Snowmass Summer: Something for Everyone

By the JMD Team

Summer. Blink and it’s gone. With that in mind, those of us who consider summer the sweetest season of all share some of the activities and events we have on our agenda in the next month or two – in Snowmass. See you up there!

Music on the Mountain – Free Concert Series

Thursday evenings, 6:30-8:30, through August 26

Pack a picnic blanket or chair (or simply pull up a patch of grass) on Fanny Hill with friends and family. Bands still to hit the cool Concert Stage this summer include Trae Pierce & the T-Stones (July 22), Bono Brothers Band (July 29), Erica Falls (August 5), Bonerama (August 12), Nick Sterling & the Nomads, (August 19) and Rev Peyton’s Big Damn Band (August 26). www.gosnowmass.com/events

Gold-Level Biking

Once the mountains greens up, bike riders hit local trails – on and off the hill – for some two-wheel thrills. Options range from downhill mountain biking (via the Elk Camp Gondola) to a cross-country trail system for riders of varying skill levels. Views and scenery are always awesome. Bike rentals are easy to come by.

Tip: Check out the Snowmass Bike Park (SBP) Race Series, Tuesday nights until August 10, 6:30-8:00pm. $10 per races, plus bike park ticket. Races take place on a different course each week. Access via the Elk Camp Gondola. www.bikesnowmass.com

Food, Fun and Flow at The Collective

The Collective at Snowmass Base Village (SBV) is a hotspot for flavorful, healthy fare from Chef Martin Oswald (you may know him from his lovely Pyramid Bistro in Aspen) at Mix6 restaurant, and family fun in the Collective Game Lounge.

At the core of SBV, The Rink (an ice skating rink in winter) transforms into an activity lawn. Check out the lively Artisan Market on Fridays through August 27, and Movies Under the Stars on Saturdays, July 24-August 28. Saturday mornings, local favorite yogi Aaron King’s King Yoga Jam features music-driven flow yoga classes on the lawn (or inside at his new studio, if it rains). www.TheCollectiveSnowmass.com

The Snowmass Rodeo

Town Park Station, Wednesdays at 7-8:30 p.m. through August 18, rain or shine

Ride ‘em cowboys! Race ‘em, cowgirls! Tag ‘em, kids! There’s something for everyone at this popular rodeo, which returns to Snowmass this summer for the 48th year. $25 adults, $10 kids over age 2. Pre-rodeo time, there’s mechanical bull riding, a petting zoo for kids, Cowboy Dinner fare by Conundrum Catering Co., and more. www.gosnowmass.com/events

Snowmass Art Walk

New this summer, the Snowmass Art Walk showcases outdoor art installations – murals, sculptures and more – by local Roaring Fork Valley artists, around the Snowmass Mall, Base Village, the Brush Creek Trail and Anderson Ranch Arts Center. Roam if you want to, or find a full map of installations plus more info here: www.gosnowmass.com/activity/snowmass-art-walk

Photos: Music-Jeremy Swanson, Biking-Seth Beckton, Collective-Jeremy Swanson, Rodeo-Tamara Susa

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Music in the Mountains

2021 Aspen Music Festival delights the senses

By the JMD Team

Quaking aspen leaves. Cold spring water rushing over river rocks. Birdsong. By nature, there’s music in the mountain air.

This month, other delightful strains of music joined in as the Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) began its 72nd season with a free Spotlight Recital at the world-renowned Harris Concert Hall in Aspen’s West End. Continuing through August 22, the eight-week summer season will be comprised of three orchestral concerts a week, three evening recitals a week, two concert operas, free student recitals and more.*

Photo Credit: Grittani Creative

Listen in Wonder: Some Musical Highlights

• July 17 – Mozart’s The Magic Flute

• July 28 – Recital by the American String Quintet

• August 2 – The Sweetest Sounds: The Music of Richard Rogers

• August 10 – A Piano Recital by Vladimir Feltsman

• August 18 – A Violin Recital by Agustin Hadelich

• August 21 – Handel’s Rodelinda, regina de’ Longobardi

• August 22 – The 2021 season closes with music director Robert Spano conducting the Aspen Festival Orchestra in a performance of Bruch’s Violin Concerto No.1 featuring violinist Augustin Hadelich and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5

*Most events will take place in the open-air Benedict Music Tent, with distanced seating both inside and in pods on the Karetsky Music Lawn.

High Notes: Eyes On Design – We’d be remiss if we didn’t share some notes about the amazing venues that make up the Aspen Music Festival and School.

The most obvious is the iconic Benedict Music Tent, where most of the Festival’s concerts are held. Designed by Aspen architect Harry Teague, the Music Tent seats 2,050 music-lovers and features a curving, tent-like roof made of Teflon-coated fiberglass. Its sides open to the park-like setting that surrounds it.

Photo Credit: Grittani Creative

Adjacent to the Music Tent, and sharing a communal courtyard, is the Joan and Irving Harris Concert Hall, a 20,000-square-foot, 500-seat rehearsal and performance hall, also designed by Teague. While its white, folding tent-like roof reflects the surrounding hills, the main floor is buried 40 feet below ground, making it practically soundproof – ideal for performances and recordings. The interior concert hall is singularly striking with its asymmetrical maple and cherry veneer wall panels and overhead canopy.

And what most people don’t see, or might not realize exists so nearby, is the 105,000-square-foot Matthew and Carolyn Bucksbaum Campus, which serves as the center of AMFS’ teaching facilities. Just outside of town on a 38-acre site up Castle Creek Road, the campus features a trio of expansive concert halls, numerous teaching studios and practice rooms, a percussion building, administrative offices and a glass-enclosed cafeteria. The roofline mirrors the shapes of the surrounding mountains and riverbanks (and, yes, it was designed by Harry Teague as well).

Box Office 970-925-9042, aspenmusicfestival.com

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