bodker

Jack Hayflick

Dr. David S. Pearlman

Casady M. Henry


Aspen Constructors, Inc. – Michael Tanguay

Lynda and Ron Charfoos

Roslyn Harkavy

Don E. Miller

Rika and David Charley

Sally Greer and David Heil

Bethel Party Rentals

Jill Chozen

Sue and Bob Hess

Jean and Saul A. Mintz Family Foundation

Independence Press, Inc.

Sydney and Steven Cohen

Anne Hetlage

Dick Moebius

Town of Basalt

Peter R. Cohn

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Horwich

Ellen-Jane and Ben Moss

Kate Haugen and Carlton J. Hunke

Nassan Family

$200 AND ABOVE

Roberta Corbett, in memory of Freda Gail Stern

Ellen Hunt

Terrylin Neale

INDIVIDUALS

Sandy Simpson and Don Davidson

Carolyne T. Hyde

Ricki and Kerry Newman

Anonymous

E. Lee DeGolyer, III

Thomas Isaac

Lucy and Gary Nichols

BJ and Michael Adams

Kara Horner and Spencer Denison

Marsha and Bill Adler

Trine Sorensen and Michael Jacobson

Deb and Keith Oates

Ina and Jan Dlouhy

Robert C. Anderson

Penny and Charles Donelan

Ann and Doug Jones

Lynda Palevsky

Nadine Asin and Thomas van Straaten

Carol Dopkin

Martha Keith

Maria and Paul Dragoumis, in honor of Karen Smart

Meg and Phil Kendall

Judith Parkinson, in memory of Scott Parkinson

Marilyn Susman and Gary Auerbach

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas P. Owen

Sylvia Blau and Rabbi Samuel Kenner

Meghan and Aaron Pearlman

Carole Kirschner

Deborah Prince

Lisa and Joe Bankoff

Ron Drazin, in memory of Joseph Feldman

Kathy Barger

Susan and James Dubin

Roberta and Mel Klein

Dr. Cathrine Blom and Dr. Gordon Baym

Nancy S. Dunlap

Jessica Krane

Carol E. Paul and Glenn M. Earl

Judy Kravitz

Christine S. and Leif C. Beck

Karen and John Fagelson

Amy and Tom Kwei

Barbara and Karl Becker

Charlie Fields

Marilyn and Earl Latterman

Dr. William J. Bertschy

Ellie and Stuart Fine

Marcia Bishop

Richard Finkelstein

Carole and Gary Lazar
DeDe and Moses Lebovits

Anne and Clarence Blackwell

Cheryl Fisher

Nancy Bryant and Chris Leverich

Kimberly Bloom

Margot Fleck

Denison Levy

Fran and Larry Blum

Mikey and Marty Lustberg

Michele Bodner

Audrey A. Sattler and Donald J. Fleisher

Annette and Lacy Boggess

David Frantz

Dr. Frank C. Marino Foundation, Inc.

Dorothy Fait and David Borenstein

Kathy and Jeffrey Friedland

Peggy and David Marks

Lotta and Stuart Brafman

Dorothy Frommer

Kathy Mayer

Harriett and Bob Breihan

Shirley and David Ginzberg

Colleen and Bill McAleer

Dr. and Mrs. Daniel M. Brener

DeeDee and Herb Glimcher

Deb and Bill McCanne

Linda and Bob Brining

Denise and Andy Goldfarb

Sharon and Dan Brooks

Sandy and Bill Goodglick

Joelle McDonough - Henry Claessens

K. Dane and Carter S. Brooksher

Annie and Jim Goodman

Bruce McEver

Wendy and Dale Brott

Nanette and Irving Greif, Jr.

Martha Mecom

Elizabeth Buccheri

Lois and Michael Haber

John Menninger

Shelley Burke and Al Nemoff

Elise and Allan Hall

Suzanne and Taber Meyers

The Butler Family

Per Hannevold

Trudy Ann Milcan

Susan and Paul Penn

Student tenor Roy Hage (L) in the titular role of the Aspen Opera Center’s production of Tales of Hoffmann, with student mezzo-soprano Lindsay Metzger (R) singing the role of Nicklausse.

Joan and Michael Marek

ASPEN MUSIC FESTIVAL AND SCHOOL 2018 ANNUAL REPORT

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Laurie Smith and Andy Prodanovic Gloria and Joe Pryzant Faith and David Rachofsky Ann and Gene Reiling Patricia Richards Lynette Richardson Mr. and Mrs. E.B. Robinson, Jr. Donna and Gino Rossetti David A. Roth David Sadroff Mary Salton Joann and Richard Sanders

Marilyn G. and Donald H. Schaffer Philanthropic Fund of the Dallas Jewish Community Foundation

Betty and Rob Shiels Fund of the Communities Foundation of Texas, Inc.

