(Hunter Noack at Black Butte Ranch | Photo by Jessica Keaveny)
IN A LANDSCAPE: Classical Music in the Wild is a concert series headed by classical pianist Hunter Noack that takes place in some of the most beautiful and wild natural areas in America. The concerts are played on a 1912 Steinway Model D concert grand piano that travels on a flatbed trailer to each venue. Guests of the concert are given a set of over-ear headphones that wirelessly connect to the music of the piano, allowing guests to hear the piano from anywhere.
Relax in your seats, wander off in nature, lie under the piano or even sprawl out and take a nap. Guests are invited to enjoy music however they prefer. Among concert experiences, it is one of the most unique around.
Hunter got his start when he was young. His mother, Lori, ran the Sunriver Music Festival, and Hunter remembers some of his earliest memories as sitting on the spiral staircase in the Great Hall at Sunriver Resort listening in on orchestra rehearsals.
“Then-conductor Lawrence Leighton Smith, ‘Larry,’ would explain what was happening in the music, painting pictures with his words and showing feeling with the way he moved his body to conduct,” Hunter said. “The Sunriver Music Festival also brought in some of the world’s best pianists, including winners of the Van Cliburn Competition, which is incredible for a small town. The respect our community showed the musicians, Larry, and the guest artists made being a musician feel meaningful and even illustrious.”
Hunter also notes his early teachers as big inspirations that got him into music, and recalls his mom first teaching him how to play piano when he was just four years old.
But music, as beautiful as it is, is only half the experience. What makes IN A LANDSCAPE unique is the natural settings, which Hunter says he feels “incredibly lucky” to bring people to.
“Being in nature is fundamentally good for us and most of us need more time outside — time to just be in a state of wonder,” Hunter said. “When we add classical music as a soundtrack, these pieces give space for thoughts, memories, and emotions to bubble up, and that’s where the magic happens.”
Hunter has taken his piano to many diverse landscapes, and was even the first to ever to bring concerts to Yosemite Valley and Joshua Tree National Park. He also says the most meaningful experiences are built at places with strong community connection.
“A county park where families swim and picnic every weekend, a newly conserved piece of land from a local land trust, a fifth-generation family ranch, or a gathering marking the anniversary of a devastating fire — those are the concerts that stand out because the music becomes a part of this place the community already has a deep connection with. Stepping into that story, even for an evening, is one of the most rewarding parts of this project,” Hunter said.
When it comes to music, Hunter personally curates a diverse list of pieces that takes listeners on a journey, “I don’t often play full sonatas or complete works like most classical pianists would. Instead, I’ll choose individual movements or pieces that can stand on their own and contribute to a larger arc. I speak between pieces, offering something to listen for or a specific directive, like wandering or lying under the piano. I’ve always loved concerts where you get a sense of the performer as a person, or a glimpse into the world the music came from.”
Evaluating his future with the concert series, Hunter feels incredibly lucky and grateful to continue to present these unique experiences.
“There is a lot of interest in expanding the program to bring in other performing artists and explore new territory. Those ideas are exciting, and we’re exploring them, but right now my focus is on creating the strongest possible program and continuing to grow as a pianist,” he said. “I’m deeply grateful for the team behind IN A LANDSCAPE. Our staff and board work year-round to make this possible, planning nearly 50 concerts, fundraising, writing grants, running the box office, coordinating with partners, securing permits, and executing the tour. It’s a huge effort, and it only works because of their dedication.”