Weather update: This event is cancelled due to rain and wet trails. We are working on rescheduling for another day; stay tuned for updates! If you are registered for the event, you will receive an email with details.
Brought to you by the Auburn Symphony and Placer Land Trust
When: Sunday, April 26th, 2026, 4:00 – 7:00 pm
Where: Laursen Bear River Preserve, North Auburn. Directions will be provided upon registration.
Come experience “Symphony Under the Sky” – a magical evening where music and nature meet! This special collaboration between the Auburn Symphony and Placer Land Trust invites you to enjoy the beauty of live music in the great outdoors. Stroll along the preserve’s easy walking trail and discover musician ensembles tucked among the trees. You might hear Vivaldi drifting across the meadow or Gershwin just around the bend — each turn revealing a new musical surprise.
We will provide you with a trail map when you check in, and from there, you are free to walk the trail at your own pace, pausing at your leisure to enjoy the music. Bring a picnic dinner or choose from a meal option provided by BriarPatch Food Co-op (details below!) to enjoy at the meadow close to the parking area where we will have more musicians. Relax with friends and family and soak in the tunes!
Cost: You choose your price! We want this event to be accessible to all, so there is no set ticket price. If you’re able, please consider donating at whatever level is meaningful to you. All donations will be shared between The Auburn Symphony and Placer Land Trust. To donate, click here.
Schedule:
- The event runs from 4:00 to 7:00 pm — Music, art, nature, and community!
- Special feature — art pieces from Placer High School students will be on display in the event meadow
- Please arrive by 5:00 pm to allow for enough time to walk the trails.
- 4:00 to 6:00 pm — There will be three musical ensembles along the trail and an interactive percussion section to enjoy
- 6:30 pm — We will have a brief program in the main meadow
- 5:00 to 7:00 pm — A brass quintet will be playing in the main meadow close to the parking lot. (if you are unable to walk the trail, you can still come to hear this group!)
What to bring:
- Your own picnic dinner or a picnic box from the Auburn BriarPatch Food Co-op! Just click here to order, then you pick up on the way to the event!
- Folding chairs and/or picnic blanket. If you would like to purchase a Symphony Under the sky picnic blanket, click here! (Pre-sales are closed, but blankets will be available for $25 purchase at the event.)
- Dress for success! Wear weather appropriate clothes and closed toe shoes
- Refillable water bottles
- Bug spray
Accessibility: This is a moderate trail with about 1.5 miles of walking on dirt and uneven terrain. There are a couple of steeper slopes and two narrow canal crossings. We do not recommend carrying much with you. We will have a shuttle from the overflow parking lot to get folks to the main parking lot.
To get to the main meadow from the parking lot, guests must walk a short dirt trail of a couple hundred feet with a small slope and some uneven terrain. We will have a UTV on site, so please let us know if you will need assistance getting to the main meadow. For this and any other questions, please contact Elia by email.
*Please note, the trails are not ADA accessible, and we do not recommend strollers on the canal crossings.
Please thoroughly read the PLT Safety Guidelines. If you are not comfortable or able to comply with the safety guidelines, we respectfully ask that you don’t sign up.
Registration:
- The deadline to sign up is the Monday prior to the event, but this event is likely to fill up fast! Once full, we will have a waitlist option available at the same registration button here.
- Space is limited! Please only register if you will be attending so that you don’t take a spot away from someone else.
- Registrant info will be shared with the Auburn Symphony as co-hosts of the event.
- By registering for this event, you are consenting to have your photograph taken and possibly used in publications including social media and newsletter.
- No dogs are allowed unless they are service animals due to the potential conflicts with livestock and wildlife.
Important Information will be emailed after registration. Check your spam folder if you do not receive the email within 15 minutes of registering.
About Laursen Bear River Preserve
This preserve includes a working cattle ranch, protects critical unfragmented oak woodlands in the Bear River watershed, and is part of one of the last relatively “wild” areas in western Placer County. Learn more about this beautiful preserve here.
Important Note: Laursen Bear River South Preserve, including the roads surrounding it, is not open to the public. Please help us respect the neighborhoods around this preserve by only visiting during scheduled guided activities that you are registered for. Trespassers will be prosecuted. Registrant info will be shared with the Auburn Symphony as co-hosts of the event.
Thanks to our supporting partner
