When musician and composer Murray Hidary lost his sister Mariel at the age of 23, grief became his teacher. She had been a dancer who believed movement could heal the body and mind—a belief that eventually shaped MindTravel, Hidary’s live-to-headphones “silent” piano experience performed on beaches, in parks, and under open skies across the country.
A year ago, when I first met him on St. Pete Beach, the audience sat at dusk with wireless headsets, bathed in the amber light of sunset and the gradual blue of twilight. Hidary began, as always, with a single B-flat—his ritual invocation—and played for more than an hour without pause. The effect was communal yet private: hundreds of people walking, listening, and sometimes weeping together in the dark.
Now, twelve months later, MindTravel has evolved into something even larger—a movement of music and mindfulness that has quietly spread across the country.
The expansion of a meditative movement
“It’s a function of the times we’re in,” Hidary says. “The communities have grown in terms of size. It’s really heartwarming.”
What began as a handful of concerts on select coasts has grown to more than 150 performances per year, stretching from California to Florida, with audiences numbering in the thousands. In Florida alone, MindTravel now appears at over 15 beaches, parks, and cities—from St. Pete and Sarasota to Miami and Jacksonville. “I don’t have an exact count anymore,” he laughs. “It’s dozens of places now.”
And the map keeps expanding. Texas and Arizona will soon join the itinerary, bringing Hidary’s blend of improvisation and presence to entirely new landscapes.
Themes of freedom and human connection
Though MindTravel changes with each performance—Hidary never plays from a score—its spirit remains consistent: music as a bridge between people and place. In recent months, he’s revisited earlier themes like freedom while exploring about a dozen new musical ideas that have emerged from his travels.
“I think we are craving human connection in a genuine way,” Hidary tells me. “Taking in nature, the music, and each other—it’s the opposite of the disconnected and tribal way our political landscape has become. The music brings people from across the spectrum.”
The concerts feel less like traditional performances and more like social meditations. As attendees wander barefoot along the sand or settle into the grass, they become part of a larger rhythm—one built from shared stillness rather than applause.
Nature, music, and evolution
For Hidary, MindTravel is not a tour so much as a living organism. “It’s a continual evolution,” he says. “Nature, music, and connection—those ingredients remain perennial. As long as people keep coming, I’ll keep doing it.”
This sense of continuity has become part of the experience itself. In cities like St. Pete, where he returns monthly, the concerts feel like reunions—gatherings of familiar faces under changing skies. The light still fades gradually; the piano still begins with that single B-flat. Only now, the circle has widened.
The next movements: opera, orchestra, and digital horizons
Hidary’s creative energy shows no sign of slowing. Future projects include an orchestral expansion of the MindTravel experience and an opera inspired by Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha—a natural extension of his long fascination with inner journeys and transformation.
And as MindTravel grows, so does its accessibility. The newest development, a digital experience, allows people to join virtually—listening live from their own environments while still connected to others. Together and apart, as it were.
Whether on a quiet Florida beach or through a pair of headphones hundreds of miles away, MindTravel continues to invite listeners into the same simple act: to stop, to breathe, and to listen—not just to the piano, but to one another.
