Grand Teton Music Festival Announces Guest Artists and Programming for Music from the Mountains

Online Mini-Festival Will Bring Music to Jackson Hole and Beyond August 17 to 23

Repertoire features a broad range of musical styles from beloved works by Beethoven, Haydn, Schubert, Brahms, and Dvorák to modern works by George Walker, Jennifer Higdon, and Caroline Shaw

Music Director Donald Runnicles, Guest Pianist Yefim Bronfman, and Soprano Jacquelyn Stucker headline programming alongside Festival Orchestra musicians

Grand Teton Music Festival (GTMF) announces Music from the Mountains repertoire with Music Director Donald Runnicles, world-renowned pianist Yefim Bronfman, and soprano Jacquelyn Stucker headlining. Persevering through 2020’s ever-changing landscape, Music from the Mountains is an online mini-festival showcasing the music, people, and atmosphere that make Grand Teton Music Festival special. Each day from August 17 to 23, GTMF’s Facebook page and YouTube channel will feature one new performance at 6 pm MDT with additional segments including interviews and behind-the-scenes vignettes shared throughout the week. Audiences can access all content through a special web page ­– Music from the Mountains – together with full program details and artist information. Content will be available for viewing on YouTube for a limited time after the streaming date.

Music from the Mountains repertoire includes chamber works for string quartet, voice and piano, and small ensemble. With health and safety foremost, all musicians and staff will receive COVID-19 tests prior to participating, and social distancing will be observed.

Music Director Donald Runnicles brings his deep musicality to the piano bench rather than the podium this season, in performances for two pianos with Yefim Bronfman, and two song cycles with soprano Jacquelyn Stucker. He also performs chamber music with Festival Orchestra musicians in selections from Glière’s Four Pieces for Horn and Piano and Shostakovich’s Five Pieces for Two Violins and Piano. Additional repertoire includes Festival Orchestra musicians performing Entr’acte by Caroline Shaw, alongside favorites including Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in D major, Op. 10, No. 3, and Schumann’s Piano Quintet, both featuring guest pianist Yefim Bronfman. George Walker’s String Quartet No. 1, 2nd Movement ("Lyric for Strings") honors the contribution Black composers have made in classical music as well as paying musical tribute to those lost to COVID-19. Walker, a prominent composer who was the first Black composer to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music, passed away at the age of 96 on August 23, 2018 – almost exactly two years prior to the scheduled broadcast of the performance.

The Music from the Mountains mini-festival begins with Wagner’s “Entrance of the Guests” from Tannhäuser and ends with Britten’s Fanfare for St. Edmundsbury, both fanfares performed by Festival Orchestra musicians symbolizing triumph through adversity and hope for the future. Additional chamber music performed by Festival Orchestra musicians includes Dvorák’s Terzetto for Two Violins and Viola, Haydn’s third London Trio, and Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet in A major. Jennifer Higdon’s interpretation of Amazing Grace for String Quartet complements the mood of our time. Schubert’s Quartettsatz and Beethoven’s Quartet in F major, Op. 18, No. 1 round out the chamber music performances.

Music Director Donald Runnicles comments, “Music from the Mountains exemplifies what is at the heart of our beloved music festival – musicianship, friendship, tradition and innovation – a selection of repertoire featuring members of the orchestra performed in multiple venues - against the inimitable backdrop of the Grand Tetons, in Dallas and in Atlanta. Next summer, in 2021, we will celebrate the Grand Teton Music Festival’s 60th season - may the Music from the Mountains sustain and inspire our audiences until we may once again experience the magic and mystery of great music in person.”

Fulfilling the GTMF mission of fostering world-class classical music experiences for audiences in Wyoming proved a unique challenge this year, and programming and planning adjusted through numerous iterations over the last months. GTMF had originally hoped to bring an orchestra with an audience, then with no audience, and then even bringing in an orchestra grew unsafe. Today’s announcement represents the GTMF community’s commitment, resilience, and creativity to find new ways of fulfilling its mission, while prioritizing everyone’s health and safety. Seeing this summer as an opportunity to reach out to viewers around the globe, Music from the Mountains will film in three locations – Jackson, Atlanta, and Dallas – highlighting Festival Orchestra musicians near and far.

Please visit gtmf.org for updates on viewing times and details.

