Free Family Events Designed with Kids in Mind

LAURA SMITH

Vice President of Marketing and Communications

Come one, come all, come big and small, to the Aspen Music Festival and School’s (AMFS) free Family Concert, Caroline Shaw’s The Mountain that Loved a Bird on Tuesday, July 18. Arrive early to enjoy pre-concert activities on the Karetsky Music Lawn starting at 4 p.m. before moving inside for the 5 p.m. concert in Harris Concert Hall.

“This concert is such a great point of entry for young ones,” says Heather Kendrick, AMFS dean of education and community. “It is in a beautiful, professional concert hall, yet the feel will be very accessible, very friendly. House lights will stay up, the doors will stay open, the performers will speak and show their instruments from the stage, and the work is a brief 20 minutes. It is a wonderful way for kids to have a great time and also learn young how to ‘show up’ in a concert hall.”

Based on the children’s book The Mountain that Loved a Bird by Alice McLerran, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw’s work was chosen for its accessibility, lively music, and beautiful themes that tie in to the AMFS’s season theme of The Adoration of the Earth

Local actor Graham Northrup will provide dramatic narration from the stage, telling the story of a barren mountain that loves a bird who visits but cannot survive on its rocky landscape. Eventually the mountain’s grief causes it to weep rivers, which transform the terrain into fertile ground rich in vegetation and wildlife, bringing the mountain joy forever. Says AMFS Vice President for Artistic Administration Patrick Chamberlain, “I was so affected by the text of the book and by how Caroline’s music so beautifully comple- mented it. It does what the best of children’s literature and movies do, which is to take such simple ideas and emotions that are so real and human and turn them into something deeply moving.”

Families are encouraged to arrive early for the pre-concert activities designed to prepare young ears for what they’ll hear during the concert. Among the planned stations is the ever-popular Instrument Petting Zoo where young adult music students at the AMFS summer program will bring their drums, trumpets, flutes, and more for touching and trying by curious little hands.

“The entire experience is designed with children in mind,” notes Kendrick. “I hope all families and kids that come will experience a real sense of belonging, even if they are coming to something like this for the very first time.”

This summer brings another concert event for the entire family with the second-annual free Mariachi Celebration Community Concert on July 26 at the Benedict Music Tent. Featuring a performance by Denver-based Mariachi Sol de mi Tierra, the concert also includes local music students and dancers from Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Folklórico. These groups come together on stage to highlight their hard work, build community, and celebrate Mexican culture. A pre-concert fiesta with activities, community partners, and food vendors begins at 4 p.m.

In addition to these concerts, the AMFS also offers free music story hours at local libraries for kids ages eight and under with an adult all summer long. Find them at the Pitkin County Library on Thursdays at 10:30 a.m. on July 6 and 20 and August 3, and at the Basalt Regional Library on Wednes- days at 10:30 a.m. on July 12, 19, and 26, and August 2.

As always, families are welcome to bring their children to concerts any time! Tickets for kids ages 4–18 are just $5 for most events and may be purchased by calling the AMFS Box Office at 970-925-9042.