About Wilder Frets:
For the inaugural season, Wilder Frets: Classical Guitar in the Wilderness will tour across the state of Oregon from August 1–October 1, 2026. Led by classical guitar virtuoso and artistic director Tye Austin, the series replaces the traditional concert hall with immersive wilderness landscapes—including state parks, farms, ranches, wineries, hot spring resorts, and other unique locations throughout the state. Audiences experience each performance through wireless headphone technology, allowing them to move freely and explore the surrounding landscape within a quarter-mile radius as the music accompanies their wanderings through each Wilder setting.
About this Site:
Tucked within the Noble Woods area of Hillsboro, Oregon, this private estate rests along a quiet stretch of Rock Creek. Set within a gently rolling woodland corridor, the property preserves a scenic reach of creekside habitat where currents slip past roots, stones, and fallen logs, supporting a rich riparian ecosystem. Douglas fir, cedar, and alder line the creek, while shaded paths follow the water through a mix of dense forest and soft open glades. Rock Creek provides habitat for songbirds, deer, and other wildlife drawn to its year-round flow. For generations, this broader region has been part of the forested lowlands of western Washington County, where the Atfalati people of the Tualatin Kalapuya, who lived seasonally throughout the Tualatin Valley, relying on the region’s forests, prairies, and waterways for sustenance and cultural life. Today, this private estate remains a rare sanctuary where guests can gather among the trees, follow the creek’s quiet passage, and experience the intimate beauty of a protected forested stream just beyond Hillsboro.
About the Artist:
Oregon-born classical guitarist and composer Tye Austin, M.M., is the Artistic Director of Wilder Frets, a concert series that brings world-class classical guitar performances into natural wilderness settings. With ancestral ties to Franco-Spanish pirates of the Caribbean, he draws on a deep cultural connection to Spanish and Latin American repertoire, shaping his interpretations with distinctive authenticity and depth. Praised by NBC News for making “the guitar sing like it was invented only to be in his hands,” Austin is an internationally recognized virtuoso guitarist whose career includes appearances at venues such as Carnegie Hall and Royal Albert Hall, performances for global leaders at the United Nations, and international residencies and tours across Asia, Europe, and the Americas. He was also hired as the principal classical guitarist for Royal Caribbean International cruise lines. He holds a Master of Music from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. In his spare time, he can be found surfing, fly-fishing, foraging, or skinny-dipping in geo-thermal hot springs.