Students from various music programs in the Roaring Fork Valley have been gathering after school this week at TACAW and composing a piece of music together under the guidance of music professionals. They will perform the song on Friday at 6 p.m. at TACAW.
The Aspen Music Festival and School is entering uncharted territory with its music educational program, one that shifts the focus from performance to conception and creation.
This week, in partnership with The Arts Campus at Willits, AMFS is launching its first-ever Collective Composition Workshop, an after-school program designed for students in grades 4-12 from the Roaring Fork Valley. The weeklong initiative started Monday and will culminate in a free public performance on Friday at TACAW at 6 p.m.
Roughly 40 students, representing a wide range of musical backgrounds and experience levels, are participating in the workshop, learning to create, collaborate and perform an original musical work under the guidance of nationally renowned artists.
Students are drawn from the AMFS AfterWorks program, the TACAW Education program, Jazz Aspen Snowmass, the Roaring Fork Youth Orchestra, Rock and Roll Academy, local bands and choir programs and private music studios. The group reflects what organizers describe as a true cross section of the valley’s young musicians.
Students are working together to create an original piece of music from scratch, guided by a team of nationally recognized teaching artists led by Daniel Trahey, cofounder of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s nationally acclaimed OrchKids program and founder of the Collective Composition program.
Other faculty participating include Pete Tashjian, violinist Natalie Frakes, hip hop artist Aja Black, and bass clarinetist Mollie Westbrook, along with Lindsay Bobyak on bass and Heather Stanton on violin, all of whom bring extensive experience in music education and performance. Local musicians Natalie Spears and Mateo Sandate are also participating.
Trahey’s philosophy centers on collaboration and student ownership. Rather than directing the process, instructors act as facilitators, encouraging students to experiment, improvise and make collective decisions about the music they are making.
“This is about putting young people at the center of the creative process,” Trahey said. “We are committed to help reimagine what is possible when we intentionally center the youth voice in the music-making process. We hope students will gain confidence, understand the importance of their voice, and see that their willingness to collaborate and share ideas can help shape our world’s future.”
The students have been both delighted and surprised by the process.
“At first I thought that we weren’t going to get it, but in the end it was really beautiful,” said Charlie Sinkinson, 10, of Basalt Elementary School.
Clara Dawsey, 11, of Glenwood Springs Elementary School, said, “I liked how all of us were listening and we felt the beat and the rhythm and we made a real song together.”
Ian Garcia, 11, of Riverview School, said, “I felt that we were all able to join together and make something beautiful in our big group and I am proud of us.”
The workshop is supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and addresses the America250 youth essay prompt “What does America mean to you?” through the prism of music.
Stanton, vice president of education and community at AMFS, said the program builds on a long-standing commitment to music composition by the organization while expanding access to the creative process to students.
“Composers have always been part of our summer program, but this is about bringing that opportunity to local students,” Stanton said. “We want them to move beyond performing music to creating it — listening, experimenting, taking risks and building something meaningful together.”
TACAW Education Manager Anna Feiss sees the program as a milestone in a growing partnership between AMFS and TACAW.
“This is really the first formal collaboration between our youth programming teams,” Feiss said. “In a small valley, partnerships like this matter. By combining resources and networks, we’re able to reach more students and create something stronger together.”
Feiss emphasized that TACAW’s midvalley location is key to making participation accessible and that the workshop itself reflects a broader sense of community.
“You have kids from all over the valley, different backgrounds, different skill levels, all working together,” she said. “They’re answering big questions through music and in the process they’re building something that represents all of them.”
The final composition, shaped entirely by student input, is expected to blend a range of styles, from classical and jazz to hip-hop and improvisation, reflecting both the diversity of the participants and the collaborative nature of the process.
The student-created piece will be performed on Friday at 6 p.m. and then again during AMFS’ summer season on Aug. 1 in Harris Concert Hall as part of its Aspen Sounds initiative, placing local youth alongside some of today’s leading American composers.
“There’s a lot to take away from this,” Feiss said. “But if I had to sum it up, it’s hope and inspiration. What gives me so much hope is seeing how these kids work together and how they support each other in the process, and that they truly care about the future of our valley and our country. It is incredible to see what a group of middle and high schoolers can accomplish in just one week.”
Stanton said she hopes this experience will reveal to the students the power of their own creativity. “We hope their engagement with music will be a reflection of who they are and show them how sharing their art can positively impact their community.”
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