About

Uniting young musicians to provide opportunity and celebrate their achievement

Youth Playing Piano
About MYS

A Vision for Montana’s Young Musicians

The Montana Youth Symphony was started by a group of dedicated community leaders and musicians to offer Montana's young musicians the opportunity to perform in their home state in a youth orchestra of the highest caliber.

MYS musicians are ages 16-25 and current or former students of Montana schools, colleges and universities (including home-schooled students). Current residence in Montana is not required.

A Transformative Summer Residency

MYS participants gather for one week during the summer that includes a residency at the Grand Teton Music Festival (GTMF). MYS performs two concerts for Montana audiences and attends a GTMF Symphony Orchestra concert at the Walk Festival Hall in Teton Village, WY (Jackson Hole, WY). The experience of attending a concert by one of the best orchestras in the world and then performing on the same stage the next day is powerfully transformative.

Beyond the Stage: Wellness and Year-Round Growth

The one-week summer program also focuses on recreation and physical, mental and emotional wellness. Other activities throughout the year include fundraiser concerts, a composition competition, chamber recitals around the state and at the Tippet Rise Arts Center, plus coaching and mentoring with leading professional musicians to build both professional and personal confidence. Our musicians who return to the state for our programs renew their appreciation for Montana and build connections to places, institutions, individuals, and opportunities while networking with peers and professionals performing nationally or globally.

Young Montana Musicians

Building Lifelong Connections and Confidence

MYS supports young musicians with professional development that links their education to real-world artistic opportunities, helping them cultivate the skills and connections essential for long-term success. They get a high-intensity learning experience that has a lasting impact, as younger students sit alongside older students with more training and who are even pre-professionals. Participating in MYS makes an enormous difference in their lives, their personal well-being, their self-worth and their sense of accomplishment.

Guided by Excellence

Our Conductors

MYS is thrilled and proud to be led by two renowned conductors, Gordon Johnson and Sir Donald Runnicles.
Conductor Gordon Johnson
Gordon Johnson
Gordon J. Johnson has become known for his energetic performances and warm, collaborative leadership during his long tenure as Music Director of the Great Falls Symphony. He was the founding music director of the Glacier Symphony, later led the Mesa Symphony in Arizona, and directed orchestras at the Red Lodge Music Festival. His work has taken him across the globe, including Germany, France, England, Canada, Moldova, and Japan. Johnson’s contributions have been recognized by the League of American Orchestras, ASCAP, the Carnegie Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and he received the Montana Governor’s Award for the Arts in 2016. A dedicated advocate for music education, he led the Great Falls Youth Orchestra for twenty years and now serves as Artistic Director of the Montana Youth Symphony. He is past president of the International Conductors Guild and chairs the Great Falls Public Schools Board. He and his wife, cellist Ruth Johnson, are proud parents of two sons, Max and Alex.
Sir Donald Runnicles
Sir Donald Runnicles
Conductor Donald Runnicles is the General Music Director of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Music Director of the Grand Teton Music Festival (Jackson, Wyoming), and Principal Guest Conductor of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. He was recently named Conductor Emeritus of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, serving as its Chief Conductor from 2009-2016. Maestro Runnicles enjoys close and enduring relationships with several of the most significant opera companies and orchestras and is especially celebrated for his interpretations of Romantic and post-Romantic symphonic and opera repertoire that are core to his musical identity. For more about Sir Donald, please visit his website.
Montana Youth Symphony
Perhaps it is MUSIC that
will save the WORLd.
Pablo Casals