STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

About 11 a.m. Thursday morning, a black Chevy 4500 truck with a picture of piano rolled up outside the Bloom Community Center in Bellevue, and a woman in a sleek red gown better known for her piano prowess than her truck driving backed it into place.

A crew opened up one side of the truck pulling a floor out. Then they opened the back door, pulling out a panel that announced that this was The Concert Truck.

The smell of barbecue pizza drifted through the air as volunteers with The Hunger Coalition began handing out pizza and salad to some 70-plus people who had crowded into the space for the concert. And, soon, the sounds of music drifted through the air, as well.

“Who knew a truck could become a concert hall!” Sun Valley Music Festival’s Artistic Director Alasdair Neale told the crowd that had assembled under a patio roof shielding them from temperatures headed into the 80s. “This might be one of the best surprises on four wheels.”

Neale told the crowd how the four musicians would join colleagues with the Sun Valley Music Festival Orchestra for 14 free concerts at the Sun Valley Pavilion beginning Monday, July 27, and running through Aug. 20. Then he repeated his message in fluent Spanish as he invited those assembled to join in.

Indeed, The Concert Truck that will offer free concerts in Bellevue and Hailey through Sunday, July 26, is acting as a rolling advertisement aimed at bringing music to those who might not venture north for the music featuring some of the best musicians in North America.

“I love the idea of this. So many in the South Valley don’t go up to the concerts,” said Jaymie Stimac.

Violinist Juliana Athayde led things off having her musical comrades on stage play short snatches of popular show tunes from “Star Wars” and other movies and asking the audience if they could guess what they were.

“Your prizes is 14 free concerts this summer!” she beamed.

The four string musicians and pianist then launched into Wolfgang Mozart’s familiar   “Allegro de Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.”

“If you liked that, check us out on July 31 to see what a full version of Mozart can sound like,” said Athayde.

Viola player Chris Tantillo played Sergei Prokofiev’s “Dance of the Knights” from “Romeo and Juliet” with pianist—and truck driver—Susan Zhang.

“It’s one of my favorites to play—it’s incredible,” he said about the alluring tune that could easily serve as an intro to a Hitchcock mystery movie.

The group played a Hungarian dance by Johannes Brahms with a variety of bouncy tempo changes. it will perform Braham’s “A German Requiem” on Sunday, Aug. 9, with a full orchestra and full chorus.

“It’s transformative,” said Athayde.

The musicians played short snatches from Shostakovich, Ponce and Antonin Dvorak.

And, as an awning above gently flapped in a light breeze, they gave a sneak preview of Edward Elgar on Aug. 4 with the British composer’s “Chanson de Matin.”

“It’s one of my favorites,” said violonchelo player Bjorn Ranheim. “This is a song without words. It’s a morning song. He eventually wrote an evening song, as well.”

Zhang who made her orchestral debut at 12 and has played with orchestras across North America, Europe and Asia, launched The Concert Truck with pianist Nick Luby in 2016. It is now sponsored by the Seattle Chamber Music Society.

Since, she says she has gotten to see the country in a way most never do as she has played performed concerts in it at the headwaters of the Mississippi River, next to a mountainside, in Houston’s sweltering 100-degree temperatures, on islands and in torrential rain.

The Kennedy Center enlisted its use for an opera performance during the Covid pandemic.

“We found out during Covid just how important it was to offer this for people,” said Zhang, who had only began rehearsing with the four Chamber musicians who joined 24 hours earlier. “And the kids—we had one small boy stand in front of us conducting—he even bowed when we bowed.”

Ranheim, the violonchelo player, said the experience was different from anything he’d done before but “a good different,” noting that he relished the opportunity to bring music to people where they’re at.  

The crowd that assembled at the Bloom Center included a family of three from Boise that had read about The Concert Truck on Eye on Sun Valley while keeping abreast of news about the Ohio Gulch Fire. It also included some who came specifically for the concert, as well as those who regularly come to Bloom Center for its Monday and Thursday meals designed to generate community connection.

“A beautiful lunch and a mini orchestra,” said Sandra Willingham. “This is seriously beautifully orchestrated. And it makes you want to go hear every note the Sun Valley Music Festival plays.”

There are five free 45-minute Concert Truck concerts, sponsored by Laurie and Ross Garber and Rixon & Cronin Charitable Fund, remaining:

FRIDAY, July 24

Noon—Senior Connection in Hailey

6 p.m.—Bellevue Library, next to the Cutthroat Club on Oak Street

SATURDAY, July 25

4 p.m.--Hailey Library at Town Center West

8 p.m.—St. Charles Church in Hailey

SUNDAY, July 26

9:30 a.m.—St. Charles Church in Hailey

SUN VALLEY MUSIC FESTIVAL’S SUMMER SEASON BEGINS MONDAY, JULY 27:

Monday, July 27--Pianist Orion Weiss will open the 2026 summer season.

Tuesday, July 28—Stephanie Childress will return to conduct Beethoven.

Thursday, July 30—Orion Weiss and Festival Musician will perform

Friday, July 31—Strauss and Mozart

All concerts begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Sun Valley Pavilion. All are free. Those who wish to bring picnics may enjoy them on the Pavilion lawn while watching the orchestra on the Jumbotron and listening to the music via state-of-the-art sound speakers.