Lifelong Learning

Listen Up: Seminars on Music is a weekly gathering of music lovers every Wednesday morning, hosted by AZMF’s Resident Artist, Josh Condon.  Each session combines music history, analysis, active listening, and discussion, designed to enhance your listening experience and overall music appreciation.  Listen Up covers all genres, emphasizing our common humanity across all musical styles!  Coffee provided. For this session of Listen Up, we turn the spotlight on you—your taste, your memories, and the film scores that have stayed with you long after the screen fades to black. We’re collecting your favorite movie soundtracks—specifically original film scores—and building a session shaped entirely by participant submissions. What makes a film score unforgettable? Is it a soaring orchestral theme that defines a hero, a subtle motif that signals danger, or a texture that quietly builds an entire world around the story? From the bold, instantly recognizable themes of composers like John Williams to the atmospheric soundscapes of Hans Zimmer or the intimate emotional writing of Hildur Guðnadóttir, film music shapes how we experience every moment on screen—often without us even realizing it. Send your favorites to josh@azmusicfest.org, and during the session we’ll listen together and dig into what makes each piece work. We’ll explore how composers use melody, harmony, rhythm, and orchestration to bring characters to life, heighten emotion, and create immersive cinematic worlds. Whether your pick is iconic, obscure, classic, or contemporary, it will help guide our conversation and deepen our collective understanding of how music tells stories in film.

Music meets the magic of cinema at our Movies @ Musicfest series! This year, we’re bringing you an inspiring lineup of music documentaries—exploring iconic artists, unforgettable performances, and the stories behind the soundtrack of our lives. Grab some popcorn and a soda, settle in for the film, and stick around afterward for a lively discussion with fellow music lovers!  A musical biography of one of the most successful female singers - and one of the most successful recording artists - of all time. Featuring Dolly Parton, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, and more.

Join us this summer for a special series on songs with Josh Condon, AZMF’s Resident Artist. Each session weaves together music history, thoughtful analysis, active listening, and engaging discussion—all designed to deepen your appreciation and enjoyment of great music. Come for the songs, stay for the coffee, conversation, and community, and rediscover some of the greatest music ever written! A masterclass in understated beauty, this song reveals how simplicity can carry profound emotional weight. With its graceful melody and harmonic warmth, Something captures the quiet intensity of love in a way that feels both personal and universal. In this session, we’ll explore how subtle shifts in harmony and phrasing allow the music to mirror the complexity of human connection—proving that sometimes the most powerful statements are the most restrained.

Music meets the magic of cinema at our Movies @ Musicfest series! This year, we’re bringing you an inspiring lineup of music documentaries—exploring iconic artists, unforgettable performances, and the stories behind the soundtrack of our lives. Grab some popcorn and a soda, settle in for the film, and stick around afterward for a lively discussion with fellow music lovers!  In 1962 four young men - John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr - came together to form the 20th century musical phenomenon known as 'The Beatles'. The band stormed Europe in 1963 and, in 1964, they conquered America. Their groundbreaking world tours changed global youth culture forever and, arguably, invented mass entertainment as we know it today.

Join us this summer for a special series on songs with Josh Condon, AZMF’s Resident Artist. Each session weaves together music history, thoughtful analysis, active listening, and engaging discussion—all designed to deepen your appreciation and enjoyment of great music. Come for the songs, stay for the coffee, conversation, and community, and rediscover some of the greatest music ever written! Effortlessly blending sophistication with charm, this jazz standard has become a timeless expression of longing and joy. Its elegant chord progressions and buoyant rhythm create a sense of lift—perfectly matching the song’s celestial imagery. Together, we’ll examine how melodic contour and harmonic movement evoke a feeling of weightlessness, and how different interpretations can transform its emotional character.

Music meets the magic of cinema at our Movies @ Musicfest series! This year, we’re bringing you an inspiring lineup of music documentaries—exploring iconic artists, unforgettable performances, and the stories behind the soundtrack of our lives. Grab some popcorn and a soda, settle in for the film, and stick around afterward for a lively discussion with fellow music lovers!  Man on the Run is an intimate portrait of Paul McCartney’s journey after The Beatles, as he and wife Linda form Wings. Directed by Oscar-winner Morgan Neville, the film explores McCartney’s reinvention through rare archival footage, capturing both the struggles and triumphs of redefining himself in a new musical era.  

Join us this summer for a special series on songs with Josh Condon, AZMF’s Resident Artist. Each session weaves together music history, thoughtful analysis, active listening, and engaging discussion—all designed to deepen your appreciation and enjoyment of great music. Come for the songs, stay for the coffee, conversation, and community, and rediscover some of the greatest music ever written! Often hailed as one of the most beautifully crafted songs in popular music, this piece redefines what a love song can be. Its unconventional structure, rich harmonies, and intricate vocal layering create a sound world that feels both intimate and expansive. We’ll dive into how these musical choices deepen the song’s emotional resonance, offering a powerful example of vulnerability expressed through innovation.

Music meets the magic of cinema at our Movies @ Musicfest series! This year, we’re bringing you an inspiring lineup of music documentaries—exploring iconic artists, unforgettable performances, and the stories behind the soundtrack of our lives. Grab some popcorn and a soda, settle in for the film, and stick around afterward for a lively discussion with fellow music lovers!  Tracing the story of Ella Fitzgerald's life, this documentary film explores how her music became a soundtrack for a tumultuous century.  