Anne Anderson

Judd Clarence

Blake Appleby

Chis Cohan

Dr. and Mrs. Joel Schneider

Dr. and Mrs. William F. Short

Richard Arnold

Lyn Rosensweig and Bruce Schnelwar

Robyn Samuels and Bruce Shragg

Carole and Paul Auvil

John R. Cohn Philanthropic Fund of the Dallas Jewish Comm. Foundation

Elyse Schostak

Sandy Smith

Joyce Semple

Julie and Barry Smooke

Jean and Mike Sewell

Lorraine and Pat Spector

Layne Shae

John Starr

Mary Ellen Sheridan

Tanai Starrs

Susan Sheridan

Marty Stonerock

Margaret and Mike Simmons

Kathy Hansen and Edward Sweeney John Czuwak, John Scott, Paul Streveler, and Katherine Tachau Carla and Kelly Thompson Linda and Denis Trupkin Suzanne and Michael Vernon Ruth and Bob Wade Rosalind Walter Pat Ward Mr. and Mrs. Perry M. Waughtal Tina and Brian Weiner Irene Weinrot Hans Widmer Lynn Asbury and John Wronosky Karen and Shelby Wyll BUSINESSES/FOUNDATIONS/ GOVERNMENT Hetta Heath & Associates Taylor Foundation $100 AND ABOVE INDIVIDUALS Anonymous Ann Abernethy Sarah C. Brett Smith and Stephen L. Adler

Alain Azizi Jim Bain Annie Baldo Kristin Balko Raifie Bass Karen Beard Daniel Becker Daniel Benavent Barbara Berkman Richard Berkshire Betsy P. Black Louise Riddell Bland

Dr. Michael Condie Ashley and Michael Connolly Sharon Cook Tom Cooper Gretchen Cooper Emily and Rick Corleto Bryan Cournoyer Corey Crocker Linda and Clay Crossland Sue Crowley James R. Custer, M.D.

Leslie and Jack Blanton, Jr.

Lorie D’Alessio

Karen M. Johnson, M.D., and Steven Blumenkranz

Paula Damaso Lisa Dancing-Light

Nancy and Evan Boenning

Bonnie and Mike Daniels

Rob Bordan

Sue and Richard de Campo

Kathie and Howard Brand

Jaird de Raismes

Adrienne Brandes

Amy Doherty

Joseph Brazie

Dr. John and Kathy Eckrich

Cindy Brinks

Harriet and Charles Edwards

Arlene Bronstein

Charlene and Pierre Eilian

Markell Brooks

Nina and David Eisenstat

R. Malcolm Brown, Jr.

Lucy and Dan Ellerhorst

Corin Brucker

Jennifer Engel

Emily R. Burr

Marita Fairbanks

Gordon and Ron Butz

Sylvia and George Falk

Nichole Campbell

Ruslan Faradzhov

Franci Candlin

Patti and Joe Farago

Paulette and Joseph Cantey

Mary Kate Farrell

Michele and Jim Cardamone

Margie and Larry Feinberg

Amy and Tom Carr

Bridget and Jesse Feng

Dr. Matthew and Paula Carr

Patricia and Thomas Foels

Mike Carr

Ed Foran

BJ and Jack Carter

Mark Fordham

Caroline Christensen

Linda S. Fossier


Greer and Bruce Fox

Karen and Michael Kaplan

Tim Mooney

Susan Salomon

Susan Vincent

Robin Fox

Peter Kelley

Karen Sandler

Donna and John Vogt

Sandra Friedman

Chris and Gary Kelly

Gayle B. Morgan and Jonathan Armytage

Nina and Joshua Saslove

Adam Funk

Stacey Kelly

Leah and Bill Moriarty

Marion A. Scharffenberger

Jennifer Causing and Peter Waanders

Kay and Alfred Gardner

Karen and Phil Kelton

Lydia Morrongiello

Donald D. Schiff

Carol and Hulse Wagner

Alma Garrett

Soon Duck Kim and Kang Il Kim

Stephen D. Morton

Judith J. Schramm

Sandy Waltner

Lauren Garrity

Krista Klees

Melanie Muss and Tracy Nichols

Marlene Schroeder

Riley Warwick

Jacqueline Rosen and Daniel George

Kathryn and John Koch

Lyn and Doug Nehasil

Reina and Alberto C. Serrano

Fred W. Weitz

Gloria and Robert Koenig

Richard Y. Neiley, Jr.

