It's summertime, and the classical musicians have all disappeared. No, it's not a classical music-specific alien body snatching situation. It's just that they're all at music festivals! Because we miss them, we've decided to follow the musicians to a different fest each summer. This year, we head to the Aspen Music Festival! For our next few shows, we'll be interviewing festival leaders, musicians, and whoever else will talk to us.

In this, the first episode of our miniseries, we spoke with Alan Fletcher, President and CEO of the Aspen Music Festival and School. He tells us what these music festivals are all about in general, and what makes Aspen unique.

Music in this episode:

• "Mr. Sandman". Aspen Bassoon Band (2011).
• Overture to Aida. New York Philharmonic, conducted by James Levine.
• Alan Fletcher, President and CEO of the Aspen Music Festival and School. Image courtesy of the Aspen Music Festival website.

Audio production by Todd "Tricky" Hulslander with plate spinning by Dacia Clay and editing by Mark DiClaudio.

For more about Alan Fletcher AND the Aspen Music Festival: www.aspenmusicfestival.com

Many thanks to the good people at the Aspen Music Festival for making this happen!