Wilder Frets: Classical Guitar in the Wilderness at White River Falls at White River Falls State Park – Maupin, OR

ABOUT WILDER FRETS

For our 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

White River Falls State Park is located near Maupin in north-central Oregon, where the glacially fed White River cuts through a dramatic basalt canyon before joining the Deschutes River. Formed by volcanic activity associated with the Columbia River Basalt Group, the landscape features steep canyon walls, high-desert terrain, and the park’s iconic waterfall. The river originates on the slopes of Mount Hood and carries pale volcanic sediment that gives the White River its distinctive color. The surrounding environment marks a transition between the forests of the Cascade Range and the arid Columbia Plateau, contributing to the area’s ecological and scenic significance. For thousands of years, the White River and Deschutes River region has been home to Indigenous peoples including the Wasco, Warm Springs, and Paiute tribes, whose descendants are now represented by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. These communities maintained longstanding cultural and spiritual connections to the landscape through fishing, trade, hunting, and seasonal travel routes.

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.

SPANISH GUITAR REPERTOIRE

Sebastián Yradier (1809–1865)
La Paloma
Arr. Tye Austin

Francisco Tárrega (1852–1909)
Recuerdos de la Alhambra
Capricho Árabe
Endecha y Oremus

Isaac Albéniz (1860–1909)
Granada
Cádiz
Asturias
Arr. Tye Austin

Enrique Granados (1867–1916)
Danza Española
Arr. Tye Austin

Joaquín Malats (1872–1912)
Serenata Española
Arr. Tye Austin

Anonymous (19th century)
Romanza Española

Manuel de Falla (1876–1946)
Homenaje
Danza del Molinero
Canción del Fuego Fatuo

Miguel Llobet (1878–1938)
El Testament d’Amelia
Cançó del Lladre
El Noi de la Mare

Federico M. Torroba (1891–1982)
Torija
Romance de los Pinos
Madroños

LATIN AMERICAN GUITAR REPERTOIRE

Zequinha de Abreu (1880–1935)
Tico Tico no Fuba
Arr. Tye Austin

João Pernambuco (1883–1947)
Sons de Carrilhões

Agustín Barrios (1885–1944)
La Catedral

Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887–1959)
Chôros No. 1

Consuelo Velázquez (1916–2005)
Bésame Mucho
Arr. Tye Austin

Antonio Lauro (1917-1986)
Andreina
Virgilio
Natalia

Luiz Bonfá (1922–2001)
Manhã de Carnaval
Arr. Tye Austin

Jorge Morel (1931–2021)
Danza Brasileira

Leo Brouwer (b. 1939)
Danza Caracteristica
Berceuse (Cuban Lullaby)

Máximo Diego Pujol (b. 1957)
Candombe en mi

Tye Austin (b. 1989)
Tango Fumar
Bossa Floresta
Waters Willamette