\n MindTravel concerts<\/a>
\n , the latest of which is coming to L.A.\u2019s Elysian Park Tuesday Nov. 18.<\/p>\n
At the events, you\u2019ll find Hidary on the piano, surrounded by an audience of people on folding chairs or blankets. The difference \u2014 apart from the open sky above \u2014 is that they\u2019re wearing headphones.<\/p>\n
Hidary, who has performed in indoor stages and concert halls, finds this setting taps into stronger emotions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe audience kind of enters this flow state of just being present, and to me that’s the most powerful place you can take an audience,\u201d Hidary said.<\/p>\n
Audience members can also lie down, close their eyes, stand up, walk around, not worrying about disturbing others \u2014 all while focussing on Hidary\u2019s meditative music.<\/p>\n
The audience kind of enters this flow state of just being present, and to me that’s the most powerful place you can take an audience.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Murray Hidary, creator of MindTravel<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels like I’m playing just for you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Hidary\u2019s performed MindTravel concerts around the United States for over a decade, including the beach in Santa Monica, but Tuesday\u2019s concert is the first time he\u2019ll play in Elysian Park, State of contemplation<\/p>\n What does a MindTravel performance sound like? Don\u2019t expect the structure of movements in classical compositions. Instead think of the long mesmerizing, meditative arcs of the music of Hidary hopes the music he chooses to play during MindTravel puts the audience in a state in which they contemplate the natural surroundings, the people around them, and their human emotions. Stage and theater concerts have their place, he said, but audiences in those settings expect entertainment. MindTravel is something else, he said.<\/p>\n MindTravel performances allow the audience to move around and interact with other people while listening to live piano.<\/p>\n \u201cUsing music in that capacity, using music to open something up internally, to kind of expand our own state of consciousness and using music in that way\u201d is his ultimate goal, he said. \u201c[MindTravel] doesn’t become an escape from your life, but it becomes a confrontation of your deepest self.”<\/p>\n Hidary studied music and composition at NYU and had success in the tech boom of the late 1990s and early 2000s. But a traumatic event at the tail end of that success led him to see music in a different way and put him on the path to create MindTravel.<\/p>\n MindTravel has been performed at the beach in Santa Monica and other outdoor venues around the U.S.<\/p>\n \u201cI went through probably the most difficult, challenging time of my life, which was the sudden and tragic death of my little sister in an accident,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He played the piano to work through the emotional pain and took up vedic meditation to help settle his thoughts.<\/p>\n Improvisation leads to deep connections<\/p>\n No two MindTravel concerts are alike because Hidary often changes what he plays to react to what he sees and feels at the time of the concert.<\/p>\n \u201cI can remember one time there was a train going by and I kind of figured out what pitch it was and started to play in that pitch in kind of sympathy with the train moving in its own rhythm and its own pitch,\u201d Hidary said.<\/p>\n It reminded me how powerful it is to just be. To breathe. To listen. To feel. When we slow down enough to be fully present, the noise fades \u2014 and our truth gets louder.<\/p>\n \u2014 A MindTravel attendee, on Instagram<\/p>\n People who\u2019ve attended MindTravel say the event helps them tap into emotions in ways that an indoor concert cannot.<\/p>\n \u201cThis experience is so magical and grounding,\u201d one person said on MindTravel\u2019s Instagram account.<\/p>\n \u201cIt reminded me how powerful it is to just be. To breathe. To listen. To feel. When we slow down enough to be fully present, the noise fades \u2014 and our truth gets louder,” another said.<\/p>\n MindTravel\u2019s Southern California dates<\/p>\n Sunday, Nov. 16 – Del MarTuesday, Nov. 18 – Elysian ParkFriday, Nov. 21 – Huntington BeachSaturday, Nov. 22 – San Diego \/ Mission BeachSunday, Nov. 23 – Bakersfield<\/p>\n
\n L.A.\u2019s first official park.<\/a>\n <\/p>\n
\n Phillip Glass<\/a>
\n and
\n Ravi Shankar<\/a>
\n , two of Hidary\u2019s big inspirations.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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