Follow the birdsong far enough down a trail at Hoyt Arboretum and you might stumble onto something unexpected: a musician at a picnic table, headphones on, surrounded by a small synthesizer, a tangle of colorful cables, a tree guide, and a book of Buddhist teachings.
He isn’t performing. He’s listening—to the wind, the light, the conversation between two neighboring trees. Then, softly, he begins to play.
Meet Julian Saporiti
For the past three years, this accomplished indie-folk musician and scholar has spent his days among the arboretum’s trees, stripping his craft down to its roots. You may know Julian from No-No Boy, his acclaimed project that turns episodes of Asian American history into sophisticated, wonderfully catchy songs.
He arrived in Portland on the eve of the pandemic—and when the world reopened, he found himself craving something quieter and more elemental.
With the help of an Oregon Community Foundation grant, he found it here. His project is deceptively simple: to experience the beauty of Hoyt Arboretum and translate it, in real time, into music.
“Hearing sounds, looking at light”
“It’s erasing the idea of putting out records or working with a label,” Julian says. “It’s strictly just about hearing sounds, looking at light—just the literal elements.”
What he’s after, he explains, is “harmonizing in an extra-musical fashion. Not just as a musician but harmonizing with your surroundings.”
The Process
Here’s how it works.
Julian walks the trails with a portable recording studio—synth, microphone, headphones, and a speaker—plus a tree guide, a music notebook, a waterproof notebook, and those Buddhist teachings.
When he finds a spot with good acoustics and lively birdsong, he sets up, connecting his devices and arranging his books just so.
Then he waits.
Composing with Nature
He settles into the environment, feeling the sun or the wind, watching how one tree leans toward another. And after a few silent moments, he plays the chords that match the moment.
From a distance it looks like a ritual—a slow drift into meditation. And in a way, that’s exactly the point. Julian isn’t writing songs about nature. He’s writing them with it.
Want to see it for yourself? Watch Julian compose a brand-new tune at a picnic table along the Bristlecone Pine Trail.
The Trees That Wrote Their Own Songs
Some of the arboretum’s trees have inspired Julian so much they’ve become the stars of their own tunes. If you’ve caught one of his free Music in the Arboretum summer performances, you may already know their stories. Each one is a stunner.
Consider the Dawn
Take Consider the Dawn—a comeback story for the ages, and we mean that literally. The Dawn Redwood once thrived across the entire Northern Hemisphere, then vanished so completely that scientists believed it had been extinct for millions of years.
Then a small population turned up, alive and well, in a remote corner of China. Today it grows again in North America, with the first viable specimen emerging right here at Hoyt.
Wollemi Pine
Then there’s the Wollemi Pine, one of the rarest trees on Earth, surviving in the wild only in a single hidden grove in Australia. Less than a year after the arboretum acquired and planted a precious few, a freak snowstorm barreled into Portland, threatening to end the story before it began.
They made it. Julian wrote a song about the whole nail-biting saga.
Pacific Yew
And don’t overlook the Pacific Yew. It may be a gangly little understory tree, but its bark is a genuine pharmaceutical miracle, the source of chemotherapy drugs used to treat certain cancers.
This is the one that lingers with people: after his shows, audience members have quietly approached Julian to tell him how those very drugs gave them more time with the people they love.
Come Hear It Live
Haven’t experienced Julian’s music yet? You have one more chance this summer, and it’s free to attend:
Saturday, September 12, 5:30 p.m. — the Wedding Meadow
Bring a friend, bring a blanket, and let the trees set the mood.
About the Author
Hi! I’m Spencer Miller. I listen to a lot of music, but I’d never actually witnessed the creative process until I spent a morning with Julian. It was a perspective-shifting experience that changed the way I listen to music. Oh, and I’m a volunteer at the Arboretum who makes videos like the ones in this blog. I hope you enjoyed them!