vailsymposium

We’re thrilled to share our upcoming summer programming schedule – we wanted you to be the first to know so that you can mark your calendars!

Tickets are not currently available for these programs, but we will let you know when they go live. We are still finalizing several more exciting programs to be added to the summer series and will announce those once they are confirmed.

Thursday, June 6 – Dying Well: Doing Death Right and the Comfort of End of Life Visions

6 p.m. Two doctors address the end of life. Dr. Monica Williams is devoted to transforming the end of life into a time of peace, closure and healing. Dr. Christopher Kerr is palliative care physician who researches the therapeutic role of patients’ end-of-life dreams and visions.

Monday, June 10 – Engineering the Future: Advanced Manufacturing Confronts Society’s Challenges

6 p.m. Dan Thoma is the director of the Grainger Institute for Engineering at the UW-Madison College of Engineering. Some of the topics he will address include biomanufacturing, neuroengineering, energy and sustainability, advanced manufacturing, and machine learning and optimization.

Thursday, June 13 – Healing What Ails Us: Affordable Healthcare In Our Community

(morning program) 8:30 a.m. Vail Symposium, in conjunction with the Vail Valley Partnership, will host a healthcare panel featuring the primary stakeholders in healthcare delivery in the valley. Listen to, and have the opportunity to question, representatives from Vail Health, Centura and Kaiser as well as elected officials.

Monday, June 17 – West of the Imagination: Time Travel To 1869 with Explorer John Wesley Powell

6 p.m. Vail Symposium presents a very special program with historian Clay Jenkinsen who plays famed explorer John Wesley Powell on the 150^th anniversary of Powell’s exploration of the Colorado and Green Rivers.

Monday, June 24 – Puccini’s “Tosca”: An Immersive Introduction

6 p.m. In partnership with Bravo! Vail, opera expert Robert Marx examines Giacomo Puccini’s masterpiece, Tosca, and the greatest diva to perform the role of Tosca, Maria Callas.

Thursday, June 27 – Dirty Money – How Corrosive Capital Undermines Democracy

6 p.m. Andrew Wilson, the executive director of the Center for International Private Enterprise, will address the role corrosive capital plays in undermining democracy around the globe.

Wednesday, July 10, 2019 –  An Opera Conductor’s Guide to “Tosca”

The “Tosca” collaboration continues with an in-depth conversation with Joseph Illick, principal conductor and artistic director of the Fort Worth Opera, and Robert Marx, Metropolitan Opera Quiz panelist and opera expert.

Friday, July 12, 2019 –  Meet the Director and Castmember of “Tosca”

Get a behind the curtains glimpse of the people behind this incredible performance with James Alexander, stage director cast member and baritone; Patrick Carfizzi, cast member and baritone (Sacristan in Act One) and Robert Marx, Metropolitan Opera Quiz panelist and opera expert.

Monday, July 15 — Global Regression: Democracy in Crisis

6 p.m. Larry Diamond, senior fellow at the Hoover Institute, addresses the decline and decay of democracy around the globe by exploring key trends including increasing polarization, declining rule of law, and the rise of populism.

Monday, July 22 – Brexit Bedlam: What It Means for Britain and the World

6 p.m. Amanda Sloat of the Brookings Institution helps us make sense of Brexit and the implications for both sides of the English Channel, as well as the United States.

Monday, July 29 – A Woman’s Place…Is In Business

6 p.m. Shari Redstone, the president of National Amusements as well as vice-chairwoman of CBS Corporation and Viacom (home to brands such as MTV and Comedy Central as well as Paramount Pictures), talks media, business and in particular her efforts to promote women in business.  
, talks media, business and in particular her efforts to promote women in business.  

Thursday, August 8—Will Feeding People Kill the Planet? More on the Future of Food

6 p.m. Following up on our successful winter program examining the nexus of food production and waste in climate change, the Vail Symposium turns our attention to the daunting challenge of feeding 10 billion people by 2050 without destroying the planet in the process.

Tuesday, August 13 – One Nation Under God: Religious Freedom In The U.S.

6 p.m. Constitutional lawyer Kelly Shackelford and former general counsel for the United Church of Christ Don Clark address religious freedom in America. Susan Thistlethwaite, former president of the Chicago Theological Seminary, moderates.

Thursday, August 15 – Leapfrogging into the Future – The Digital Revolution in India

6 p.m. Smartphone proliferation and internet use in the world’s largest democracy has exploded in the past few years. Ravi Agrawal, the managing editor of Foreign Policy magazine, explains what has transpired and how it has transformed Indian society.

Monday, August 19 – Alzheimer’s Enigma: New Insights Into An Old Foe

6 p.m. Dr. Michal Beeri, the Director of the Sagol Neuroscience Research Center at The Sheba Medical Center, addresses the latest research in Alzheimer’s detection. Dr. Samantha Holden, Assistant Professor, Neurology at CU Medical Center, moderates.

Monday, August 26 — Talking to Robots: Tales from Our Human-Robot Futures

6 p.m.  Throughout history, people have been infatuated with the notion of artificial beings that we invent to help us try to understand the best and worst aspects of human nature. Now humans are on the verge of creating some of these artificial beings for real. What will they do and look like in the future? Will they help us, harm us or one day turn us into pets? Whatever happens, the robots are definitely coming.

Wednesday, September 4 – Stressed Is Desserts Spelled Backwards

6 p.m. In these times of change and uncertainty, we each stand at the crossroads between fear and love. Come hear Dr. Brian Luke Seaward weave ageless wisdom, valuable insights and remarkable stories through the wisdom of Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey template.

Monday, September 9 – An Evening of Colorado Ranching—History and Art

6 p.m. Colorado’s ranching history will be presented in conjunction with an art exhibit by the Vail Valley Art Guild, which has captured the ranches of Eagle County in painting and photographs. Presenting on Colorado history will be Colorado Historians Council Member and Professor at Western State University, Vandenbusche. He will be joined by Colorado Mountain College instructor, Evan Wetherbie, presenting on Eagle County ranching history.

Monday, September 16 –  An Evening with the Ambassadors: A Geopolitical Conversation with Ambassadors Hussain Haqqani and Christopher Hill

6 p.m. Join Ambassadors Hussain Haqqani and Christopher Hill for an in-depth conversation an insider’s discussion on the  state of politics around the world.

Monday, September 23 – Exploring the Aftermath of Near-Death Experiences

Dr. O’Driscoll was one of Jeff Olsen’s ER trauma staff who experienced communications from Olsen’s deceased wife, who was killed instantly at the scene of their traumatic automobile accident, while Olsen was having a near-death experience of his own. During this program, both Jeffs will share their experiences and learnings.

Tuesday, Sept. 24 – Workshop with Dr. O’Driscoll and Jeff Olsen

Thursday, October 3 – The State of the Valley

(morning program) 8 – 10 a.m. The Vail Symposium presents our annual State of the Valley in conjunction with the Vail Valley Partnership featuring business and community leaders.

Monday, October 7 – To Infinity and Beyond: America’s Space Program Now and In the Future

6 p.m. Vail Symposium presents the final frontier with astronauts Roy Bridges Jr., the pilot of four space shuttle missions, and Lieutenant General Susan Helms, former International Space Station resident and record-holder for the longest spacewalk–8 hours. Former NASA engineer Frank Buzzard moderates.

Monday, October 21 – High Country Sci-Fi: Explore the Literature of Ideas with a Panel of Science-Fiction Writers

6 p.m. Sci-Fi Fest brings several science fiction authors to Vail, fresh off their appearance at Denver’s Mile High Con.