Spirit of the Rockies: A Tribute to John Denver presented by Chris Collins & the Boulder Canyon Band
2023-10-07 19:30 (America/Denver) | Wheeler Opera House, 320 E Hyman Ave, Aspen, CO, 81611, United States
If you know the music of John Denver, you also feel the spirit that he wrote with. His love for the Rocky Mountains was unmistakable. For many people, John Denver was the Spirit of the Rockies. Chris Collins and Boulder Canyon are proud to present the music of John Denver in the spirit of his songs and the mountains he loved.
The award-winning Chris Collins brings to the stage the amazing vocals, energy and unmistakable enthusiasm that was the hallmark of a John Denver performance. He is joined by the consummate musicians in Boulder Canyon Band consisting of Berkley School of Music graduates and members with numerous years of experience as musicians in many genres. Chris Collins and Boulder Canyon Band have been receiving delighted acclaim from audiences all over the country and abroad while emerging as the top performers of John Denver’s music.

Aspen Choral Society presents Handel's Messiah
2023-12-08 19:00
Aspen Choral Society is proud to perform our 47th annual presentation of Handel’s “Messiah.” We are honored and proud to present this work. Join us for an evening of beautiful music to help you ring in the holiday season!

Mark O'Connor's "An Appalachian Christmas"
2023-12-16 19:30
Grammy-winning composer and fiddler Mark O’Connor has created several arrangements of Christmas classics and fashions a wondrous mixture of traditional and original music — instrumental and vocal– in bluegrass and other American music genres. Mark performs on four instruments: fiddle, acoustic guitar, mandolin, and mandocello, and is joined on fiddle and vocals by his wife, fellow Grammy Award winner Maggie O’Connor. Together on stage, Mark and Maggie have a dynamic energy that brings their individual expertise to holiday themes and classics in the most delightful and musically satisfying way!
“One of the most spectacular journeys in recent American music.” – The New York Times

Allan Harris Sings A Nat King Cole Christmas
2023-12-17 19:30
Join us for an evening of Nat King Cole’s music celebrating the holidays, with longtime Aspen favorite Allan Harris and special guests Gloria Reuben and Jumaane Smith, and featuring Arcoiris Sandoval on piano, Marty Kenney on bass, Norman Edwards on drums, Irwin Hall on saxophone. “This powerhouse line-up will have the Wheeler jumping and celebrating!” notes Rigsby Peterson.
A New York review put it best: “The song list reads like an album from the past by only the likes of Nat King Cole, but easily ones that might have come from Dean Martin, Rosemary Clooney, or any number of the great recording artists of the past. “White Christmas,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” …even “Jingle Bells.” …the room wasn’t filled entirely with those who remember those singing stars, but were instead all ages and ethnicities, ready to indulge in nostalgia but with the twist of jazz that always keeps things contemporary.” – Theater Pizzazz NY

Aptly described by the Miami Herald as an artist blessed with “the warmth of Tony Bennett, the bite and rhythmic sense of Sinatra, and the sly elegance of Nat ‘King’ Cole,” Allan Harris is a Brooklyn-born, Harlem-based vocalist, guitarist, songwriter, and band leader. With an impressive discography boasting fourteen recordings as a leader, Harris has established himself as one of the jazz world’s most acclaimed vocalists, possessing a potent combination of dynamic vocal abilities, impeccable phrasing, and powerful emotional resonance.
Gloria Reuben is an actress, singer, and author whose credits span television, film, theater, and music. She was a back-up singer for Tina Turner on tour and has recorded three of her own original albums. Gloria’s acting credits on television include the hit television series ER (a role that garnered her two Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe nomination. Film credits include Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln (with Daniel Day-Lewis), Admission (with Tina Fey), and Reasonable Doubt (with Samuel L. Jackson). Her stage credits include Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play (Lucille Lortel Awards) for her portrayal of Condoleeza Rice in David Hare’s Stuff Happens at New York’s Public Theatre.
Jazz trumpeter, vocalist, and composer Jumaane Smith toured and recorded for 17 years with Michael Buble as his lead trumpeter and vocalist. He also was the featured guest soloist for Jackie Evancho’s Songs of the Silver Screen world tour. Smith has performed on 5 GRAMMY Award-winning records (selling more than 60 million copies), 2 Emmy Award-nominated TV performances, the GRAMMY Awards with Stevie Wonder, in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story (trumpet solo), at The White House, on the Today Show, Tonight Show, Oprah, Good Morning America, and American Idol. He also tours with his own band to such world-class venues as Jazz at Lincoln Center, Vail Jazz Festival, Joe’s Pub, and many more.

