AMFS Brings Free Concerts to the Valley

AMFS Brings Free Concerts to the Valley

SHANNON ASHER

Festival Focus Writer

New this summer, the Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) is offering free one-hour concerts in community locations up and down the Roaring Fork Valley. The series, called Music on the GO, comprises 36 light-hearted musical events, performed by the talented music students of the AMFS. Concerts run July 27 to August 15 (see sidebar for dates and locations).

The concerts are presented in a modified box truck that opens up to be a miniature concert venue, which allows significant flexibility in location.

Says AMFS President and CEO Alan Fletcher, “Since it’s a mobile concert, they can go to places that we wouldn’t reach, to people who might have never thought of driving up to Aspen and purchasing a ticket. Now, we come to them. We come into their community and are able to do something really great.”

Music on the GO concerts typically will occur at popular community gathering places from Aspen to Glenwood Springs, such as parks, libraries, and churches. Staff will mark out where the audience should set up, so that patrons may assemble appropriately. “It’s all very organized for the pandemic period,” Fletcher says. “They will be great concerts. We will have singers, strings, winds, brass, and piano, all very talented, very serious rising young musicians who are here to study at the Festival. We’re excited about it.”

Clark’s Market is one of the proud sponsors of the Music on the GO concerts, underwriting three at Molly Gibson (Smuggler) Park on July 27, August 3, and August 10. Owner Tom Clark is especially looking forward to this collaboration. “We are delighted to partner with the AMFS this summer,” Clark says. “We are certain our customers and community will enjoy the extraordinary classical music that is to be provided by the Aspen Music Festival. Access to the arts is always a challenge and we are proud to be a small part of making it more accessible to everyone.”

The young musicians coming from around the world to study with the elite artist-faculty at the AMFS represent some of the most promising rising talent in the classical music today. With an average age of 26 this year, they are often finishing graduate programs, or just launching into their early professional careers. “These are the same musicians we are presenting on our stages at the Benedict Music Tent and Harris Concert Hall,” notes Fletcher. “They are tremendous artists and in some cases have been preparing the works they will be playing for weeks or months.”

The mobile venue being used for Music on the GO is a 16-foot box truck, converted into a fully functioning mobile concert venue, complete with lights, a sound system, and a piano. Called The Concert Truck, it was created by pianists Nick Luby and Susan Zhang in 2016 and they contract to work in cities and communities all over the country.

Luby came up with the concept six years ago while traveling, when he would inadvertently draw in audience members while practicing piano in local churches. Those interactions made him think about how he could bring music into public spaces—an idea he then presented to Zhang who joined him in the endeavor. “In addition to creating artistic experiences that inspire and bring joy and togetherness, our aim is to expand what classical music can be and who it is for,” Zhang says.

Of their upcoming performances in the area, Zhang said, “This is an incredibly beautiful place, and we hope to share what we do with this unique community of people who call the Roaring Fork Valley home.”

BRINGING THE MUSIC TENT TO YOU!

The Concert Truck, which converts into a fully functioning stage, will allow AMFS student musicians to perform throughout the Roaring Fork Valley.

Keep an eye out for free, hour-long MUSIC ON THE GOconcerts, soon making a musical appearance near you!

For more information and concert schedule updates, visit aspenmusicfestival.com/music-on-the-go.

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