Music to Match the Mountains... Notable music Events Throughout the Summer
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By Mike Calabrese
Time was when Wyoming, like most of the West, depended on cowboys and coyotes for much of its music. Come to think of it, some folks out here in mountain country still count on both for an evening's entertainment. But there's more music out West than just the strains of guitars and the wily coyote.
Mountain country is in fact brimming with notable musical events. Why, even old Dr. Brewster Higley, who gave the West and the world "Home on the Range," would be proud.
From bluegrass to jazz to country to classical, under blue skies or glittering stars, any visitor to mountain country can hit just the right note when it comes music.
Travelers lucky enough to be in the Teton region in early August can catch the stunning performances of the nation's finest bluegrass players at the 13th Annual Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival. Or, at just about any time from July 4 through late August, the region's guests can find a rich playbill of musical offerings at Jackson Hole's Grand Teton Music Festival.
And Dr. Higley would no doubt be pleased to note that one of America's premier Western singer/songwriters, Willie Nelson, is set to make a stage stop on Sunday, August 27, at Red Lodge, Montana's, Music Fest and Young People's Music Clinics.
Generally, though, music ushers in summer around these parts about June, beginning with the Red Lodge Music Festival (June 10-18). For more information about the festival and the Willie Nelson concert, call the Red Lodge, Montana, Chamber of Commerce at 406-446-1718.
The granddaddy of them all when it comes to music festivals has got to be Jackson Hole's Grand Teton Music Festival, now in its 39th year. The GTMF 2000 season begins July 4, with Jackson singer/songwriter Pam Phillips. Her original musical, "Petticoat Rules," celebrates early Jackson Hole's first and only all-woman town council and will premiere this July 4 weekend in Jackson. Phillips, an equally stunning jazz pianist, is set to warm up the crowd with her trio. She'll be followed by another local/national performer, folk singer Tom Rush.
At 6:00 p.m., under the direction of conductor Eiji Oue, some of the country's finest players bring to life music as grand as the Teton range. And with this free July 4 concert, the GTMF's colorful season will be underway.
This year's Grand Teton Music Festival musical offerings include eight weekends of full orchestra music and almost two dozen chamber music performances. Dr. Higley would be thrilled at the festival's bow to Americana and international fare.
The festival this year honors Aaron Copland, one of America's most famous composers, with "Spotlight Concerts" on August 17, when the orchestra pays tribute to his birth with "Appalachian Spring," and again on August 24, when the Choral Arts Society of Washington, under the baton of Norman Scribner, will perform Copland's "Six Old American Songs."
The Choral Arts Society of Washington will also join the festival orchestra on August 25-26 for "A Choral Masterpiece," in a performance of Verdi's Requiem for the GTMF's powerful closing weekend.
Many of the festival's players break ranks and play in smaller ensembles throughout the summer. Brass, percussion, and string players, some whom have made Jackson their summer home for years, are each featured at various "Spotlight Concerts." From baroque to big band, from Bach to Bernstein, the GTMF's musical brush will paint a lush musical score for the region's memorable scenery.
The festival's calendar also includes two free "Young People's " concerts, one on July 13, and another on August 17, both to be held in Walk Festival Hall at 11:30 a.m. And this year's "Family Concert," set for July 20, promises an evening of musical storytelling.
The "Family Concert" begins at 7:30 p.m., but all other concerts begin at 8 p.m. and are held at Walk Festival Hall in Teton Village. The one exception, of course, is the July 4 extravaganza, which takes place outdoors, behind the old Jackson Hole High School, and begins at 3:30 p.m. Lawn chairs and sunscreen might help, but money won't be needed. The July 4 community concert is just one of GTMF's gifts to the community. For more information, please call the Festival Box Office at 307-733-1128 or log on to the website at www.gtmf.org.
On the other side of the spectacular Tetons, in Alta, Wyoming, an equally spectacular tradition continues with the 13th Annual Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival. This outdoor fete is so popular that only advance ticket holders will be admitted. The event, which runs August 11-13, has snagged some of the country's finest bluegrass players.
Tim O'Brien, Deep River, the Judith Edelman Band, the Del McCoury Band, Phillips, Grier & Flinner, and others, all instantly recognizable in the bluegrass world, will entertain outdoors at Grand Targhee, below the stunning peaks of the Teton Range.
Bluegrass, which counts Celtic, Appalachian, Western, and jazz music as sources of inspiration, no longer lives on the fringes of the music world. Amazing virtuosity, vocally and instrumentally, is required on the bluegrass venue. And the advance ticket requirement and sold-out performances at Targhee every year are compelling testimony to this genre's growing popularity.
Alta is just a short drive from Jackson, but it's got even more altitude. So sunscreen, lawn chairs, and blankets will make for perfect outdoor viewing. But leave the dogs home! For more information, please call 1-800-TARGHEE, ext. 1355, or log on to www.grandtarghee.com.
And finally, for the jazz and blues fan, Cody's Yellowstone Jazz Festival should just about round out the region's summer fare. Slated for July 14-15, the weekend rips into action with the Blue Illusions at Cassie's Supper Club in Cody.
On Saturday, jazz big band and trio, instrumental and vocal takes center stage. The Yellowstone Big Band, the Craig Hall Trio, and Chicago song-stylist Stephanie Browning should hit the right notes with listeners, and especially those eager for a tribute to Nat King Cole.
For more information, please call the Yellowstone Jazz Festival in Cody at 307-587-3898.
Longtime valley resident Mike Calabrese is an editor, teacher, and drummer who performs Thursday evenings with his jazz trio at Teton Pines. Strangely (to some), the boy from Newark, New Jersey, also loves Western swing and performs regionally with his other group, Cowboys Swing. He is the owner of Noteworthy Music Booking Agency.
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