Sounds of Pride

This year’s opening weekend underscores Sounds of Pride, a four-day mini-festival honoring the legacy of LGBTQIA+ musical artists and marking the anniversary of Aspen’s landmark anti-discrimination policy protecting gays and lesbians—the first policy of its kind in any Colorado municipality.

Spanning four days, Sounds of Pride will commence with the Festival’s second annual free Community Pride Celebration followed by public concerts, masterclasses, and pre-concert talks featuring works from Queer American composers. The events included in the Sounds of Pride mini-festival are:

• Community Pride Celebration
  • June 27 | 4 PM
  • In collaboration with the City of Aspen, Aspen One, and the Aspen Chamber Resort Association, the AMFS will host its second Community Pride Celebration—a free event celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community, friends, and families. Enjoy ice cream, fun and celebration, and visit with local partner organizations. Everyone is welcome!
• An Evening with Chris Thile mandolin and Orchestra
  • June 27 | 6 PM
  • Mandolinist, singer, songwriter, composer, and radio personality Chris Thile is known for his eclectic performances ranging from Bach to bluegrass. A 2012 MacArthur Fellow and multiple Grammy winner, he’s collaborated with violinists Mark O’Connor and Hilary Hahn, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and double bass player Edgar Meyer. In 2009, he composed a mandolin concerto and premiered it with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra.
• Opera Encounters
  • June 29 | 10 AM
  • Aspen Opera Theater and VocalARTS Co-Artistic Director Renée Fleming and opera director Peter Sellars coach the program's major emerging talents in arias and scenes. Enjoy excerpts from the repertoire, ravishing voices, and insightful coaching.
• Music on the Mountain
  • June 29 | 1 PM
  • AMFS music students play light chamber music with the stunning Elk Mountain Range as a backdrop. Bring a picnic or purchase lunch at the Sundeck restaurant. 
• Chamber Music
  • June 29 | 4:30 PM
  • AMFS artist-faculty, all top musicians from renowned orchestras, opera companies, and conservatories, come together to play their favorite chamber music works. Always a joyful and creative 75 minutes of music-making.
• Prelude Preconcert Talk
  • June 30 | 3 PM
  • Prelude: Preconcert Talks present listeners with engaging and topical commentary on the Sunday afternoon programs. Lectures are presented by AMFS’s artistic team and special guests.
• Festival Orchestra: Renée Fleming, Pines of Rome
  • June 30 | 4 PM
  • Experience the spectacular artistry of Renée Fleming and works by some of the greatest orchestrators of all time as the Aspen Festival Orchestra ushers in the 75th anniversary season!
• Matthew Aucoin: Music for New Bodies
  • July 1 | 7:30 PM
  • Premiered in April 2024, this major new work is from the creative team of MacArthur award-winning composer Matthew Aucoin and director Peter Sellars. Inspired by the writings of visionary poet Jorie Graham and pioneering environmentalist Rachel Carson, Aucoin and Sellars’s new work offers an immersion in vast planetary processes.

Listen to our Sounds of Pride Spotify Playlist: 

This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.