Festival Showcase July 2, 2021: Alan Fletcher, Conrad Tao

By Chris Mohr

Published July 15, 2021 at 2:47 PM MDT

The 72nd summer season of the Aspen Music Festival is now in full swing, and we talk with Aspen CEO Alan Fletcher and programmer Asadour Santourian about what we can look forward to and how the season will differ from seasons past. We also caught up with pianist Conrad Tao, who first came to the Aspen Music Festival and School in his tween years as both a pianist and violinist. He talks about composing for violin and keeping up his chops on the instrument he no longer plays publicly, as well as the music he's playing in Aspen in his monumentally challenging recital on July 6. Tune in to Aspen Public Radio for Classical Music from Aspen weekdays now through August from 1:00-3:00 p.m., and our weekly interview program Festival showcase Fridays at 2:30 p.m.

Aspen Music Festival and School - Festival Showcase

Chris Mohr

Classical music reporter Chris Mohr has loved classical music since he was twelve. “And I owe it all to radio,” Chris explains. “I grew up in a farm town east of Cleveland. One day I turned on the local classical radio station. They were playing Vivaldi, and it was like the gates of heaven opened up to me!" Chris is also a composer, and is working on a 53-note-to-the-octave oratorio, "Melodies of the Shoreless Sea." This is his ninth summer working for Aspen Public Radio.

See stories by Chris Mohr