Changemaker Speaker Series | The Helmsman: Songs & Stories from the 7 Seas
2023-12-21 19:30
In a dynamic evening of adventure, exploration, imagery, and music, award-winning National Geographic photographer Andy Mann shares a behind-the-scenes look at some of the wildest places on our planet. As a founding member of SeaLegacy, Andy sails the seven seas to tell the stories of our natural world, in a quest to protect it. Aspen audiences will have the privilege of experiencing a brand-new version of Andy’s compelling presentations, as Andy adds a live music touch to the evening, featuring Andy and a dynamic band onstage. Drawing on classic folk troubadour traditions, the quartet weaves in a delightfully warped, salty sense of storytelling to original musical arrangements and stunning images from above and below the surface of the ocean. Joining Andy on stage is a renowned string band of multi-instrumentalists, featuring Eli West, Patrick M’Gonigle & Forest Marowitz.
Andy Mann is a renowned photographer, filmmaker, Emmy-nominated, and 12-time Telly Award winner driven by a deep passion for documenting and protecting the world’s marine environments. He has logged thousands of hours, off all seven continents, exploring the depths of our ocean to capture stunning visuals and raise awareness about the fragility of nature.

Lee Rocker of the Stray Cats
2023-12-28 19:30
Lee Rocker made his mark singing, playing, standing on, spinning and rocking his giant upright bass as a founding member (along with Brian Setzer and Slim Jim Phantom), of the Grammy-nominated music group The Stray Cats, who sold over 10 million albums and garnered 23 gold and platinum certified records worldwide. He has since been named “Greatest Of All Time” in Bass Player Magazine’s 2022 listing of the top 100 bassists ever. Come hear Lee and his band perform Stray Cats hits like “Sexy and Seventeen”, “Stray Cat Strut” and “Rock This Town”, plus lots of other rockin’ songs Lee performed post-Stray Cats with music legends from Ringo Starr and George Harrison to John Fogerty and The Rolling Stones.
Joining Lee Rocker on stage will be Buzz Campbell on guitar and backing vocals. Buzz an American guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. He founded his group, Hot Rod Lincoln, from San Diego, CA in 1990. Phil Parlapiano on keys, acoustic guitar and backing vocals, was born in New York City and raised by his musical parents. Phil learned to play the piano at the age of 4 from his talented grandmother, who also played mandolin and guitar. After playing the organ at his church, the road called to him leaving to tour with Joan Baez. Larry Mitchell on drums, has played professionally around Los Angeles and Nashville since he was 16 years old.

International Guitar Night XXIV
2024-02-09 19:30
Get ready for the 24th annual tour of International Guitar Night. We’re thrilled to bring this exceptional lineup to the Wheeler stage that promises to captivate the hearts of guitar and music enthusiasts alike. This performance is exactly the kind that the Wheeler was designed to showcase, with its impeccable acoustics and creating an intimate experience for the audience.
The visionary behind IGN, Brian Gore has once again curated a roster of accomplished musicians, including an exciting newcomer. The sensational Luca Stricagnoli from Italy, renowned for his mind-bending acoustic rock interpretations, will leave the audience in awe.

Hailing from Vietnam, Thu Le plays effortlessly with nylon string artistry that spans the realms of classical to contemporary.

From the vibrant streets of Brazil, Marco Pereira, a true master of composition and performance, embarks on his final tour with IGN in 2024, promising an unforgettable farewell.

But that’s not all; a fresh face to the IGN family, making her North American debut – Minnie Marks from the enchanting land of Australia. Prepare to be blown away by Minnie’s irrepressible blues slide guitar skills and soulful vocals that are sure to leave you craving for more.

