It’s a formula that has worked for 62 years: Bring together some of the finest classical musicians in North America in one of the most beautiful natual spots anywhere on Earth and set them loose upon both the environment and four-plus centuries of repertoire. Present it to the public in a venue known throughout the business for its finely tuned acoustics, and you have an apt description of the Grand Teton Music Festival.
The festival recently released details of its 63rd season, which it dedicates to its beloved Walk Festival Hall on its 50th anniversary, continuing to build upon its long-established reputation for musical excellence, thrilling guests and panoramic programing.
“Walk Hall is beloved, and we look forward to many more years in it,” Emma Kail, executive director of the venerable Jackson Hole nonprofit since 2020, said. “So we’ll be shining a light on it. It’s such a remarkable auditorium.
“It’s one of the most intimate and wonderful places to experience an orchestra. It’s like a fine instrument: It’s aged and done well, but you’ve got to take care of it.”
Kail, her staff and board also are charged with taking care of each summer’s menu of concerts, which this year runs eight weeks, from June 27 to Aug. 17.
Two of the top highlights of the season are uber-cellist Yo-Yo Ma, returning for a special concert set for Aug. 7 for a birthday party for Walk Hall — “We expect that so sell out quickly,” Kail said — and the festival’s go-to pianist Garrick Ohlsson digging into Beethoven’s expansive piano sonatas July 23.
Rewinding, the season will start with a favorite soloist — Augustin Hadelich. The violinist will join the festival orchestra and music director Maestro Donald Runnicles, on the brink of his 20th year with GTMF, for Beethoven’s Violin Concerto paired with Brahms’ Symphony No. 3 and the world premiere of a new work by German composer Detlev Glanert on June 28-29.
Runnicles and company will celebrate the 100th anniversary of George Gershwin’s trailblazing “Rhapsody in Blue” with guest pianist Michelle Cann on July 5-6, who also will solo on Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major.
“I’m super excited for Third Coast Percussion,” Kail said. “We’ve co-commissioned a piece by Clarice Assad for percussion and orchestra,” which the Chicago ensemble will join in on July 12-13 with guest conductor David Danzmayr.
Assad will also perform with her father, beloved Brazilian guitarist and composer Sérgio Assad, on July 11 as part of the festival’s crossover “Gateway” series.
“When we’ve had Clarice’s music performed at festival in past years, audiences reacted well,” Kail said. “She’s a young composer living in America who writes very approachable music.”
Likewise Third Coast Percussion, who has championed Assad’s music for years, was warmly received when they played Walk Hall in 2021.
July 19-20 will feature Israeli violist Amihai Grosz for William Walton’s 1928 Viola Concerto, the centerpiece of an all-English program.
Runnicles, a renowned interpreter of Gustav Mahler, will lead the orchestra in the late romanticist’s horizon-broadening Symphony No. 5, paired with a favorite Haydn symphony, his No. 88, on July 26-27.
Guest conductor Dalia Stasevska returns for the first week of August to conduct Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2 and, with guest soloist Jennifer Koh, American composer Missy Mazzoli’s 2022 violin concerto, “Procession.” Slovak conductor Juraj Valcuha makes his festival debut with the U.S. premiere of Melody Eötvös’ “Pyramidion,” Bartok’s Suite from “The Miraculous Manchurian” and (Rachmaninoff’s) Piano Concerto No. 2, with pianist Anna Geniushene, silver medalist of the 2022 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, soloing.
And, as is becoming a tradition, the 63rd season will wrap up Aug. 16-17 with a semi-staged production of Mozart’s comic masterpiece “The Magic Flute,” with Runnicles conducting a cast of guest soloists as well as members of the GTMF Chorus and Salt Lake City’s Madeleine Choir School.
“That’s exciting for a lot of reasons,” Kail said. “We haven’t done that repertoire yet — we’ve only done Puccini so far — but Mozart is much loved.”
Also on the books are the traditional free Family Concert outdoors on the lawn of the Center for the Arts on July 3, followed by the spectacular Patriotic Pops concert, with guest vocalist Capathia Jenkins returning again to help out with beloved American songs.
Other “Gateway” concerts will bring Broadway’s Tony DeSare to the stage for a Sinatra tribute (July 18), pianist Conrad Tao and dancer Caleb Teicher’s “Counterpoint” program (July 25), and husband-wife banjo darlings Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn (Aug. 1).
The calendar also includes five chamber music concerts featuring members of the Festival Orchestra and tons of outreach events, including family “Musical Adventure” presentations on the Greenspace on the Block in downtown Jackson and “On the Road” programs offered at various venues throughout the area.
Subscriptions are on sale now. Tickets for individual concerts will go on sale April 9. Go to GTMF.org for much more information.
