Ambitious Western US music center plans premiere

Tippet Rise, an ambitious music center in the rolling hills of Montana, on Tuesday announced a second season that will include a premiere by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Aaron Jay Kernis.

The Tippet Rise Art Center opened last year on a sweeping ranch in the western US state, aiming to bring world-class classical musicians to a venue in nature with concerts attended by no more than 150 people at a time.

The estate - which features original sculptures, communal dinners and, this year, a new 5.5 kilometers of hiking and bicycle trails - is funded by free-spirited philanthropists Peter and Cathy Halstead, who sell tickets for just $10.