Join us this summer for a special series on songs with Josh Condon, AZMF’s Resident Artist. Each session weaves together music history, thoughtful analysis, active listening, and engaging discussion—all designed to deepen your appreciation and enjoyment of great music. Come for the songs, stay for the coffee, conversation, and community, and rediscover some of the greatest music ever written! With its gentle groove and haunting melody, this song captures the deeply personal experience of feeling seen through music. Its storytelling unfolds with quiet intensity, drawing listeners into a shared emotional space. In our discussion, we’ll explore how arrangement, dynamics, and phrasing work together to create intimacy—and how restraint can amplify emotional impact.

Music meets the magic of cinema at our Movies @ Musicfest series! This year, we’re bringing you an inspiring lineup of music documentaries—exploring iconic artists, unforgettable performances, and the stories behind the soundtrack of our lives. Grab some popcorn and a soda, settle in for the film, and stick around afterward for a lively discussion with fellow music lovers!  Featuring rare interviews with his family and colleagues, never-before-seen footage, and state of the art Dolby Atmos sound, this look at a remarkable man and musical giant is directed by Academy Award(R)-winner Ron Howard.  

Join us this summer for a special series on songs with Josh Condon, AZMF’s Resident Artist. Each session weaves together music history, thoughtful analysis, active listening, and engaging discussion—all designed to deepen your appreciation and enjoyment of great music. Come for the songs, stay for the coffee, conversation, and community, and rediscover some of the greatest music ever written! What began as a plea becomes, in its most famous form, a declaration. This song pulses with energy, attitude, and purpose, driven by its infectious rhythm and commanding vocal presence. We’ll look at how musical elements like groove, call-and-response, and emphasis transform the song’s message—and how performance can redefine meaning.

Music meets the magic of cinema at our Movies @ Musicfest series! This year, we’re bringing you an inspiring lineup of music documentaries—exploring iconic artists, unforgettable performances, and the stories behind the soundtrack of our lives. Grab some popcorn and a soda, settle in for the film, and stick around afterward for a lively discussion with fellow music lovers!  Featuring cinema's most celebrated names in film music, SCORE: A FILM MUSIC DOCUMENTARY offers a candid look into how composers developed, and continue to develop, some of the most iconic scores in history.  

Join us this summer for a special series on songs with Josh Condon, AZMF’s Resident Artist. Each session weaves together music history, thoughtful analysis, active listening, and engaging discussion—all designed to deepen your appreciation and enjoyment of great music. Come for the songs, stay for the coffee, conversation, and community, and rediscover some of the greatest music ever written! A poetic meditation on perception and experience, this song invites listeners to reconsider what they think they know. Its melody drifts with a reflective quality, mirroring the uncertainty and wisdom in the lyrics. In this session, we’ll explore how musical simplicity supports lyrical depth, and how reinterpretation over time can reveal new emotional layers.

Music meets the magic of cinema at our Movies @ Musicfest series! This year, we’re bringing you an inspiring lineup of music documentaries—exploring iconic artists, unforgettable performances, and the stories behind the soundtrack of our lives. Grab some popcorn and a soda, settle in for the film, and stick around afterward for a lively discussion with fellow music lovers!  The award winning crowd pleaser that pays tribute to the inspirational true stories of the backup singers who shaped some of the most iconic songs of our time. Featuring Springsteen, Jagger, Sting, Bette Midler, Stevie Wonder and more.    

Join us this summer for a special series on songs with Josh Condon, AZMF’s Resident Artist. Each session weaves together music history, thoughtful analysis, active listening, and engaging discussion—all designed to deepen your appreciation and enjoyment of great music. Come for the songs, stay for the coffee, conversation, and community, and rediscover some of the greatest music ever written! Smooth on the surface yet deeply urgent beneath, this song blends soulful textures with a powerful social message. Its flowing arrangement and layered vocals create a sense of conversation—both intimate and expansive. We’ll examine how groove, orchestration, and vocal delivery work together to communicate empathy, concern, and a call for understanding.

Music meets the magic of cinema at our Movies @ Musicfest series! This year, we’re bringing you an inspiring lineup of music documentaries—exploring iconic artists, unforgettable performances, and the stories behind the soundtrack of our lives. Grab some popcorn and a soda, settle in for the film, and stick around afterward for a lively discussion with fellow music lovers!  An exploration of the history of the Bee Gees, featuring revealing interviews with oldest brother Barry Gibb, and archival interviews with the late twin brothers Robin and Maurice.    

Join us this summer for a special series on songs with Josh Condon, AZMF’s Resident Artist. Each session weaves together music history, thoughtful analysis, active listening, and engaging discussion—all designed to deepen your appreciation and enjoyment of great music. Come for the songs, stay for the coffee, conversation, and community, and rediscover some of the greatest music ever written! A song of hope, struggle, and quiet determination, this piece stands as a landmark of emotional and cultural expression. Its sweeping orchestration and rising melodic lines mirror a journey toward something better—felt as much as heard. Together, we’ll explore how musical structure and vocal intensity convey resilience, and how the song continues to resonate across generations.