Summer 2026: Music Making with TMS

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What a summer it's been at Teton Music School! From homemade instruments crafted out of recycled treasures to the soaring sound of a string orchestra, our campers and community members spent the season making music together—and we couldn't be more grateful for the partnerships that made it all possible. A huge thank you to the Art Association and the Grand Teton Music Festival (GTMF) for teaming up with us to bring these programs to life. Here's a look back at everything we got up to.

Junkestra Camp: Music Made from What We Found

Our youngest musicians (Grades K-2 and 3-5) spent the week at Junkestra Camp, a joyful collaboration with the Art Association, learning about rhythm and creating art from recycled materials.

Mornings were spent in the TMS music rooms, where students built a foundation in basic musical concepts through instruments, singing, and simple movement. Then it was off to the Art Association's studios, where imagination took over as campers designed and built their own playable creations. Musical friends from the Grand Teton Music Festival even stopped by to join the fun, adding a little extra magic to the week.

Summer Strings: A Week of Growth, Friendship, and Live Performance

For our older students (Grades 6-10), Summer Strings Camp offered five full days of serious skill-building wrapped in the best kind of summer fun. Violinists, violists, cellists, and bassists gathered under the direction of Vince Gutwein, Director of Strings for Jackson Hole Middle Schools, alongside guest clinician Lisa Horst Schrock from Vel Phillips Memorial High School in Madison, WI

Campers got to create tie dye shirts and rub elbows with world-class musicians from the Grand Teton Music Festival, took part in both beginning and advanced classes tailored to their level, and even scored a field trip to a GTMF dress rehearsal. The week wrapped up the way every great camp should: with a Faculty/Student recital in The Center Theater, where campers got to show off everything they'd learned alongside their teachers.

Bringing Music to the Whole Community

Camp wasn't the only place the music happened this summer. TMS also hosted two free community events designed to get everyone playing and singing together.

All Ages Uke Class, led by TMS instructor Susan Jones, popped up at The Center Park during the weekly People's Market as part of The Center's Artful Hour series.

Participants of every age and skill level picked up a few basic chords, tried out simple strumming patterns, and played songs together right there under the tent.

Then came the Community Bluegrass Jam, a lively evening on the lawn at Center Park ahead of GTMF's Punch Brothers concert. TMS multi-instrumentalist Clay Humphrey joined forces with GTMF's Meaghan Heinrich and a crew of beloved local bluegrass musicians to run through a set of classics. Whether folks brought an instrument, grabbed a shaker, or just sang along, the energy under the tent that evening was pure community spirit. Not even a strong summer storm could stop the tunes!

Grateful for Our Partners, Excited for What's Next

None of this happens in a vacuum. Summer programs like these thrive because of the generosity and creativity of partners like Center for the Arts, the Art Association and the Grand Teton Music Festival, who share our belief that art-making should be hands-on, joyful, and open to everyone. Whether it was a five-year-old shaking a homemade rattle or a teenager tuning up for a recital, this summer was a beautiful reminder of what our community can build together—one note at a time.