What We Do Will brings a grand piano out into areas of threatened wilderness to perform improvised endurance concerts from sunrise to sunset or vice versa to advocate for conservation and stewardship through emphasizing the inspirational beauty and humbling grandeur of wild spaces.
Artist Statement In my project, "Piano In The Wild," I take a grand piano into threatened wilderness areas to perform improvised endurance concerts from sunrise to sunset or vice versa. This endeavor serves as both a call to conservation and stewardship and a personal exploration of transcendence and humility within nature's grandeur. I embrace the juxtaposition of the refined grand piano, typically found in human designed interior spaces, spaces intentionally separated from Nature, isolated from Nature, against the vastness of Nature, symbolizing a vital shift in human perspective and a necessary reframing of the ego. The experience of humility in this project speaks to interconnectedness, aiming to reunite individuals with the world, bridging the granular to the global and the isolate to the network. Through the music, I hope to convey the profound harmony that exists when humans engage respectfully with the environment and to also emphasize the urgent need for conservation while fostering a deep appreciation for the interconnected web of life that surrounds us. "Wilderness Harmony" is not just a musical journey, it's a sonic and symbolic endeavor to reestablish our relationship with nature and advocate for a harmonious coexistence.
How'd You Get That Thing Here? One of the most common questions we're asked is, "How'd you get that thing here?!" The short answer is hard work. We've devised a method of winching the piano up two small aluminum ramps into the bed of a standard pickup truck. The off-loading is a little more precarious - using marine-grade pulleys, we slowly inch the piano down the ramps onto the performance site in the pre-dawn darkness. The piano is then lowered onto its legs and tuned. Usually the performance sites are not level, making the offloading process a ballet between man and a 600lb instrument.
Our Feature On NPR "KNAU brings you the sound of a grand piano in the nation’s grandest park....Musician Will Munroe is on a quest to play improvised music, from sunrise to sunset, in as many national parks and monuments as possible. It’s his way of calling for stewardship and protection of threatened public lands."
