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November 16, 2023

As we take a moment to reflect fondly on the days spent this year among friends in the shadow of the Beartooth Mountains, we feel fortunate for the many connections forged at Tippet Rise, including of course those among art, music, nature, and poetry – but also the magical ways that the art center brings people together. We are especially grateful as we look ahead to our 2024 season and pleased to share a preview of it with you.

A New Outdoor Venue
Next summer will see the opening of the Geode, a new open-air performance space designed by Arup. The Geode’s high amphitheater will feature an inaugural concert by cellist Arlen Hlusko. It will be programmed with spontaneous pop-up concerts of violin, woodwind, and chamber music with the resonance of an indoor hall set in a panorama of seven surrounding mountain ranges.

Measuring 18 feet tall at its highest point, the Geode consists of four triangular structures or ‘harmonic polygons’ crafted from weathering steel and clad in vertical grain Douglas Fir wood, which have been burned and brushed with a traditional Japanese Yakisugi technique to help scatter sound waves at a higher frequency. The Geode’s sound-reflecting surfaces are large and close to the ground and will also provide musicians and audience members with protection from the elements.

We look forward to the harmonious juxtaposition the Geode will create among musician, audience, and nature.

Arlen Hlusko dramatically bows her cello in the Olivier Music Barn in a 2019 concert.
Photo by Erik Petersen.

New Artworks
During the hiking, biking, and sculpture van tour season, which begins June 14, visitors will be able to visit two newly installed sculptures by contemporary artists Wendy Red Star and Richard Serra. Red Star’s The Soil You See… (2023) stands at eight-feet tall and features a large piece of glass depicting a red thumbprint. Inscribed in the ridges are the names of 50 Apsáalooke nation chiefs and tribal representatives who signed land treaties with the U.S. government between 1825 and 1880, oftentimes using their thumbprint or an X rather than their names. At Tippet Rise, which sits within the traditional sacred land of the Apsáalooke, The Soil You See… will be one of the first works guests encounter as they approach the main Cottonwood Campus.

Wendy Red Star shared, “I am truly honored to have The Soil You See… find its permanent home at Tippet Rise. This sculpture holds a special place in my heart, as it pays tribute to the Apsáalooke chiefs who dedicated their lives to the preservation of their people and the Apsáalooke nation. Having this work at Tippet Rise is not only a beautiful addition, but also a meaningful recognition of their legacy. It serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of preserving and honoring our history and culture.”

Richard Serra’s work Crossroads II (1990), comes to the art center as a gift of Leonard I. Korman in memory of Jane F. Korman. This work consists of four solid, eight-inch-thick plates made of weatherproof steel, each 57 inches tall, with the two shorter plates measuring two feet, eight inches, and the longer plates measuring 20 feet. Arranged at 90-degree angles and separated by distances ranging from eight to 85 feet, visitors will be able to walk among the plates, which sit on a prow of volcanic rock overlooking the dramatic Murphy Canyon and its vertical grey and brown cliff walls.

The Soil You See… by Wendy Red Star was on view on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Photo by AJ Mitchell, courtesy of Monument Lab.

Summer Concerts
The music season will offer more than 15 performances of wide-ranging repertoire and new works over five weeks, from August 16 through September 15. Returning artists include pianists Julien Brocal, Marc-Andre Hamelin, Anne-Marie McDermott, and Yevgeny Sudbin; cellists Christopher Costanza, Sterling Elliott, and Arlen Hlusko; and flutist Jessica Sindell.

The ninth concert season features notable Tippet Rise debuts. The art center will welcome flutist and interdisciplinary artist Claire Chase and the quartet collective Owls to perform Terry Riley’s new work The Holy Liftoff Chorale for flute, strings, and electronics—a co-commission of Claire Chase for Density 2036, The Kitchen, Stanford Live, and Tippet Rise. Cellist Camille Thomas will play a mixed program of works by Chopin and Franchomme with returning pianist Julien Brocal.

Tippet Rise will also welcome mezzo-soprano Ema Nikolovska and pianist Kunal Lahiry for a joint debut in the Olivier Music Barn. The Tippet Rise Wander series continues with a concert by flutist Jessica Sindell, oboist Tamer Edelbi, clarinetist Afendi Yusuf, bassoonist Jake Thonis, and horn player Nathaniel Silberschlag, moving among artworks on the art center’s main campus.

Esteemed French pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet will perform an all-Ravel program and rising star pianist Evren Ozel, who recently received the Avery Fisher Career Grant, will perform with violinist Abigél Králik, in her Tippet Rise debut, and returning cellist Sterling Elliot. Also debuting this year are members of the regionally based Baroque Music Montana, known for their chamber music performances inspired by history.

Complete season program details will be announced in early 2024. Registration for the art center’s randomized drawing for concert tickets will open on the Tippet Rise website in early spring 2024.

Sterling Elliott and Wynona Wang perform in the Olivier Music Barn in 2022.
Photo by Kevin Kinzley.

Residencies and Recordings
Outside of the concert season, Tippet Rise hosts residencies in which artists are invited to record music and create performance films. Pianist Boris Giltburg spent a week at Tippet Rise in August 2022 to record his own transcription of Dmitri Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 3., which is currently available to listen to within Tippet Rise’s Music Download Library. A performance film of Giltburg is also available to watch in the Tippet Rise Film Library and YouTube channel. During the winter of 2023, Tippet Rise hosted a residency for members of the artist-led collective Decoda, in celebration of their 10th anniversary as an ensemble. Decoda recorded their debut album, Revelry, and a performance film in the Olivier Music Barn, both of which will be released in early 2024.

Listening to and Watching Tippet Rise Online
While the art center may be currently closed to visitors, the Tippet Rise website is a rich and growing multimedia resource, featuring, in addition to its Music Download Library, dozens of films created by Tippet Rise’s in-house and guest filmmakers. These include concert footage from past seasons as well as special projects such as the Tippet Rise on Tour and the poetry film series Above Strands of Earth, created in collaboration with Tippet Rise’s sister organization – the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation. A new installment of Relevance of Place will be added to the website in early 2024, featuring conversations with artists Jeffrey Gibson, Heather Hart, and Ben Pease, and Tippet Rise Co-Directors Lindsey and Pete Hinmon.

We look forward to sharing more about the 2024 season in the coming months.

A Tippet Rise audience enjoys a Wander concert with The Westerlies at Iron Tree by Ai Weiwei. Photo by Kevin Kinzley.