FULL PROGRAM DETAILS

Segment One
August 17, 2020 | 6 pm MDT

Wagner – “Entrance of the Guests” from Tannhäuser

Barbara Butler, trumpet
Charles Geyer, trumpet
Charles Daval, trumpet
Richard Brown, snare drum

Dvorák – Terzetto in C major for Two Violins and Viola, Op. 74

Madeline Adkins, violin
Jennifer Ross, violin
Susan Gulkis Assadi, viola

Glière – Four Pieces for Horn and Piano, Op. 35 (selections)

Gail Williams, horn
Donald Runnicles, piano

Segment Two
August 18, 2020 | 6 pm MDT

Brahms – Hungarian Dances (selections)
Dvorák – Slavonic Dances (selections)

Yefim Bronfman, piano
Donald Runnicles, piano

Shostakovich – Five Pieces for Two Violins and Piano

Madeline Adkins, violin
Jennifer Ross, violin
Donald Runnicles, piano

Segment Three
August 19, 2020 | 6 pm MDT

George Walker – String Quartet No. 1, 2nd Movement ("Lyric for Strings")
Beethoven – Quartet in F major, Op. 18, No. 1, 1st Movement
Schubert – Quartettsatz in C minor, D. 703

Christopher Pulgram, violin
Sissi Yuqing Zhang, violin
Paul Murphy, viola
Daniel Laufer, cello

Haydn – London Trio No. 3 in G major, Hob. IV:3

Christina Smith, flute
Elizabeth Koch Tiscione, oboe
Andrew Brady, bassoon

Segment Four
August 20, 2020 | 6 pm MDT

Beethoven – Piano Sonata No. 7 in D major, Op. 10, No. 3

Yefim Bronfman, piano

Segment Five
August 21, 2020 | 6 pm MDT

Mozart – Clarinet Quintet in A major, K. 581

Angela Fuller Heyde, violin
Eunice Keem, violin
Meredith Kufchak, viola
Christopher Adkins, cello
Gregory Raden, clarinet

Jennifer Higdon – Amazing Grace for String Quartet

Angela Fuller Heyde, violin
Eunice Keem, violin
Meredith Kufchak, viola
Christopher Adkins, cello

Segment Six
August 22, 2020 | 6 pm MDT

Schumann – Frauenliebe und -leben
Debussy – Ariettes oubliées

Jacquelyn Stucker, soprano
Donald Runnicles, piano

Segment Seven
August 23, 2020 | 6 pm MDT

Caroline Shaw – Entr’acte

Madeline Adkins, violin
Jennifer Ross, violin
Susan Gulkis Assadi, viola
Matthew Johnson, cello

Schumann – Piano Quintet in E-flat major, Op. 44

Madeline Adkins, violin
Jennifer Ross, violin
Susan Gulkis Assadi, viola
Matthew Johnson, cello
Yefim Bronfman, piano

Britten – Fanfare for St. Edmundsbury

Barbara Butler, trumpet
Charles Geyer, trumpet
Charles Daval, trumpet

 

About the Grand Teton Music Festival (GTMF)

Over seven weeks each summer, Grand Teton Music Festival unites over 200 celebrated orchestral musicians led by Music Director Donald Runnicles. These musicians represent over 60 orchestras and nearly 50 institutions of higher learning throughout Europe and North America.

Grand Teton Music Festival is one of America’s leading summer classical music festivals. Recognized by The New York Times as one of the top ten music festivals in the U.S. and chosen by BBC Music Magazine as the “Festival of Choice 2020,” it is the most prominent arts organization in the state of Wyoming and a national treasure.

As the single largest performing arts presenter in Jackson Hole with nearly 100 annual events, GTMF presents yearlong programming that includes monthly community concerts, a Winter Festival in February, the Metropolitan Opera’s Live in HD series, and education programs for Teton County students.

About Donald Runnicles

Donald Runnicles is Music Director of the Grand Teton Music Festival, General Music Director of the Deutsche Oper Berlin (DOB), and Principal Guest Conductor of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. In 2019 Maestro Runnicles also took up post as the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s first ever Principal Guest Conductor. Additionally, he holds the title of Conductor Emeritus of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, having served as Chief Conductor from 2009–16. For more information, visit donaldrunnicles.org.

About Yefim Bronfman

Internationally recognized as one of today's most acclaimed and admired pianists, Yefim Bronfman stands among a handful of artists regularly sought by festivals, orchestras, conductors, and recital series. His commanding technique, power, and exceptional lyrical gifts are consistently acknowledged by the press and audiences alike. For more information, visit yefimbronfman.com.

About Jacquelyn Stucker

Hailed by The Boston Globe as “glowing,” “incandescent,” and “a singing actress to be reckoned with,” American soprano Jacquelyn Stucker is being recognized internationally as a versatile singer of new and interesting repertoire ranging from concert works to opera to contemporary music. For more information, visit Jacquelyn Stucker.