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Have piano, will MindTravel
Music as meditation on Powerhouse Beach
People "can walk a quarter mile down the beach having their own moment and still hear it perfectly. It really opens a new dimension to what we think of as a concert experience.”
A silent disco is one thing, but a silent piano concert immersed in nature is a whole other escapade. Combining music with the elements, renowned composer Murray Hidary has been performing his MindTravel concert series for the past decade. Although the show is staged outside, the direct feed of the live music goes into your ears via headphones.
Upcoming Event
Murray Hidary: Mindtravel Silent Piano Experience
- Friday, June 20, 2025, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
- Powerhouse Community Center, 1658 Coast Boulevard, San Diego
- Age Limit: Not available
“It’s very immediate and direct,” says Hidary. “It enables everyone to have the same sound experience, no matter where they are. In a theater, you’ll hear it differently depending on where you’re sitting, but here, everyone will hear it the same way. Here, they get to have an experience of freedom. They’re not just stuck in their seat. They lie down, stand on their head, however they want to have their experience. Then, of course, having the sound so immersed really lets you drop in much faster than if there were just speakers out there.”
Hidary studied Western classical music and Eastern philosophy at NYU, where he discovered the idea of music as meditation. “After deep studies, those two worlds came together,” he says. “I always turn to music to connect more deeply with myself and others. That continued to evolve, getting me through the most challenging and difficult times of my life. But it also allowed me to have a way to express the incredible, blissful moments of life, and find expression to the full spectrum of the human experience.”
Roughly once a month, the pianist brings his keys to San Diego’s sands, typically from late April through October. “It’s an experience that’s accessible,” he says. “Whether someone has meditated before or not, it doesn’t matter. It’s really an experience that can be appreciated on many different levels. There’s the music level combined with nature as you’re looking out at the ocean. Then it’s the nature and music together combined with a community of hundreds of other people. Paradoxically, with the headphones on, you are having your own personal experience.”
The shows are less about creating a performer/audience relationship, and more about providing a space where everyone is a participant. Hidary might be the one driving the train, but everyone is aboard. “I encourage people to walk around,” he says. “They can walk a quarter mile down the beach having their own moment and still hear it perfectly. It really opens a new dimension to what we think of as a concert experience.”
Given that the concerts being held on the beach near Powerhouse Community Center in Del Mar, it might be worth noting that actually is a train that steams by during the events. “The train provides this aliveness to the setting. Life is happening. The train is moving. There’s a motion to the music and we can find a stillness within the motion.” That’s an underlying principle for the whole thing: finding stillness in motion.
No two musical performances are the same. Hidary improvises each 75–90 minute set in a real-time composition. It’s not just improvised, it’s also continuous. “It allows time for the mind to settle,” he says, “for you to put your day behind you, and to drop in without interruption or distraction. There’s no stopping and starting. With the nonstop playing, it provides an opening to get lost in and to go on your personal mind travel.” While maintaining his own unique style, Hidary just lets it flow as he adapts to his own exterior and interior settings. “Even if it’s the same beach, the waves are different, the wind is different, the sky is different, the light is different, and each person is different. The music holds the ever-changing nature of all things.”
The composer mainly plays along the California coast, Florida coast, and parts of the Northeast. Once or twice a year, he’ll take his performance international. “I did a piano performance on the ice in Antarctica for a special expedition group,” he recalls. Other notable places he has performed include the pyramids in Egypt and Tanzania’s Serengeti. “The key is to not go to a place just once, but to go back and build community there. That’s what we’ve done and will continue to do in San Diego. We’ll continue to do that regularly so people can come have that experience throughout the year.” Hidary will be bringing his keys back to Powerhouse Beach for another silent piano concert on Friday, June 20.
Here's something you might be interested in.
Have piano, will MindTravel
Music as meditation on Powerhouse Beach
Have piano, will MindTravel
Music as meditation on Powerhouse Beach
People "can walk a quarter mile down the beach having their own moment and still hear it perfectly. It really opens a new dimension to what we think of as a concert experience.”
A silent disco is one thing, but a silent piano concert immersed in nature is a whole other escapade. Combining music with the elements, renowned composer Murray Hidary has been performing his MindTravel concert series for the past decade. Although the show is staged outside, the direct feed of the live music goes into your ears via headphones.
Upcoming Event
Murray Hidary: Mindtravel Silent Piano Experience
- Friday, June 20, 2025, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
- Powerhouse Community Center, 1658 Coast Boulevard, San Diego
- Age Limit: Not available
“It’s very immediate and direct,” says Hidary. “It enables everyone to have the same sound experience, no matter where they are. In a theater, you’ll hear it differently depending on where you’re sitting, but here, everyone will hear it the same way. Here, they get to have an experience of freedom. They’re not just stuck in their seat. They lie down, stand on their head, however they want to have their experience. Then, of course, having the sound so immersed really lets you drop in much faster than if there were just speakers out there.”
Hidary studied Western classical music and Eastern philosophy at NYU, where he discovered the idea of music as meditation. “After deep studies, those two worlds came together,” he says. “I always turn to music to connect more deeply with myself and others. That continued to evolve, getting me through the most challenging and difficult times of my life. But it also allowed me to have a way to express the incredible, blissful moments of life, and find expression to the full spectrum of the human experience.”
Roughly once a month, the pianist brings his keys to San Diego’s sands, typically from late April through October. “It’s an experience that’s accessible,” he says. “Whether someone has meditated before or not, it doesn’t matter. It’s really an experience that can be appreciated on many different levels. There’s the music level combined with nature as you’re looking out at the ocean. Then it’s the nature and music together combined with a community of hundreds of other people. Paradoxically, with the headphones on, you are having your own personal experience.”
The shows are less about creating a performer/audience relationship, and more about providing a space where everyone is a participant. Hidary might be the one driving the train, but everyone is aboard. “I encourage people to walk around,” he says. “They can walk a quarter mile down the beach having their own moment and still hear it perfectly. It really opens a new dimension to what we think of as a concert experience.”
Given that the concerts being held on the beach near Powerhouse Community Center in Del Mar, it might be worth noting that actually is a train that steams by during the events. “The train provides this aliveness to the setting. Life is happening. The train is moving. There’s a motion to the music and we can find a stillness within the motion.” That’s an underlying principle for the whole thing: finding stillness in motion.
No two musical performances are the same. Hidary improvises each 75–90 minute set in a real-time composition. It’s not just improvised, it’s also continuous. “It allows time for the mind to settle,” he says, “for you to put your day behind you, and to drop in without interruption or distraction. There’s no stopping and starting. With the nonstop playing, it provides an opening to get lost in and to go on your personal mind travel.” While maintaining his own unique style, Hidary just lets it flow as he adapts to his own exterior and interior settings. “Even if it’s the same beach, the waves are different, the wind is different, the sky is different, the light is different, and each person is different. The music holds the ever-changing nature of all things.”
The composer mainly plays along the California coast, Florida coast, and parts of the Northeast. Once or twice a year, he’ll take his performance international. “I did a piano performance on the ice in Antarctica for a special expedition group,” he recalls. Other notable places he has performed include the pyramids in Egypt and Tanzania’s Serengeti. “The key is to not go to a place just once, but to go back and build community there. That’s what we’ve done and will continue to do in San Diego. We’ll continue to do that regularly so people can come have that experience throughout the year.” Hidary will be bringing his keys back to Powerhouse Beach for another silent piano concert on Friday, June 20.
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