San Francisco Botanical Garden will soon host classical pianist Hunter Noack in his massively popular series In a Landscape: Classical Music in the Wild. Noack will perform a lovely open-air concert on a magnificent 9-foot Steinway grand piano which has traveled for this purpose to dozens of parks, farms, and rural green spaces around the Western US. Experience this magnificent performance on May 24 and 25 from 5:30-7pm at SF Botanical Garden.
In order to preserve sound quality and overcome acoustical challenges of outdoor performances, the concert is transmitted via wireless headphones distributed to guests. This allows the audience to explore the natural landscape without being confined to seats, and guests usually bring their own lawn chairs or picnic blankets to settle in and enjoy the scenery. In a Landscape encourages guests to use the music as a means of connecting with nature and each other. As a result, the concert experience is a peaceful one that celebrates movement and interaction.
In a Landscape will also come to Filoli Estate & Gardens in Woodside and Jack London State Historic Park in Glen Ellen. These are the only other California stops on the 2023 tour and both Filoli dates have already sold out, so make sure to get tickets sooner rather than later. Tickets start at $40 but there is a limited amount of free Good Neighbor tickets available for SF residents and EBT cardholders.
Pianist Hunter Noack founded In a Landscape in 2016, inspired by the WPA’s Federal Music and Theatre Projects during the Great Depression. The series is now a nonprofit organization that has put on over 200 concerts for 30,000 guests in Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho, New York, Utah, Wyoming, and California. It’s known to include guest artists such as poets, artists, dancers, and musicians.
At each location, In a Landscape works to subsidize ticket prices for guests who otherwise could not afford to come. They also put on free concerts at schools and send grant money to school music programs.
Learn more about this lovely concert series at the In a Landscape website.