Demystifying the classical music experience – KHOL 89.1 FM

It’s a picturesque July evening in Teton Village as the sun sets behind Rendezvous Mountain and the Aerial Tram makes its final trips of the day.

Sporting colorful tie-dye, Jackson resident Justin Fuller looks like he could’ve been mountain biking. But he’s here to see classical music: Stéphane Denève leading Concierto de Aranjuez, featuring South Korean guitar prodigy, JIJI.

“It’s beyond brilliant, just every piece, completely unique and amazing,” he said.

This is his twenty-third show at Walk Festival Hall. Tonight, he’s part of a crowd Grand Teton Music Festival hopes to grow: young people.

Classical aficionado Carlyann Edwards hosted a pre-concert happy hour and gave away free tickets to faces that may more typically be found a few doors over at The Mangy Moose Saloon.

She’s part of a group trying to show that classical concerts are more than high-brow ceremonies and can be enjoyed by anyone with an open mind. Edwards’s grandmother was first chair violin with the Charlotte Classical Symphony in North Carolina and her mother is a cellist. The 27-year-old is a classically trained opera singer.

“Realistically we are the next generation of classical music supporters and you need to gain that support somehow,” she said.

Grand Teton Music Festival’s general manager Jeff Counts says the festival is trying to address several barriers to entry, offering cheaper and free tickets and looking for ways to make the music feel less intellectually daunting.

“The key to that is demystifying the experience, right? To make it easy not only to come, but to want to come back,” he said.

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