New music venue aims big by going small in vast west

Winding through the arid green hills, the highway gives way to a rugged gravel road ending at a lonesome gate like so many in this land of ranches. Inside lies an experiment in music, sculpture and how to present art in the 21st century.

Inaugurated this summer, the 4,700-hectare estate called Tippet Rise is the brainchild of a wealthy couple of free spirits who are fulfilling a lifelong goal of creating their own classical music venue.

The Tippet Rise Art Center, hidden some 105 kilometers from Montana's largest city Billings, aims to marry art to the American West's overpowering natural openness, with musicians at times performing outdoors amid sculptures in view of the Beartooth Mountains.