Don’t miss this opportunity to experience the magic of IGN – where creativity knows no bounds, and the music never stops.

AMFS presents The Met: Live in HD - Anthony Davis's X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X
2024-02-27 17:30
Anthony Davis’s groundbreaking and influential opera, which premiered in 1986, arrives at the Met at long last. Theater luminary and Tony-nominated director of Slave Play Robert O’Hara oversees a potent new staging that imagines Malcolm as an everyman whose story transcends time and space. An exceptional cast of breakout artists and young Met stars enliven the operatic retelling of the civil rights leader’s life. Baritone Will Liverman, who triumphed in the Met premiere of Fire Shut Up in My Bones, is Malcolm, alongside soprano Leah Hawkins as his mother, Louise; mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis as his sister Ella; bass-baritone Michael Sumuel as his brother Reginald; and tenor Victor Ryan Robertson as Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad. Kazem Abdullah conducts the newly revised score, which provides a layered, jazz-inflected setting for the esteemed writer Thulani Davis’s libretto.
Cast
Librettist: Thulani Davis
Production: Robert O’Hara
Set Designer: Clint Ramos
Costume Designer: Dede Ayite
Lighting Designer: Alex Jainchill
Projection Designer: Yee Eun Nam
Choreographer: Rickey Tripp
Kazem Abdullah (Conductor), Leah Hawkins (Louise/Betty), Raehann Bryce-Davis (Ella), Victor Ryan Robertson (Elijah/Street), Will Liverman (Malcolm), Michael Sumuel (Reginald)

Wheeler Associates presents The Black Opry Revue
2024-02-29 19:30
Black Opry is a home for Black artists and Black fans of country, blues, folk, and Americana music. Country music has been made by and loved by Black people since it’s conception. For just as long, we have been overlooked and disregarded in the genre by fans and executives. Black Opry wants to change that. We invite you to discover, support and enjoy the Black artists that make magic in this space. One of the most valuable aspects of country music is its versatility and diversity in sound. Country, blues, folk, and Americana music often overlap or weave together- these artists explore all of those sounds and intersections. The Black Opry Revue showcases the diversity in sound and stories that Black artists offer to these genres.

AMFS presents The Met: Live in HD - Bizet's Carmen
2024-03-05 17:30
Acclaimed English director Carrie Cracknell brings a vital new production of one of opera’s most enduringly powerful works, reinvigorating the classic story with a staging that moves the action to the modern day and finds at the heart of the drama issues that could not be more relevant today: gendered violence, abusive labor structures, and the desire to break through societal boundaries. Dazzling young mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina leads a powerhouse quartet of stars in the complex and volatile title role, alongside tenor Piotr Beczała as Carmen’s troubled lover Don José, soprano Angel Blue as the loyal Micaëla, and bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen as the swaggering Escamillo. Daniele Rustioni conducts Bizet’s heart-pounding score.
Cast
Production: Carrie Cracknell
Set Designer: Michael Levine
Costume Designer: Tom Scutt
Lighting Designer: Guy Hoare
Projection Designer: rocafilm/Roland Horvath
Choreographer: Ann Yee
Daniele Rustioni (Conductor), Angel Blue (Micaëla), Aigul Akhmetshina (Carmen), Piotr Beczała (Don José), Kyle Ketelsen (Escamillo)

