Wednesday, September 11, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
PIANO: Renowned
pianist is touring
through Northwest
Continued from page 13
That evening during the
performance, he saw a couple
holding hands far off, walk-
ing along the water with their
headphones on.
<I just liked imagining that
I was connected to them,= he
said.
He noted that many people
today are accustomed to hear-
ing classical music in film,
where it is used specifically
to prod their emotions while
<there9s something visually
happening.= Headphones
offer a similar experience to
Noack9s audiences.
<Because the landscape is
changing, the music becomes
a soundtrack to whatever
they9re seeing& it heightens
everybody9s senses,= he said.
<What I hear from people is
that they9re feeling more, see-
ing more vivid colors. It has
that effect because it9s live
and immediate, and blocks
out other noises.=
Noack also appreciates
that the headphones and land-
scape deflect the audience9s
visual attention away from
him. An impeccably dressed,
charming 30-year-old, he
seems at ease being the object
of attention. However, he
said, <I9m not the most physi-
cally dramatic performer, so
I love that people have the
option to watch me or not.=
As the evening pro-
gressed, Noack responded
to the changing weather,
light, and mood. Toward the
end, inspired by the wind,
he played <Un Suspiro= (<A
Sigh=) by Franz Liszt, arpeg-
gios soaring up and down
the keyboard while birds and
dragonflies soared overhead.
After the performance,
audience members were
encouraged to scramble up
onto the flatbed and experi-
ence the piano9s buttery action
under their own fingers. The
event9s friendly feel and out-
door environment made the
instrument seem much less
imposing than it might in a
concert hall. Even children9s
improvisations and halt-
ing renditions of <Für Elise=
sounded warm and powerful.
The nine-foot 1912
Steinway has its own devoted
roadie, piano technician/
musician Cameron Edens.
He tunes and maintains the
Steinway for hours each time
it is moved4which dur-
ing this leg of the tour was
every day. <In a Landscape=
continues this month, head-
ing from Central Oregon
to the Wallowas and end-
ing at Sacajawea Historical
State Park in Washington on
September 21.
25
RAPTORS: Participants
can learn from
longtime birders
Continued from page 3
Society9s 15th Green Ridge
Fall Raptor Survey will kick
off the weekend of September
21-22, followed by September
28-29 and the first three
weekends of October.
<Our goal is to catch peak
migration, but the third week-
end of October can be touch-
and-go due to weather,= said
naturalist and birder David
Vick, who has been helping
to run the raptor survey for
over 15 years and has this to
say: <We welcome all visitors
and volunteers, as the more
eyes to the sky the better to
assist in spotting and tracking
migrants.=
Due to changes in climate
there have been many things
happening within bird popu-
lations in this part of North
America. Southern species
are being observed in places
they have never frequented
before, and there is a good
chance these changes will
be seen among the migrating
raptors.
There is no better time to
observe these changes and
learn who-is-who among
migratory raptors than to
rub shoulders with birders
who have been watching and
PHOTO BY JIM ANDERSON
Sub-adult bald eagle.
counting them for years.
The public is invited to
grab binoculars and scope and
follow David Vick9s instruc-
tions: <Come up for an hour
or stay the day but either way,
the scenery and other species
are sure to please 4 plus it9s a
fun way to hone one9s skills in
identifying raptors at distance.
<Mornings often start slow,
with numbers building up as
the afternoon progresses and
winds help the birds along.
The last eight miles to the site
are dirt roads, but can be eas-
ily navigated by any passen-
ger car. Detailed information
and directions can be found
on ECAS9s excellent website:
WWW.ecaudubon.org under
the 8Projects9 tab. Hope to see
you there!=
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