Sir Donald Runnicles
Sir Donald Runnicles Renews Music Director Agreement with Grand Teton Music Festival through 2029
The Grand Teton Music Festival (GTMF) Board of Directors is pleased to announce the extension of Music Director Sir Donald Runnicles’ contract previously effective through 2026, now effective through 2029. This brings his tenure with the Festival to 23 years.
“I speak on behalf of the entire Board when I share our gratitude and admiration for the leadership of Sir Donald Runnicles. We are delighted that with his guidance, GTMF will continue to bring world-class music experiences to the Jackson Hole community. Our Board recently completed an extensive strategic vision project, and time and time again, the community of musicians, staff, and audience members expressed gratitude for Donald’s stewardship,” says Co-Chairman of the Board, David Donovan.
Maestro Runnicles comments, “Since 2005, this remarkable orchestra and unique Festival have informed, enriched, and changed my life. The privilege and responsibility to be at the artistic helm for a further six years fills me with pride and humility. My thanks to the Board for this enormous vote of confidence. My thanks to the musicians of this great orchestra for their limitless trust and their permission to take our music making to new heights. My thanks, too, to our extraordinary audience and Jackson Hole community. May the auspicious beginning to this, our 62nd season, be a further reminder of how supreme the music making is and what there is still to achieve.”
“I am inspired and invigorated by GTMF’s future,” says Executive Director Emma Kail. “GTMF is more relevant to our audience, artists, and community than ever before. That success is measured through our growth in audience, philanthropic support and recognition internationally, nationally and locally. I look forward to the coming seasons where, together, Donald and I will continue to work tirelessly to uphold the legacy of the Grand Teton Music Festival as an exceptional institution.”
Madeline Adkins – GTMF board member and Concertmaster of the Utah Symphony – adds, “I am thrilled to return to the Grand Teton Music Festival, where I have served as a concertmaster of the Festival Orchestra since 2018. What keeps me coming back each summer is the wonderful community of colleagues in the Festival Orchestra, under Maestro Runnicles’ charismatic leadership and the utmost dedication to an incredibly high caliber of music-making. The future is bright at GTMF!”
This summer season, the Festival welcomes esteemed guest artists including violinist James Ehnes; pianists Yefim Bronfman and Marc-André Hamelin; cellist Alisa Weilerstein; mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor; soprano Julia Bullock; and mandolinist/vocalist Chris Thile, among others. After an immensely successful introduction last year, GTMF continues its opera initiative with Puccini’s Madame Butterfly along with the second year of its Sunday Matinee Piano Recital series with pianists Michelle Cann, George Li, and Clayton Stephenson.