Inside Celestial Sounds with Craig Hauschildt
What began as a vision of music under the stars came to life at Murie Ranch with GTMF’s Celestial Sounds On the Road event, a program that was thoughtfully designed around its setting and the experience of being together outdoors. In this Q&A, GTMF percussionist and Celestial Sounds mastermind Craig Hauschildt shares how the idea came to be, the musical choices that shaped the evening and what made this community experience so memorable.
GTMF: What inspired the idea for Celestial Sounds, and what did you envision when you first started thinking about the program?
Craig: The idea came to me while listening to one of the Monday evening GTMF concerts at Murie Ranch a few years ago. I pictured everyone in a sleeping bag, spread around the grassy area, fully in the dark listening to beautiful music under the stars. Besides the porch lights and the bugs… the vision came to reality!
GTMF: Were there specific sounds, instruments or musical ideas you felt would work especially well alongside stargazing and being outdoors?
Craig: One of the central works on the concert is the adaptation of Arvo Pärt’s Spiegel im Spiegel for violin, marimba, tuned gongs, vibraphone and crotales. The image of my wife, Kana, playing the slowly unfurling melody on violin surrounded by the tintinnabulation from the various percussion instruments felt like a beautiful metaphor for the stars in the sky.
GTMF: One of the things we value about GTMF’s free education and community programming is that it can be tailored to a particular audience, place or experience. How did that kind of intentionality come into play with Celestial Sounds?
Craig: This concert was inspired by the park and Murie Ranch specifically. It would have worked and been a lovely concert in a proper concert hall, but the setting made the event. Getting to perform alongside Wyoming Stargazing and their wonderful telescope added to the intentionality of the experience in that specific space. It’s a memory those present are unlikely to forget!
GTMF: What do you hope people took away from the experience, especially those who may have been encountering GTMF or this kind of music for the first time?
Craig: I hope that everyone there was able to find a moment of peace and repose. Music has the power to transport us, and I hope the setting and the specific musical selections made that possible for everyone.
GTMF: What was your favorite part of putting Celestial Sounds together or seeing the idea come to life?
Craig: It took my breath away to look out into the audience while Kana was playing the Bach Andante, seeing everyone just taking it in. That’s why we do what we do!
GTMF: Anything else you’d like to share?
Craig: I’m just so grateful for all of the support for this unusual project! It was truly a community effort with contributions from Wyoming Stargazing, Westbank Garden Center, Teton Music School, Jackson Hole Community Band, the staff and musicians of the Grand Teton Music Festival, and of course everyone who came out for the experience!
At GTMF, we’re proud to create musical experiences thoughtfully tailored to the places and communities we serve.