Aspen Music Festival and School President and CEO Alan Fletcher will be stepping down from his role following the summer 2026 season, effective Jan. 1, 2027, according to a Tuesday news release. His tenure with AMFS started in March 2006.
The Aspen Music Festival and School announced on Tuesday that president and CEO Alan Fletcher will transition out of his role in 2027, becoming a president emeritus after more than two decades at the helm.
Fletcher will lead the institution through the 2026 summer season and “will work closely with the board of trustees on key strategic and fundraising initiatives” before his Jan. 1, 2027 departure, a Tuesday news release states. The release said that Alexandra Munroe, chair of the board of trustees, will lead the search for Fletcher’s successor.
“Last summer, we celebrated Alan’s 20th year of stellar leadership,” Munroe said in a statement in the release. “His plan for CEO succession at the end of the 2026 season … gives us an opportunity to look back with gratitude on his extraordinary leadership and to look forward to building on the strong foundation he helped create.”
Fletcher joined AMFS in 2006, leading the decade-long $80 million redevelopment of the Matthew and Carolyn Bucksbaum Campus after securing what remains the largest gift to date the institution has received for the naming rights of the campus, according to the release. His other accomplishments include creating an opera training program under Renée Fleming and Patrick Summers; steering AMFS through the COVID-19 pandemic; appointing Robert Spano as music director; and creating the festival’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access Committee, among others.
He previously served as a professor and head of the school of music and Carnegie Mellon University and was recently inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He earned his baccalaureate at Princeton University and master’s and doctorate degrees from the Juilliard School. He’s served locally on the boards of the Aspen Institute, Aspen Science Center and Aspen Chamber Resort Association
Fletcher said in a statement in the release that his contract concludes at the end of 2026.
“As we enter the third year of our 75th anniversary celebrations in 2026, I have proposed to our board leadership that it is the right moment to plan for CEO succession,” Fletcher said. “As the anniversary has given us many occasions to reflect on our achievements, it has also encouraged us to think boldly about our future sustainability and growth. We have a plan, including an ambitious ad campaign, to ensure that we stay both committed to excellence in our unique mission, and committed to financial stability and responsibility. As a key part in this, we have been thinking together about how best I can contribute to my own legacy at AMFS and in Aspen.”
Munroe said in the release that Fletcher is the first recipient of the title of president emeritus in AMFS history.
“Alan is a respected and beloved friend to the Aspen community, and a paragon of our founding philosophy of the Aspen Idea,” Munroe said. “We are pleased to announce that the board of trustees will name Alan as president emeritus in 2027 — the first such honor in the institution’s history. This is a challenging responsibility — but also an exciting opportunity. We look forward to working with the AMFS and Aspen community as we usher in the next era of our Festival and School’s joyous mission.”
The AMFS’ summer season will run from July 1 to Aug. 23 and will be announced in February, the release said.
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