Mandolinist, singer, and songwriter Chris Thile presents Music is Life is Music: a masterclass series for people who make (or just love) music this fall. The series includes three Sunday classes: Listening on October 25, Writing on November 1, and Performing on November 8. Tickets are available here. Each class is $20 or a series ticket is available for $50. VIP options are available for $99/show or $249 for the series and include a post-class virtual meet-and-greet with Thile. The series will be available on demand after the initial broadcast dates for a limited time as well.

Thile says: “Music is Life is Music is a three-part look under the hood of my music-making process. I've been informed by the processes of so many great musicians, and I can’t wait to share all that with fellow music lovers and makers.”

He continues, “We start by listening to the music of the world around us. As Steve Earle once told me, ‘Don't put earbuds in on the subway, you'll miss all the songs!’ Then, we’ll take a look at various ways to integrate the music of the outside world with the music of our inside world. If everything you hear is blue, and everything you think about it is yellow, the shade of green that results is something that no one has ever heard before. Then, we’ll finish up with a boatload of thoughts on performance so we can better communicate our unique shades of green to each other. I’m doing this because the world needs a vibrant and dynamic musical ecosystem. I can’t wait to hear what you all create.”

The masterclasses are a rare opportunity for musicians and music lovers alike to learn directly from Thile, who is the founding member of Punch Brothers—“the tightest, most impressive live band I have ever seen,” according to the Boston Globe. The group’s five Nonesuch albums are Punch, Antifogmatic, Who’s Feeling Young Now?, The Phosphorescent Blues, and All Ashore. Thile’s other Nonesuch releases include a duo album with guitarist Michael Daves, two records with bassist Edgar Meyer, a Bach album with Yo-Yo Ma and Meyer, a duet album with jazz pianist Brad Mehldau, and the T Bone Burnett–produced soundtrack to the Coen brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis. His five solo albums including Bach: Sonatas and Partitas, Vol. 1 and Thanks for Listening. Thile spent his formative years as a member of the Grammy Award–winning, multi-platinum selling band Nickel Creek, which reunited in 2014 for the A Dotted Line album and tour.

For four years, Thile hosted public radio favorite Live from Here with Chris Thile (formerly known as A Prairie Home Companion). During the pandemic, he has been performing socially distanced solo shows when possible. Nonesuch will release a new version of his song “Thank You, New York,” featuring Gaby Moreno, on October 30 in conjunction with the online debut of a new piece Justin Peck has choreographed for New York City Ballet.