AMFS presents The Met: Live in HD - Verdi's La Forza del Destino
2024-03-12 17:30
Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Verdi’s grand tale of ill-fated love, deadly vendettas, and family strife, with stellar soprano Lise Davidsen as the noble Leonora, one of the repertory’s most tormented—and thrilling—heroines. Director Mariusz Treliński delivers the company’s first new Forza in nearly 30 years, setting the scene in a contemporary world and making extensive use of the Met’s turntable to represent the unstoppable advance of destiny that drives the opera’s chain of calamitous events. The distinguished cast also features tenor Brian Jagde as Leonora’s forbidden beloved, Don Alvaro; baritone Igor Golovatenko as her vengeful brother, Don Carlo; bass-baritone Patrick Carfizzi as Fra Melitone; and bass Soloman Howard as both Leonora’s father and Padre Guardiano.
Cast
Production: Mariusz Treliński
Set Designer: Boris Kudlička
Costume Designer: Moritz Junge
Lighting Designer: Marc Heinz
Projection Designer: Bartek Macias
Choreographer: Maćko Prusak 6
Yannick Nézet-Séguin (Conductor), Lise Davidsen (Leonora), Ekaterina Semenchuk (Preziosilla), Brian Jagde (Don Alvaro), Igor Golovatenko (Don Carlo di Vargas), Patrick Carfizzi (Fra Melitone), Soloman Howard (Marquis of Calatrava/Padre Guardiano)

Wheeler Associates presents Elephant Revival
2024-03-26 19:30, 2024-03-27 19:30
Elephant Revival is a unique collection of multi-instrumentalists blending elements of Celtic, Americana, Folk and Indie Art Rock. The band consists of Bonnie Paine (vocals, cello, djembe, washboard and musical saw), Bridget Law (fiddle, vocals), Dango Rose (upright bass, mandolin, vocals), Charlie Rose (banjo, pedal steel, mandolin, vocals) Darren Garvey (drums, percussion, vocals) and Daniel Sproul (guitars, vocals) of Rose Hill Drive. The music they create together is like weather systems meeting in the sky, Bonnie’s warmly haunting voice either merging with the rhythms and melodies of the band or providing a counterpoint and transforming it.

Aspen Rocks Music Competition
2024-04-13 18:30
Aspen Rocks is our local ‘American Idol’ style music competition. The competition will feature six student musician finalists who will compete live at the Wheeler Opera House for a chance to win recording time with a professional engineer at the legendary Mad Dog Ranch+Studios. The evening will be MC’d by local Othello Clark. The performances will be judged by local musicians Josefina Mendez, Mike Ramos, and Gonzales.

Peach Street Revival
2024-05-24 19:30
We’re celebrating the anniversary of the Wheeler’s 1984 Grand Re-Opening with two amazing concerts in one weekend. On Friday night, Peach Street Revival takes the stage and there will be plenty of room on the dance floor. Ticket price includes one complimentary beer, wine or soda from the bar, patrons can claim their drink ticket at the door.
Peach Street Revival is a fierce, female-dominated rock band from Grand Junction, Colorado, committed to crafting hit songs, touring globally, and intertwining their music with the fashion industry. Peach Street Revival has graced stages alongside renowned acts such as ZZ TOP, Buckcherry, Puddle of Mudd, Flobots, and more. During the show, fans will experience a seamless blend of Peach Street Revival‘s original songs and iconic hits from legendary artists like Led Zeppelin, Queen, Rush, Heart, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Fleetwood Mac, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, and the like. Share the music and bring a friend to rock out with Peach Street Revival!
Meet the Band:
Gonzales – Vocals & Harmonica
Sofia Benham – Drums & Vocals
Jordan Will – Bass, Piano & Vocals
Cooper Bradley Shull – Guitar & Vocals
“One kick-ass, female-dominated band.” -303magazine.com

Judy Collins Duo: Wildflowers Tour
2024-05-25 19:30
We’re celebrating the anniversary of the Wheeler’s 1984 Grand Re-Opening with two amazing concerts in one weekend. On Saturday night, Judy Collins returns to the stage with her Wildflowers Tour. In honor of the monumental Grand Re-Opening, all tickets are priced at $19.84.
Judy Collins has long inspired audiences with sublime vocals, boldly vulnerable songwriting, personal life triumphs, and a firm commitment to social activism. In the 1960s, she evoked both the idealism and steely determination of a generation united against social and environmental injustices. Five decades later, her luminescent presence shines brightly as new generations bask in the glow of her iconic 55-album body of work, and heed inspiration from her spiritual discipline to thrive in the music industry for half a century.
“You could argue Collins has earned that ‘legend’ distinction as much by interpreting and inspiring songs as she has by writing or singing them…” – Edmonton Journal
The award-winning singer-songwriter is esteemed for her imaginative interpretations of traditional and contemporary folk standards and her own poetically poignant original compositions. Her stunning rendition of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” from her landmark 1967 album, Wildflowers, has been entered into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Judy’s dreamy and sweetly intimate version of “Send in the Clowns,” a ballad written by Stephen Sondheim for the Broadway musical A Little Night Music, won “Song of the Year” at the 1975 Grammy Awards. She’s garnered several top-ten hits gold-and platinum-selling albums. Recently, contemporary and classic artists such as Rufus Wainwright, Shawn Colvin, Dolly Parton, Joan Baez, and Leonard Cohen honored her legacy with the album Born to the Breed: A Tribute to Judy Collins.

