The Grand Teton Music Festival has been the summer home for classical music
in Jackson Hole since 1962. Guided by the vision of founding fathers George
Hufsmith and conductor Ernest Hagen, the Music Festival was originally produced
by the Fine Arts Guild as part of the Jackson Hole Fine Arts Festival. The
first several seasons included dance, film, and visual art as well as music.
Local volunteers gave time, energy and money to make the acoustical panels,
risers and floor coverings that provided the setting for beautiful music.
Consuelo Von Gontard’s enthusiastic excitement for the Festival’s potential
carried the Festival through many lean times. With performances in the old High
School gymnasium, the Jackson Lake Lodge, and on the lawn of St. John’s Church,
the Festival made a mark on the summer cultural life of Jackson Hole
-Although attendance at concerts was light during
the first decade it was obvious to all of those involved that important changes
were occurring, as remarked upon in the following quote by Grant Hagen’s in late
1966.
In 1967 the Music Festival moved to Teton Village. The Jackson Hole Ski Area
gave the Festival a rent-free site for a concert tent. When all concerts were
moved to Teton Village, a goal was set for a permanent home to be in place
before the tent shredded from sun and wind.
It became increasingly clear that a permanent music director was also
necessary. 1967 marked the last season for guest conductors and musicians hired
by Festival staff. With the appointment in 1968 of Ling Tung as Music Director,
the Festival took a significant step forward. Tung recognized the irresistible
beauty and grandeur that the Grand Tetons offered. At this time, the name was
changed to the Grand Teton Music Festival, with the appropriate slogan, “Only
music could make it more beautiful.” He and his business manager Margaretha
Walk envisioned a Festival as a summer retreat for an elite group of
professional musicians. Since that time, musicians from America’s great
orchestras and music school faculties gather annually to form a resident
orchestra that performs weekly concerts of symphonic music as well as chamber
music in a collegial setting.
After seven years of orchestral performances in
Teton Village under a carnival tent and chamber music in the Mangy Moose Saloon,
the Festival celebrated its growing national prominence by opening Walk Festival
Hall in 1974 at the base of the ski slopes in Teton Village. Paul McCollister
and the Jackson Hole Ski Corporation generously donated the land on which the
Hall is built. Architect Bob Corbett, acoustic engineer Christopher Jaffe,
construction tycoon John Bancroft and Job Captain George Sutherland built Walk
Festival Hall achieving acclaim for its unrivaled acoustics. Dick Moore,
Building Fund Chairman, made the loan possible from Jackson State Bank, funding
the construction of the 750-seat building costing approximately $675,000.
Audiences and musicians, including some of the world’s most celebrated artists
such as Emanuel Ax, Sarah Chang, Yehudi Menuhin, Itzhak Perlman, Robert Shaw,
the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Choral Arts Society of Washington D.C., have
appreciated Walk Festival Hall. In 1988 the Festival made its national radio
debut. In 1989 the New York Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta enjoyed a two-week
residency at the Festival. These guest soloists, conductors, and many more have
added glitter and prestige to the Festival!
Active in education from its earliest days, the Festival achieved national
recognition with its Orchestral Seminar that ran each June between 1982 through
1993. Many of today's orchestral musicians received important early training
through this program that recruited college-aged musicians from around the
country. Today, the Festival continues its educational component by offering
Young People's Concerts during the summer. In 2000, the Festival began
StringFest, a three-day string music workshop with a master clinician for 8th
grade students in Jackson and Star Valley culminating in a day-long rehearsal
and concert with the combined forces of both valleys in Walk Festival Hall. With
a growing winter audience for good music, the Festival began offering a few
winter concerts during the late 90xs. Most of the guest artists performed
in-school demonstrations. In 2002 an expanded winter series newly named The
Medalist Series offered six recitals by prize-winning young musicians form major
music competitions. Not only do these young artists perform outstanding
recitals, each also perform two in-school services in varied formats of
mini-recitals, master classes, and question & answer sessions. Cumulatively, the
Medalist Series artists reach around 750 Jackson students annually.
Upon Maestro Tungxs retirement in 1996, Eiji Oue was appointed music director
and Tung was named Conductor Laureate. Beginning with Maestro Ouexs inaugural
season in 1997, the Festival enjoyed a new surge of growth and excitement.
Concert attendance grew as important outreach efforts brought new audiences,
including school children, to Festival programs. The outdoor 4th of July concert
known as Music in the Hole was created and annually attracts over 10,000 people
-- more than the entire population of Jackson! In 2001 National Public Radio was
in residence for a week broadcasting Music in the Hole and portions of concerts
to a national audience. The Festival marked its 40th Anniversary with special
celebrations and recognition of founding father George Hufsmith, and bade a fond
farewell to Ling Tung who conducted his final Festival concert. As the Festival
entered the new millennium, it was clear that the Festival, acclaimed by Musical
America for its "virtuoso orchestra that would make any city proud" had become
one of the premier summer music festivals in the world!
In April 2002 Eiji Oue was named Music Director of the Osaka Philharmonic
Orchestra in Japan beginning April 2003. He succeeded Takashi Asahina who
founded the orchestra in 1947 and was its music director until his death at the
age of 93. Eiji Oue took his final bow as Music Director of the Grand Teton
Music Festival August 16, 2003. Beginning in 2005 Eiji Oue will make his debut
at Bayreuth conducting Tristan and Isolde, an honor bestowed upon him by the
Wagner family. This production opens in July 2005 and will run for five summers.
The 2005 Summer Festival dates are July 4 - August 27
Courtesy of The Grand
Teton Music Festival
