We offer a handful of non-classical events throughout the summer —from the legendary Chris Thile on mandolin and a mariachi celebration, to Scottish bagpipers and musical theater, there’s something for everyone to enjoy! Here are a few of our recommendations:
An Evening with Chris Thile mandolin and Orchestra (Thursday, June 27)
Grammy-winning mandolinist, singer, songwriter, composer, and MacArthur “Genius” Chris Thile hosts a genre-bending evening featuring works by Copland, Bach, Caroline Shaw, and ATTENTION!—his “narrative song cycle for extroverted mandolin and orchestra.”
The National Piping Centre (Friday, July 5, Saturday, July 6, and Sunday, July 7)
Get ready for a weekend of bagpiping! On Friday, try your chops at the bagpipes in a class led by members of The National Piping Centre of Scotland. Head up the gondola the next morning to see them perform with a beautiful mountain backdrop in our weekly Music on the Mountain series. Stop by early before the Sunday Concert at the Tent to see the bagpipers perform a Pre-Concert Fanfare on the Tent plaza.
As We Speak: Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain, Edgar Meyer ft. Rakesh Chaurasi (Wednesday, July 17)
A double bass, banjo, tabla, and bansuri player walk into a bar—except the bar is the Harris Concert Hall stage, and the musicians are all top artists coming together for a uniquely entertaining evening of collaborative music making based on their 2023 album As We Speak, a sonic tapestry which weaves together their Indian, classical, jazz, and bluegrass roots.
Fiddler on the Roof in Concert (Friday, July 23)
With nine Tony awards including "Best Musical," Fiddler on the Roof sang and danced its way into America's heart beginning in 1964 when it became an instant Broadway classic. Sixty years later, experience the production in a concert collaboration with Theatre Aspen and the Aspen Music Festival and School featuring John Williams’s Oscar-winning score adaptation as heard in the 1971 feature film version of this timeless musical.
A Mariachi Celebration (Wednesday, July 24)
Celebrate Mexican history and culture at our third annual Mariachi celebration! A concert features local students and Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Folklorico dancers alongside professional mariachi. Come early for a pre-concert fiesta on the lawn.