Hunter Noack

Classical pianist Hunter Noack founded IN A LANDSCAPE: Classical Music in the Wild to bring together the two things he loves most: classical music and the great outdoors. He grew up in Sunriver, Oregon, a small town on the Deschutes River in the shadow of the Cascade Mountains. Too shy to attend the only children’s music program in town, Hunter began piano lessons with his mother at age 4. After one year and a little encouragement, he went to Miss Jodie Bischof, then studied with Patti Petersen in Bend. At 13, his parents drove him weekly to Portland to have lessons with Dorothy Fahlman and at 14, he was accepted to attend Interlochen Arts Academy, a boarding high school in Northern Michigan. Hunter graduated from the French-American International High school and the San Francisco Conservatory preparatory division in 2007. He received a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Southern California, studying with John Perry, and a Masters Degree from Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, studying with Paul Roberts and Ronan O’Hora. 

Throughout his studies, he was interested in making the piano recital more theatrical. His graduate recital at USC featured actor friends reading poetry, a menu for a program, and lighting design that changed for each piece. In 2012 he created an immersive play at SOMArts in San Francisco, and in 2014 won the coLABorate Award to adapt Arnold Schoenberg’s Verklarte Nacht at the Barbican Centre in London. Soon after moving back to Oregon, he received a grant from Portland’s Regional Arts and Culture Council to present the first series  of 9 IN A LANDSCAPE concerts in 2016. Together with Lori Noack, Craig Compiano, and Thomas Lauderdale, IN A LANDSCAPE was then established as a non-profit organization in 2017. 

Hunter has collaborated with Oregon Ballet Theater, NW Dance Project, Kaatsbaan, performed around the world with Pink Martini at Hollywood Bowl, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Royal Albert Hall among others, and has appeared with his partner Thomas Lauderdale with the National Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Oregon Symphony. In 2019, he was named All Classical Portland radio’s first Artist-in-Residence and in 2021 CBS This Morning featured Hunter on a 6-minute special in their series, “A More Perfect Union.” In June 2022, Hunter’s album In a Landscape debuted at #1 on Billboard’s classical music charts for “Traditional Classical Music.”