Wilder Frets: Classical Guitar in the Wilderness
Founded in 2025 by Oregonian classical guitar virtuoso and Artistic Director, Tye Austin, M.M., Wilder Frets: Classical Guitar in the Wilderness is a fiscally sponsored concert series of Fractured Atlas, a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts service organization, that replaces the traditional concert hall with breathtaking wilderness landscapes across the Pacific Northwest. A portable pop-up stage is installed to showcase the art of classical guitar through solo and chamber music concerts, presented in State and National Parks, natural hot springs, alpine lakes, underground caves, red rock canyons, river gorges, old-growth forests, coastal bluffs, historic sites, wineries, farms, ranches, and urban green spaces. Guests may sit near the stage and/or roam freely through the wilderness while listening to the concert on wireless headphones in an immersive experience that deepens their connection to music, nature, and community.
MISSION
Our mission is to create a living dialogue between music, community, and the environment — one that nourishes both the wildness of the human spirit and our collective responsibility to preserve the wilderness landscapes that inspire us.
VISION
Our vision is to transform the Pacific Northwest into an open-air concert stage — a landscape where music and wilderness coexist in harmony. Wilder Frets also envisions a world where the barriers that separate people from art — cost, geography, privilege — are dissolved.
Programs
I. Wilderness Concert Series
The Wilderness Concert Series is the heart of Wilder Frets, presenting intimate, open-air classical guitar performances each summer led by internationally acclaimed classical guitarist and naturalist Tye Austin. Set in breathtaking wilderness landscapes—from coastal bluffs and alpine lakes to old-growth forests and underground lava caves—each concert harmonizes with the site’s natural acoustics and ecology, blending classical guitar repertoire with the sounds of wind, water, and wildlife. Imagine hearing Tarrega’s Recuerdos de la Alhambra resonating off the walls of the Oregon Caves National Monument. Experiences may include local storytelling, environmental education, and guided meditations, creating a deeply immersive connection between music, place, and audience. A portion of ticket sales supports parks, outdoor recreation, and conservation organizations.
II. Emerging Artist Residency & Celebrity Guest Artist Series
The Emerging Artist Residency (EAR) and Celebrity Guest Artist Series (CGAS) connect artists and audiences with the natural world while showcasing the classical guitar’s versatility in a variety of chamber music settings. Under Tye Austin’s leadership, EAR provides emerging artists—composers, classical guitarists, opera vocalists, violinists, cellists, harpists, marimbists, percussionists, and string quartets—with meaningful, fairly compensated performance opportunities. Performers and composers collaborate with scientists, poets, and Indigenous knowledge-keepers, often creating new works inspired by the ecosystems and cultures they encounter. Complementing this, CGAS brings internationally acclaimed artists such as Eliot Fisk, Sharon Isbin, and Miloš Karadaglić into intimate wilderness settings to perform chamber and orchestral music alongside our Artistic Director.
III. Masterclasses, Youth Education & Community Access
Free access to world-class music entertainment and education is central to Wilder Frets’ mission, which offers a clear pathway from first exposure to long-term artistic growth through masterclasses, intensive training, and sustained mentorship. Pre-concert masterclasses connect musicians of all ages and skill levels with Tye Austin and other leading classical guitarists in outdoor settings. Select participants will be awarded full-ride scholarships to attend our two-week summer intensive music camp at rotating wilderness retreats. Furthermore, the Free Frets Initiative provides underserved youth across the Pacific Northwest with instruments, lessons, and mentorship at no cost, delivering weekly instruction, music camps, performances, and nature-based learning through partnerships with community organizations, tribal groups, and after-school music programs. Building on this access, Wilder Frets’ Arts Access Tickets program expands access to world-class classical music concerts for underserved communities, with a goal of distributing at least 25,000 free tickets during its inaugural season.
Support Us
Wilder Frets is currently raising $1,000,000 to launch our inaugural concert season between June 5-September 27, 2026. You can donate securely online through our fiscal sponsor Fractured Atlas, a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts service organization. Click here to learn more about our fiscal sponsorship, prospectus, giving tiers, annual budget, business plan, and more.
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