Music Meets Landscape:
This summer, one of the most distinctive live music experiences in the West arrives on Mercer Island for the very first time.
On Tuesday, July 21, acclaimed pianist and naturalist Hunter Noack brings his celebrated outdoor concert series, IN A LANDSCAPE: Classical Music in the Wild™, to the shores of Luther Burbank Park.
Forget velvet seats and concert halls. Imagine a 9-foot Steinway grand piano set against the backdrop of Lake Washington, with audiences listening through wireless headphones while wandering, picnicking, or simply taking in the landscape. The result is something immersive and deeply personal—part concert, part nature experience, part summer evening magic.
Founded in 2016, IN A LANDSCAPE was created to make live classical music more accessible while building stronger connections between people and place. Over the past decade, the series has become known for transforming extraordinary outdoor settings into performance spaces—from national parks and historic sites to cultural landscapes across the American West and Canada.
Mercer Island joins an impressive 2026 tour that includes performances at Golden Gardens Park, Skamania Lodge, Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort and destinations stretching from Griffith Park to Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.
Named after In a Landscape by John Cage, the series embraces the idea that listening changes depending on where we are. As Noack explains, “No two concerts are ever the same—the music is shaped by the light, the weather, and the stories of the landscape itself.”
Tickets are $45 and available @ Pack a blanket, gather friends, and experience classical music in an entirely new way.
“Hunter Noack has reached the mountain top.” The New York Times
“A rare musical experience.” Forbes
”Transforming the classical concert experience.” CBS Mornings
IN A LANDSCAPE: Classical Music in the Wild™
Classical pianist and naturalist Hunter Noack returns for the 11th season of IN A LANDSCAPE, the outdoor concert series pairing live classical music with iconic landscapes across the American West. Audiences listen through wireless headphones while exploring forests, coastlines, ranchlands, and desert settings as Noack performs on a concert grand piano. The 2026 season features 50 concerts at sites including San Francisco Botanical Garden, Sea Ranch, Banff, Black Butte Ranch, and Oregon’s Dark Sky Sanctuary at Summer Lake Hot Springs. Tickets @ inalandscape.org