Wheeler Associates and Wheeler Opera House present Emmylou Harris
2024-06-18 19:30
A 14-time Grammy winner and Billboard Century Award recipient, Emmylou Harris’ contribution as a singer and songwriter spans 40 years. She has recorded more than 25 albums and has lent her talents to countless fellow artists’ recordings. In recognition of her remarkable career, Harris was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008 and earned a Grammy Lifetime Achievement award in 2018. Wheeler Associates and the Wheeler Opera House present Emmylou Harris for a one-night-only concert in our historic venue, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1984 Grand Re-opening of the Wheeler.
Harris is known as much for her eloquently straightforward songwriting as for her incomparably expressive singing. Admired through her career for her talent as an artist and song connoisseur, Harris shook up country radio in the 1970s, and established herself as the premiere songwriter of a generation selling more than 15 million records and garnering 14 Grammy Awards, three CMA Awards, and four Americana Awards.
Harris is one of the most admired and influential women in music. She has recorded with such diverse artists as Linda Ronstadt, Daniel Lanois, Bob Dylan, Mark Knopfler, Neil Young, Gram Parsons, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Roy Orbison, Ryan Adams, Beck, Elvis Costello, Johnny Cash, Lucinda Williams, Lyle Lovett and Rodney Crowell. Few artists have achieved such honesty or have revealed such maturity in their writing. Forty years into her career, Harris continues to share the hard-earned wisdom that—hopefully if not inevitably—comes with getting older, though she’s never stopped looking ahead.
A longtime social activist, Harris has lent her voice to many causes. Most passionately to animal welfare. In 2004 she established Bonaparte’s Retreat with the goal of rescuing shelter dogs and adopting them into forever homes. To this day, Bonaparte’s Retreat continues to save dogs most in need at Metro Nashville Animal Care and Control and at municipal shelters in surrounding counties.
**Ticket buyers who buy tickets to Wheeler Opera House shows through any other channels, including ticket brokers or other third parties, should be aware that the Wheeler cannot reprint, replace, or exchange tickets purchased in this way, and cannot contact those patrons with important show information. Tickets purchased in this way may also be fraudulent and may not scan you into the performance. The Wheeler reserves the right to deny entry to any patron presenting a fraudulent ticket purchased through a third party and cannot refund the cost of those tickets.**
A VALID ID MUST BE PRESENTED IN ORDER TO PICK UP YOUR TICKETS. THE NAME ON THE ID MUST MATCH THE NAME ON THE TICKET ORDER.

“Tribute to Aretha Franklin” feat. Ms. Lisa Fischer w/the JAS Academy Big Band conducted by Christian McBride
2024-06-21 17:30
Jazz Aspen Snowmass presents the JAS Academy Big Band featuring Rolling Stone veteran Grammy-winning vocalist Ms. Lisa Fischer on a “Tribute to Aretha Franklin” arranged and conducted by 8x Grammy-winning Christian McBride.

Katie Thiroux Trio
2024-06-21 20:00, 2024-06-22 20:00
With glowing endorsements from the likes of Quincy Jones, The New Yorker, and NPR, Los Angeles-based Katie Thiroux has clearly established herself as one of the most exciting and in-demand musicians today. Thiroux’s unique gift of simultaneously balancing sultry vocals and virtuosic bass playing leaves audiences worldwide in awe. Lending contemporary flair to mainstream stylings, Thiroux carries on the hard-swinging tradition of such bass masters as Ray Brown and John Clayton while channeling the buoyant vocal finesse of iconic singers, including Anita O’Day, Chet Baker, and Ella Fitzgerald. Thiroux offers in-the-moment jazz that draws upon the rich history of the music, from swing to bebop and beyond. In the words of music icon Quincy Jones, “This girl is IT!”

