ABOUT GTMF

Our Vision

Our vision is to be among the finest music festivals in the world and a vital part of Jackson Hole’s distinctive culture of excellence. 

Our Mission

Our mission is to engage, entertain, educate, and inspire our resident and seasonal communities through exhilarating musical experiences. We feature orchestral, chamber, and solo performances of primarily classical music by world-class artists, and we foster a culture that draws outstanding musicians to Jackson Hole in support of this mission.

About the Grand Teton Music Festival

The mission of the Grand Teton Music Festival (GTMF) is to engage, entertain, educate, and inspire our resident and seasonal communities through exhilarating musical experiences. GTMF fulfills its mission through 150 concerts, education activities and community events each year.

GTMF’s 2023 Impact:

  • 21,300  – combined audience for all GTMF programming
  • 8,900 – number of free tickets distributed to performances
  • 6,500 – number of children, families and community members who enjoyed free education and community programming

The main driver of GTMF’s impact is its annual summer festival held in Jackson Hole each July and August. The Festival Orchestra led by Music Director Sir Donald Runnicles is its heart and soul. This “super group” of more than 220 classical musicians from 75 major orchestras and 55 education institutions around the world performs eight weeks of symphonic and chamber music concerts in GTMF’s acclaimed Walk Festival Hall. Festival musicians also support GTMF’s community impact, widening access to music by participating in GTMF’s free education and community engagement programs. The Festival also welcomes some of the most sought-after soloists and visiting artists in classical music today.

During the summer, GTMF augments the Festival Orchestra’s concert and community programming with:

  • Chamber Music Series featuring Festival musicians
  • Performances by non-classical artists and ensembles
  • Free community engagement programs presented by resident Education Curator Meaghan Heinrich

GTMF stays connected with people year-round through concerts in Jackson’s Center for the Arts, presentations of the Met Opera in HD, select digital programming, and free events for Jackson students.

The Grand Teton Music Festival is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization (23-7034152). All donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Walk Festival Hall

The Grand Teton Music Festival’s all-wooden performance facility, Walk Festival Hall, is acclaimed by listeners and performers alike for its intimate atmosphere and superb acoustics. Walk Hall is located in the heart of Teton Village at the base of the Jackson Hole Ski Resort, a short drive from the town of Jackson. When you take a seat in Walk Hall, just a few feet away from our orchestra, be prepared to be fully enveloped by music. Like much in Jackson Hole, our hall is unpretentious, but delivers the clear sightlines and warm acoustics that provide a wholly intimate musical experience. Walk Festival Hall is available to rent year-round for concerts, conferences and film festivals.

AtmosAir Solutions Bi-Polar Ionization Technology Installed at Walk Festival Hall
For the safety of our patrons, musicians and staff, GTMF installed two AtmosAir Matterhorn units at Walk Festival Hall in 2020. Tests performed by Microchem Laboratory, one of the world’s preeminent laboratories for testing sanitizing products registered by the EPA and FDA, confirmed that the presence of coronavirus was reduced by 99.92% within 30 minutes of exposure to AtmosAir’s bi-polar ion technology. | read more

For more information about Walk Festival Hall availability, please contact the GTMF Office at 307.733.3050 or email gtmf@gtmf.org.

Festival History

The Grand Teton Music Festival was founded in 1962 as a part of a movement to actively develop cultural activities in Jackson Hole. The Festival was initially produced by the Jackson Hole Fine Arts Festival, and with the appointment of Ling Tung as music director in 1968, the Festival began growing into the organization we know and cherish today. Ling conducted concerts in a canvas tent at the base of Rendezvous Mountain in Teton Village. Envisioning the Festival as a summer retreat for the country’s top classical musicians, Ling and his spouse, Margot Walk, worked tirelessly with the Jackson community to open Walk Festival Hall in 1974. Through the years, the Grand Teton Music Festival has grown into one of the nation’s finest orchestral organizations, a tradition that continues to this day with our current Music Director Sir Donald Runnicles.

Jackson Hole

Jackson Hole is one of the most sought after vacation destinations in the U.S., nestled at the base of the Teton Mountain range just next to Grand Teton National Park and the southern gate to Yellowstone National Park. The town of Jackson is known as the “Last of the Old West.” The surreal natural beauty of the area is the perfect setting to experience outdoor adventure, distinctly western culture, and the Grand Teton Music Festival’s world-class orchestra. The Wall Street Journal commented that our Festival is “One of the best places in the country to hear classical music in the summer.”

“Jackson” and “Jackson Hole” are used interchangeably to refer to our area of the world. Jackson is the official name of the main town in Teton County. Jackson Hole refers to the entire valley we are situated within, which is surrounded by mountains. The Grand Teton Music Festival takes its name from the highest peak in the Teton mountain range, the “Grand.”

Yellowstone National Park is an hour from Walk Festival Hall. The gorgeous scenery around Jackson is also home to an array of wildlife including herds of antelope, bison, elk, and deer. We also have  moose, grizzly bears, black bears, gray wolves, and mountain lions, as well as rare birds such as trumpeter swans, bald eagles, blue herons, and osprey. Keep your eyes and ears open when you are here!

Grand Teton Music Festival | Jackson Hole, WY