Nancy and Philip Shalen

Marj and Bill Wise

Carol Ann Jacobson Kopf

Drs. Sarah and Harold Nelson

Karlyn and Don Shapiro

Steve Wiseley

Barbara Gilmore Mark Giosi, in honor of Stephen Brint and Mark Brown

Janet Korenblat

Aaron Neustadt

Joyce and Charles Shenk

Wendy Wogan

Candice Girgis

Carly Kraemer

Win Norman

Carolyn and Dick Shohet

Melinda and John Wright

Betsy Schwarm and Rick Glesner

Happy Birthday Dad/Grandpa Fred! love, Josh, Ryan, and Gavin

Pat and Hiram Nowlan

Jill Shore

Ruth Wright

Robert Goldstein

Ann Spaeth and Raymond Ollett

Pat and Robert Silverman

Adrienne Zatorski

Tamara Goldstein

Doris La Mar

Robin Amster and Steve Olszewski

Jo Ann and Samuel Silverstein

Joe Zuena

Holly Goldstein

Stephen LaMar

Peggy and Paul Pace

Mr. and Mrs. Richard W. Simpson, lll

David V. Gollon

Josh Landis

Frank Pajerski

JoAnn C. Skillett

Sue and John Goott

Marian and Leonard Lansburgh

Marilyn G. Palade

Dr. and Mrs. Charles C. Smith, III

Sylvia and Marvin Gordon

Michael Latousek

Alice and Charles Parker

Dawnette Smith

Naomi Grabel

Linda Lee

Ginny Car-Skaden Passoth

Chris Souki

Marlene and Dennis Grant

Lynne and Dan Levinson

Nancy Patton

Sally Spindel

Lori Guilander

Mark Lewis

Sandra and Fred Peirce

Pat Spitzmiller

Flossie and Evan Gull

Bonnie and Taylor Liebmann

Terry Lee and Bill Perich

Louise and Stanley Stevens

Jo-Ann Hall

Jennifer and Greg Long

Nancy Peterson

Diane and Stephen Stewart

Nancy Tate Hall

Mark Love

Susan C. Plummer

Pat and Tom Stocker

Richard Hart

Julie and Robert MacLean

Anne Powell-Riley

Susan Stone-Chen

Julia Herman

Martha W. Madsen

Wanda Wray Putnam

Nancy Stover

Susan and Chuck Hiller

Kristen Maley

Andy Quiat and Jane Keener-Quiat

Dr. and Mrs. Barry S. Strauch

Willie Hobson

Carolyn and Martin Manosevitz

Ewald Rainer

Max Taam

Liza Hogan

Julia Marshall/Mt. Daly Enterprises

Ellen and Milton Reitman

Dottie and Sandy Thomson

Shirley Holst, in memory of Jack Holst

Kelli Marshall

Jodi Richard

Charlotte Gibb and Dale Toetz

Ella McElya

Kay Richter and Stephen Buchmann

Ellen and Les Holst

Tommy Tollesson

Peter Rispoli

Emery Holton

Donna L. Meckfessel, in memory of Clement Meyer

Marie Torreano

Felicitas H. Ritrosky, M.D.

Monica Hooker

Mrs. Harriet Mehl

Alicia Turbidy

Thorn C. Roberts

Barbara Ilfeld

Ann E. Meyer

Tara Turner

Cristy Ann Robertson

Amy Rowe and Paul Jacob

Cynthia Milling

Paula and Bill Turner

Brittanie Rockhill

Sandy and Peter Johnson

Nancy and Charles Mitchell

Reine Fedor and Doug Turner

Ruth and Mel Ronick

Shael Johnson

Ari Mizrahi

Carlie Umbarger

Patti and Greg Rulon

Sally Anne Kaiser

Gerald Mohl

Jan and Rein van West

Mike Salamon

Monica Viall

BUSINESSES/FOUNDATIONS/ GOVERNMENT Sherry Achi/Skin Therapy Clinic Commander’s Palace Galatoire’s Restaurant Eli Lilly and Company Foundation Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra TIAA Bank Jack Wilkie Builder, Inc. * Denotes deceased supporter

ASPEN MUSIC FESTIVAL AND SCHOOL 2018 ANNUAL REPORT

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FINANCIAL OVERVIEW


In 2018 the Aspen Music Festival and School ended the year with an $80,000 operating surplus which the Board of Trustees transferred to the endowment. The AMFS spent the year focusing on new programs, such as the American Brass Quintet Seminar @Aspen and the Seraphic Fire Professional Choral Institute, while continuing to produce a balanced budget.