The Headhunters 50th Anniversary
2024-06-22 17:30
Few bands can claim a history as remarkable and illustrious as The Headhunters. Originating in 1973 under the visionary leadership of renowned musician Herbie Hancock, the band quickly established itself as a force to be reckoned with. Now co-led by original members Bill Summers on percussion and Mike Clark on drums, complemented by the talents of some of New Orleans’ finest musicians: Kyle Roussel on keys, Donald Harrison on alto saxophone, and Chris Severin on seven-string bass. These lifelong friends have shaped the band into a musical powerhouse. By blending jazz, funk, and rock, The Headhunters created a sound that resonated with audiences worldwide, selling over a million albums and inspiring musicians across genres for generations. Their music was even sampled by hundreds of hip-hop artists throughout the ’80s and ’90s, leaving an indelible mark on contemporary music.

Aspen Music Festival and School | Opera Encounters
2024-06-29 10:00, 2024-07-06 10:00, 2024-07-13 10:00, 2024-07-20 10:00, 2024-07-27 10:00
Aspen Opera Theater and VocalARTS faculty coach the program’s major emerging talents in arias and scenes. Enjoy excerpts from the repertoire, ravishing voices, and insightful coaching.

Aspen Music Festival and School | Matthew Aucoin: Music for New Bodies
2024-07-01 19:00
Premiered in April 2024, this major new work is from the creative team of MacArthur award-winning composer Matthew Aucoin, whose commissioning credits include the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, and Lyric Opera of Chicago, and director Peter Sellars, celebrated for his operatic collaborations with John Adams, Tyshawn Sorey, and the late Kaija Saariaho. 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.
They explain: “We follow the migration of eels to the depths of the Atlantic Basin; we hear the voice of the ocean floor itself, speaking with superhuman pressure and force; we experience humankind’s impact on our planet, and we also sense the presence of cycles so immense that they are beyond human influence.”
A co-commission of the DaCamera ensemble, Shepherd School of Music, LA Opera, American Modern Opera Company (AMOC), and Aspen Music Festival & School, Music for New Bodies is scored for five vocal soloists and an 18-piece instrumental ensemble.

Aspen Music Festival and School | Leonard Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts Presented by Carnegie Hall: The Anatomy of a Symphony Orchestra
2024-07-02 16:00
New! In a special partnership between Carnegie Hall+ and the Aspen Music Festival and School, Aspen viewers of all ages can screen two of Leonard Bernstein’s legendary Young People’s Concerts with the New York Philharmonic. In his most important role as music educator, Bernstein’s pioneering series of nationally televised broadcasts began in 1958 live from Carnegie Hall, making the concert hall an accessible classroom that introduced a new generation to classical music.
Today’s program analyzes the components of the modern symphony orchestra.

Aspen Music Festival and School | The National Piping Centre Class
2024-07-05 13:00
Finlay MacDonald, Director of Piping at The National Piping Centre, demonstrates and teaches basic elements of bagpiping.
The National Piping Centre’s Aspen residency is generously underwritten by Mr. and Mrs. Thomas D. Rutherfoord, Jr.

Aspen Music Festival and School | Leonard Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts Presented by Carnegie Hall+: Who is Gustav Mahler?
2024-07-09 16:00
New! In a special partnership between Carnegie Hall+ and the Aspen Music Festival and School, Aspen viewers of all ages can screen two of Leonard Bernstein’s legendary Young People’s Concerts with the New York Philharmonic. In his most important role as music educator, Bernstein’s pioneering series of nationally televised broadcasts began in 1958 live from Carnegie Hall, making the concert hall an accessible classroom that introduced a new generation to classical music.
Today’s program explores the complicated personality of Gustav Mahler and how it was expressed in his music.
