Classical Music in the Wild: 10 Years Connecting People and Nature Through Music and Travel with Hunter Noack

May 20, 2025

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What happens when you take a grand piano into the wild and let nature lead the performance?

Hunter Noack is a classically trained pianist and the founder of IN A LANDSCAPE, a one-of-a-kind outdoor concert series that brings a 9-foot Steinway grand piano into the great outdoors. Instead of setting up traditional speakers at every show, audience members are given wireless headphones, allowing them to wander freely through the landscape while listening.

Since its launch, the project has reached over 75,000 people through more than 300 concerts in some of the country’s most awe-inspiring settings. By combining music, nature, and community, Hunter is redefining what a classical concert can be - and who it’s for.

Hunter shares the origin story of IN A LANDSCAPE, how it’s evolved over a decade, and how art can shape the way we connect with nature, place, and each other.

If you’ve ever dreamed of merging your creative passions with travel or building something that feels meaningful, this episode will hit home. You’ll learn about the challenges (and magic) of taking a concert piano off the grid and how he balances artistic integrity with logistics, grants, and the realities of funding a big idea. You'll also hear how nature shapes his music, his relationships with local communities, and his broader view of what it means to be human today.

There’s insight here for anyone creating something unconventional, trying to reconnect with nature, or simply curious about how a piano ends up in the middle of the desert.

If you were to reimagine something in your life, whether that’s travel, work, or relationships, what would it be? What would that look like? I'd love to hear more about it, and I hope you’ll share by sending me an audio message.

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Tune In To Learn:

Why he left the traditional concert hall behind to perform in deserts, forests, and county parks
How a single grant launched an idea and insight on using grants to fund creative, unconventional work
How nature influences the way he plays, from wind gusts to bug cameos
What it takes to haul a 1,200-pound Steinway up a mountain (and why it’s worth it)
The story behind one surreal concert on tribal land that left everyone speechless
What performing across the American West has revealed about the country’s beauty, complexity, and common ground
Why artistic projects need real critique (not just applause) to evolve
Hunter’s favorite overlooked spots in the American West you should visit
And so much more

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