Secrets from a Forest

“Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could transport the musicians’ performance from the Minnesota Orchestra back to the incredible forest where the wood came from—the Paneveggio Forest in Northern Italy?” – Jim Brandenburg

Witness the inspiring story of the intimate relationship between artistic expression and the natural world

Experience the innovative new planetarium show Secrets from a Forest. Led by the artistic vision of award-winning nature photographer Jim Brandenburg, award-winning director Neil Lucas, and featuring members of the Minnesota Orchestra. The new production tells the story of the relationship between nature and art through the exquisite and rare Stradivarius Violin.

During this feature-length planetarium show, explore the Paneveggio Forest in Northern Italy throughout the seasons and observe the role of smaller life forms that shape the growth of Paneveggio’s towering trees. For centuries, Paneveggio has been home to the “singing” spruce, the source of wood for the Stradivarius Violin.

Then be transported to a violin maker’s studio, for an intimate and first-hand look at the creation of this exquisite instrument. The final minutes of this emotionally engaging sequence will take place in a concert hall, to hear the violin—the thrilling and powerful result of this delicate dance between human beings and nature.

“At one point we were only doing three shots a day because we had to get it exactly right. When the violinist was playing you could almost see the fingerprints and hairs on his hands. And when they cut the tree down you could almost see the grain within each cut. To me, that completely blew me away.” – Neil Lucas, Producer/Director

Find upcoming show times