The Hills Are Alive With the Sound of Music

Photo by W. Garth Dowling

By Dina Mishev

Four nights ago, it was Berloiz, Gershwin, Mozart and Bernstein I heard performed at Walk Festival Hall in Teton Village, 12 miles from downtown Jackson. Tonight it was the Beatles: “A Hard Day’s Night,” “Love Me Do,” “Twist and Shout,” “And I Love Her,” “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “Help” and two dozen others.

The Grand Teton Music Festival has come a long way in its 50 years.

The Festival was founded in 1962 as the Jackson Hole Fine Arts Festival. Performances were held in the old Jackson Hole High School gymnasium, at Jackson Lake Lodge and on the lawn of St. John’s Church.

Eight years later, conductor and Music Director Ling Tung changed the name to Grand Teton Music Festival. Then he and Margot Walk, his wife at the time, set about bringing the Festival from obscurity to international repute. The GTMF Orchestra has been called one of the world’s finest by renowned conductor Zubin Mehta (mostly of New York Philharmonic fame).

Tung headed the Festival for 30 years.

Photo by Ashley Wilkerson

The GTMF began performing in Teton Village in 1967. After seven years outside under a carnival tent (orchestra performances) and in Mangy Moose Saloon (chamber performances), Walk Festival Hall opened in 1974. At the base of the ski slopes, Walk Festival Hall quickly became known for its acoustics.

The hall reached a milestone in 2007 when it was retrofitted with amenities such as heat. For the first time, the hall was capable of hosting winter shows.

Even so, it’s the GTMF’s summer season that really puts the hall to use.

This year’s 50^th anniversary season — like all other recent seasons — includes at least five nights of live performances a week. There are orchestra concerts Fridays at 8pm and Saturdays at 6:30pm. This summer’s orchestra, which is made up of musicians from the best orchestras across the country, plays pieces ranging from Bach’s Double Concerto to Beethoven’s “Emperor” Piano Concerto and Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection.”

Mondays the musicians take a well-earned rest.

Tuesdays, the funniest trombonist you’ll ever meet, Roger Oyster, hosts “Inside the Music” concerts at 8pm. Oyster dives into specific musical subjects — a style, theme, composer, instrument, orchestra section, era. He also often tosses candy into the audience.

Wednesdays are “Spotlight” concerts featuring guest ensembles like the Beatles tribute band The Magical Mystery Tour, the Philadelphia Boys Choir, Los Angeles Guitar Quintet, and Doc Severinsen and the San Miguel 5. These concerts, opportunities for the Festival to relax and showcase performers who aren’t necessarily classical, almost always sell out.

Thursdays belong to Festival musicians. “Musicians’ Choice” programs are organized, rehearsed and presented by the musicians themselves. This makes for varied, fun concerts that, this summer, includes pieces by French composer Francis Poulenc, American Steve Reich, Argentine Astor Piazzolla (of course it’s tango), and Brahms, Beethoven, Strauss and Schubert.

This year’s season goes through August 20. Tickets for students are almost always $10. Weekday concerts start at $25. Orchestra concerts are $53 (students are still $10).

Outside of Walk Festival Hall, the Festival’s Axiom Brass quintet performs for free at venues around Jackson Hole through July 22. Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 11:30am and 12:30pm, the group plays at the Colter Bay Visitor Center. Thursdays and Fridays at the same times, the group is at the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center. Wednesdays at 5 and 6pm, it’s Jackson Lake Lodge (I recommend a meal at the lodge’s Mural Room afterward). Fridays at 3pm, the group is at the Jackson Hole and Greater Yellowstone Visitor Center. The latter is the building with the grass roof on Cache Street as you head out of Jackson.

How cool is it that you can start or end a hike in Grand Teton National Park with a concert by world-renowned musicians? Or enjoy the jaw-dropping views from Jackson Lake Lodge while being serenaded?

A 14-year resident of Jackson, Dina Mishev is the author of Total Tetons, an app available in the iTunes store. It was named a “New & Noteworthy” app by Apple when it launched in June 2010. Dina updates it regularly.