{"id":2453797,"date":"2026-06-11T01:46:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T01:46:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2453797"},"modified":"2026-06-11T01:46:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T01:46:48","slug":"aspen-music-festival-and-school-names-new-president-and-ceo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/aspen-music-festival-and-school-names-new-president-and-ceo\/","title":{"rendered":"Aspen Music Festival and School names new president and CEO"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Meghan Martineau Umber will be the seventh president and CEO of the Aspen Music Festival and School.<\/p>\n

Umber will be following in the footsteps of Alan Fletcher, who will be transitioning to President Emeritus.<\/p>\n

The announcement was made by Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Aspen Music Festival and School Alexandra Munroe Wednesday. Umber comes from the LA Phil, where she currently serves as president, Hollywood Bowl and Chief Programming officer. She is planning to move to Aspen with her family in the summer or fall and begin as president and CEO on Oct. 1.<\/p>\n\n\n

\u201cThe opportunity of leading AMFS is the dream opportunity,\u201d Umber told The Aspen Times. \u201cIt is such an amazing jewel box of a school, with this extraordinary festival that they put on. It\u2019s the perfect alignment of both my dream job opportunity and also my dream locale for me and my family. It\u2019s everything for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Umber was selected following what a press release calls \u201can extensive search process\u201d conducted by a\u00a015 member Search Committee including the music director, trustees,\u00a0faculty\u00a0and\u00a0senior\u00a0staff members, led by Munroe.\u00a0Umber is a pianist with a\u00a0music\u00a0degree from the Thornton School of Music\u00a0at\u00a0University of Southern California,\u00a0with a background\u00a0providing strategic leadership at the LA Phil as well as guiding programming and media initiatives across\u00a0all\u00a0LA Phil venues.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve known since I was 15 that what I want to do is do what I do now,\u201d Umber said. \u201cMy life revolves around music.\u201d<\/p>\n

In her\u00a0two decades\u00a0with the LA Phil,\u00a0she\u00a0notably led the curation and design of its signature orchestral presentations, festivals and projects at\u00a0Walt Disney Concert Hall\u00a0and Hollywood Bowl, in close partnership with Music\u00a0and\u00a0Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cShe co-created and\u00a0executed\u00a0some of the field\u2019s most innovative and influential productions, working especially closely with Dudamel, Creative Director Esa-Pekka Salonen\u00a0and Disney Hall\u2019s architect Frank Gehry,\u201d the release reads.\u00a0\u201cA dedicated champion of emerging talent,\u00a0she also\u00a0managed the Dudamel Fellowship Conducting Program for seventeen seasons,\u00a0establishing\u00a0it as one of the field\u2019s premier training grounds for conductors.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to a statement by Munroe in the release, Umber was chosen due to her leadership and commitment to artistic excellence and education, in addition to her ability to connect AMFS\u2019s mission with broader outreach that expands beyond Aspen, Colo., and even the country.<\/p>\n

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\u201cInspired by her deep love of music, she has forged impactful collaborations with musicians and artistic leaders, championed innovative approaches to audience and community\u00a0engagement\u00a0and embraced\u00a0new technologies\u00a0to expand music\u2019s reach across society,\u201d Munroe said. \u201cIn Meghan, we have a new CEO committed to Aspen\u2019s place as a thought leader for the arts as the driving force of a more empathetic,\u00a0connected\u00a0and creative future for all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Umber\u2019s vision to steward the festival and school is rooted in honoring the legacy of previous years and leaders, including departing CEO Alan Fletcher.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m joining AMFS at a moment of strength for them,\u201d Umber said. \u201cI plan to take extraordinarily good care of that. What\u2019s most important is making these really special, meaningful music experiences. I care about this deeply.\u201d<\/p>\n

Umber said that she\u2019s continuously witnessed music offer a shared experience that builds community and dialogue. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you have an orchestra, you have 100 people who have sat down and decided to do something together \u2026 It\u2019s a dialogue, it\u2019s listening and it\u2019s such a valuable experience, especially for the students,\u201d Umber said. \u201cYou learn so much about yourself and the wider world when you\u2019re connecting on something as joyful as music. We\u2019re making community.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked what she\u2019s most excited about for her first year with AMFS, Umber pointed to the summer music festival.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be that moment that I get to walk into the Klein music tent,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

In addition to being the new leader of AMFS, Umber is also mom to two sons \u2014 6 and 4 years old \u2014 who are already embracing the Aspen lifestyle after visiting on their spring break. Umber noted that her oldest already considers himself a pro skier, and her youngest \u201cwould live at Wagner Park if he was allowed to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her boys will attend Aspen Country Day\u00a0School and she said she looks forward to being a member of the community not just as a representative of the festival but also as a parent.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had this dream to live in a place like Aspen,\u201d Umber said. \u201cWe can\u2019t wait to go skiing, to be hiking \u2026 (and) to make choices every day to help AMFS be the most extraordinary place on the planet.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n