Rental and miscellaneous income 1%

Investment income Student fees

17% 28%

TICKET SALES

DEVELOPMENT

INVESTMENT INCOME

On July 3, 2018, a wildfire started in the Aspen valley near Basalt. The fire and the smoke it created continued through July and finally started to decrease in early August. It caused flights to be cancelled, fewer locals to leave their homes, and second homeowners to change their plans. We experienced a decrease in ticket sales over the first six weeks of our Festival. As the fire finally abated in week seven, we saw our ticket sales start to return to budgeted amounts. This natural disaster resulted in approximately $150,000 less revenue than was budgeted.

The AMFS raised $6.9 million for the operating fund in 2018. These contributions— which included annual fund gifts, benefit income, and grants—funded both general operations and special projects. While we fell short of our budget for individual giving by approximately $250,000, the Season Benefit, A Parisian Feast of Music, exceeded our budget by a similar amount.

In 2017 the AMFS began the process of decreasing the rate of its operating draw on the endowment. Historically the AMFS has drawn 5% of the previous 36-months average balance, net of fees. In 2017, the AMFS drew 4.75% and in 2018 the AMFS drew 4.63% with a goal of continuing to decrease the rate to 4.5% in 2019. This increasingly conservative approach was recommended by the AMFS’s Investment Committee in light of forecasted decreasing average returns in future years. The endowment fund increased from $72M to $77M from October 1, 2017, to September 30, 2018. The fund returned 5% for the fiscal year and averaged 8.5% for each of the past seven years.

REVENUE 8%

Ticket sales

4%

42%

Other earned income

Development (operating)

Management and general costs Ancillary programs 1%

15%

Marketing

27%

2%

Cost of sales-other earned income

4%

Summer staff compensation

8%

Student assistance and other school costs

EXPENSES

16% 23%

Administrative compensation

Faculty compensation 4%

Guest artist compensation

ASPEN MUSIC FESTIVAL AND SCHOOL 2018 ANNUAL REPORT

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ASPEN MUSIC FESTIVAL AND SCHOOL STATEMENT OF REVENUE AND EXPENSES As of September 30, 2018

9.30.18

2018 Budget

Variance of Actual to Budget

2017 Actual

Student fees

$4,716,431

Ticket sales

1,348,001

$4,630,300

$86,131

$4,339,915

1,505,000

(156,999)

1,444,052

715,634

731,500

(15,866)

706,762

Development (operating)

6,940,685

6,891,500

49,185

6,683,822

Investment income

2,872,687

2,886,900

(14,213)

2,889,799

180,897

222,000

(41,103)

146,293

16,774,335

16,867,200

(92,865)

16,210,643

Student assistance

2,993,914

2,935,400

58,514

2,842,045

Other school costs

1,545,310

1,489,700

55,610

1,381,940

4,539,224

4,425,100

114,124

4,223,985

Faculty compensation

2,702,712

2,756,700

(53,988)

2,589,527

Guest artist compensation

606,073

683,200

(77,127)

715,122

Administrative compensation

3,852,389

3,917,000

(64,611)

3,791,458

Summer staff compensation

1,385,832

1,404,700

(18,868)

1,328,107

665,568

675,500

(9,932)

573,182

321,907

344,300

(22,393)

363,007

REVENUE

Other earned income

Rental and miscellaneous income TOTAL REVENUE

EXPENSES Student assistance and other school costs:

TOTAL

Cost of sales-other earned income Marketing Ancillary programs Management and general costs TOTAL EXPENSES NET FROM OPERATIONS

Capital improvements - unfunded Bucksbaum capital reserve Transfer of staff salaries to capital campaign and project budgets Transfer (to)/from endowment Cushion/contingency NET REVENUE

267,670

256,000

11,670

212,375

2,417,885

2,373,600

44,285

2,374,970

16,759,260

16,836,100

(76,840)

16,171,733

15,075

31,100

(16,025)

38,910

0

0

0

(28,485)

(50,000)

(50,000)

0

(50,000)

119,000

119,000

0

143,719

(84,075)

0

(84,075)

(104,144)

0

(100,000)

100,000

0

$0

$100

($100)

$0



225 MUSIC SCHOOL ROAD ASPEN, CO 81611

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www.aspenmusicfestival.com


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