Summer Solstice 2026: A Murmur in the Trees

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Celebrate the longest day of the year with Anderson Center and Zeitgeist! A Murmur in the Trees is a 30-minute work by composer Eve Beglarian that features 24 double bass players spread throughout a grove of trees. Join us to recognize the summer solstice together with this one-of-a-kind musical experience, followed by sweet treats in an outdoor picnic setting.

Beglarian was inspired by an Emily Dickinson poem and a piece of birch bark. The birch bark is used as a musical score that determines the sounds the basses create and where the players are located. The audience is welcomed to walk throughout the forest to hear the music from different places, hearing some basses nearby and some quite far away.

Following the performance, we’ll serve a dessert reception in the Anderson Center Sculpture Garden. Picnic tables and seating will be available; guests are also welcome to bring picnic blankets if they would like.

Tickets are $20 general public, $15 for Anderson Center members and students. Ticket sales will close on Thursday, June 18 to ensure that we have enough sweets for everyone. Reserve your tickets today!

Featured Artists

MUSIC

Zeitgeist‘s mission is to bring newly created music to life with performances that engage and stimulate. A quartet of musicians animated by a spirit of adventure and collaboration, Zeitgeist presents works of substance with passion and integrity, and strives to forge new links between musicians and music lovers through concerts, commissions, recordings, and dialogue with our audiences.

Lauded for providing “a once-in-a-lifetime experience for adventurous concertgoers,” Zeitgeist is a new music chamber ensemble comprised of two percussion, piano and woodwinds. One of the longest established new music groups in the country, Zeitgeist commissions and presents a wide variety of new music for audiences in Minnesota and throughout the nation. Always eager to explore new artistic frontiers, Zeitgeist collaborates with sound artists of all types to create imaginative new work that challenges the boundaries of traditional chamber music. The members of Zeitgeist are: Heather Barringer, percussion; Patti Cudd, percussion; Pat O’Keefe, woodwinds; Nicola Melville, piano.

Zeitgeist has long co-presented events with Anderson Center and moved their artistic home to Tower View in 2024.

FOOD

Sri Rudich is the Anderson Center Residency Chef. Sharing sustenance (and the freedom of not having to prepare it) creates space for connection, collaboration, and inspiration within our residency program. Those who have attended exhibition receptions already know that Rudich prepares some of the most delicious and interesting morsels in the area, showcasing food as an art form, carrier of culture, and vehicle for connection.

Accessibility Information

This event is held in the Anderson Center Sculpture Garden, a flat, grassy outdoor area. To request accommodations such as translation/interpretation, electric golf-cart transportation, or others, please contact us at info@andersoncenter.org or 651-388-2009 at least two weeks prior to the event.

Our Funders

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.