The Grand Teton Music Festival (GTMF) is one of America’s leading summer classical music festivals, recognised by The New York Times as one of the top 10 music festivals in the US. Taking place in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the festival marks its 65th anniversary this summer while its home, Walk Festival Hall, undergoes a transformative $35 million renovation. GTMF stages performances across a range of venues including the Jackson Hole High School Auditorium, the Center for the Arts, Teton Village Commons and private homes throughout Teton County.
Each summer, GTMF brings together more than 250 musicians drawn from 84 orchestras and 72 educational institutions across North America and Europe, led by Music Director Sir Donald Runnicles, who marks 20 years at the helm. The 2026 Festival Orchestra Series opens with Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto (10–11 July), featuring pianist Tanner Jorden – a 2021 Donald Runnicles Musical Arts Scholarship winner – while clarinettist José González Granero takes centre stage the following week with Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto (17–18 July). Other highlights include Maria Ioudenitch in the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto alongside James MacMillan’s Britannia and Haydn’s “London” Symphony (31 July – 1 August), and Madeline Adkins in the Korngold Violin Concerto paired with Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Symphony (7–8 August).
The season closes with a Night at the Opera (14–15 August), soprano Eleni Calenos and tenor Daniel Luis Espinal joining Runnicles for excerpts from Puccini and Verdi.
Another festival highlight is the Benoliel Chamber Music Series, which runs across five Thursday evenings from 9 July to 13 August, featuring Festival Musicians and guest artists in the intimate setting of the Jackson Hole High School Auditorium. Alongside Brahms, Dvořák, Beethoven, Vivaldi and Fauré, the series includes Kevin Lau’s The Nightingale – a narrated musical fairy tale based on Hans Christian Andersen – with the world premiere of Hojoki by José González Granero (30 July), performed with selections from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons featuring Ioudenitch. The series is hosted by Chamber Music Adviser Adelle Eslinger Runnicles.
New for 2026 is the Teton House Concert Series, which takes Festival Musicians into private homes across Teton County for four intimate events combining a cocktail hour, the concert and time with the artists, while the Gateway Series presents renowned artists from a variety of musical genres. Artists taking part in the series include The King’s Singers (6 July), the Punch Brothers (27 July), and Broadway music director and conductor Andy Einhorn with vocalists Cassondra James, Andrea Ross and Kate Loprest in Give Our Regards to Broadway (3 August). Outdoor concerts extend the programme further: Opening Night on the Lawn (2 July), a free Family Jam (3 July), the Patriotic Pops with Capathia Jenkins (4 July), and two evenings at Teton Village Commons, conducted by Runnicles, in late July.
Community is central to GTMF, and more than 100 free events run alongside the main programme, including On the Road concerts bringing live music to locations across Teton County and into Idaho, and Musical Adventures sessions for young children led by Stoner Family Education Curator Meaghan Heinrich. The 9th Annual Donald Runnicles Musical Arts Scholarship Competition (18–19 July) distributes $50,000 in awards to graduating high school musicians from Wyoming, Idaho and Montana. New this year, the first-prize winner will be invited to perform as a soloist with the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra.
Two further additions for 2026: a Classical Music Listening Club on selected Mondays at Teton County Library, and Downtown Sounds: Strings & Arias, a new partnership with the Teton Valley Chamber Music Festival and the Downtown Driggs Association bringing a classical music evening to Teton Valley.
“Season 65 is a celebration of who we are and where we’re headed, honouring GTMF’s deep roots in Jackson Hole while embracing a spirit of adventure as we ‘camp out’ across the community during Walk Festival Hall’s transformation,” says Executive Director Emma Kail. “This anniversary season is both a tribute to our past and an open invitation to imagine the future with us.”
The Grand Teton Music Festival takes place from 2 July to 15 August. For further details, visit gtmf.org
