Music amplified naturally

When I was a little girl, my mother took me to countless classical music concerts at the Bayer-Benedict Music Tent at the Aspen Music Festival. We usually sat outside (the free seats). I leaned on a grassy hill, with Aspen trees shimmering their leaves above me, another instrument with that shhhhhusshing, sparkling sound in the wind. I remember seeing a concert by a pre-teen Sarah Chang, where we actually got to sit inside (I think it was a free dress rehearsal). A storm came through and Ms. Chang powered through her violin concerto flawlessness, while she held back the child in her when the lightning struck above us (her eyes and grimace belied her emotions). Nature was part of the performance. This made me love classical music in ways that I could not in a sterile or stodgy venue. 

As an architect, I study acoustics and their effect on the human ear and body. A place like the music tent in Aspen, now rebuilt and called the Klein Music tent, is created for optimal listening. Panels and special fabric manage the frequencies. But a few years ago, I had the pleasure again of listening to Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto outside with those aspens becoming part of an unintended chorus. 

In my study of wellness and architecture, I think a lot about what our buildings give and what they take away from the human experience. Too often, we remove the sun, the natural air, and nature itself when we build. Perhaps with music, we should reconnect to nature to amplify its effect on us. 

This article about the Moab Music Festival's hike-and-listen concerts reminded me that there are natural concert halls that make this connection without effort. I would love to attend a concert in that setting. For now, I might just take my speaker out to my forest and see who joins in the chorus. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/arts/music/moab-music-festival.html?unlocked_article_code=1.oU8.qe-8.vNA69DVmP06Z&smid=url-share