As a 7-year-old, Heidi Joosten learned to play the Celtic harp, with “The Skye Boat Song” among her first tunes. 

Decades later, she’s conducting the orchestra for the traveling show “Outlander in Concert: Echoes Through the Highlands,” which features “The Skye Boat Song.” The event comes to the Mesa Arts Center on Sunday, Nov. 15, and to the Fox Tucson Theatre on Friday, Nov. 20.

The concert tour pairs live musicians and vocalists with cinematic visuals from all eight seasons, projected on a large screen. Traditional instruments, including bagpipes, fiddles, and the hurdy-gurdy, join the orchestra to recreate the sounds that have become inseparable from the series. A hurdy-gurdy is a stringed instrument that produces a sound using a hand-cranked, rosined wheel that rubs against the strings, functioning like a mechanical violin. 

Based on the bestselling novels by Scottsdale resident Diana Gabaldon, “Outlander” recently ended its eight-season run after more than a decade on television. Audiences watched the romantic time-travel drama about Claire and Jamie Fraser.

The score by Emmy Award-winning composer Bear McCreary blended traditional Celtic influences with sweeping orchestral arrangements.

Joosten agreed, saying the music stands on its own, without the images fans know well.

“As we know from his general library of music, Bear McCreary is an absolute genius when it comes to capturing emotion,” said Joosten, who is also the tour’s music director.  

“When it’s epic, it’s really epic. When it’s heartfelt, you feel it. When it’s romantic, you just feel so immersed in everything that’s going on. I’ve been such a big fan of the show, big fan of the music, and it’s just really exciting to be on this side of it now.” 

“Outlander” begins in Scotland before traveling to France, Jamaica and colonial America. According to Joosten, McCreary’s music evolves alongside that journey, reflecting the cultures and landscapes that shape the characters’ lives.

“Not only do we have bagpipes immersed within the orchestra, when it moves over to the Americas, you definitely feel like it has that colonial America feel,” she said. “Every time I study the score, I find something more about it that I love.”

The enthusiasm surrounding the concert has already proven that “Outlander’s” fan base remains passionate. The production made its world premiere in Edinburgh, Scotland, in May, where it played to a sold-out audience from 40 countries. 

“People loved it,” Joosten said. “There were members of the cast from the show who came, and they had an amazing time.”

Part of “Outlander’s” enduring popularity comes from its ability to balance larger-than-life storytelling with deeply human emotions. Beneath the time travel, historical wars and sweeping romances, characters face impossible decisions, navigating love, loss and loyalty.

“I think there’s so much of the show that is truly human alongside the supernatural,” Joosten said. “Watching the characters interact with each other while faced with really significant decisions, both exciting, terrifying and life-changing, those aren’t that different than what we face in real life.”

The concert doesn’t attempt to recreate every episode. Instead, it serves as a curated celebration of the journey, highlighting beloved characters, unforgettable moments and fan-favorite music.

“It’s really just a celebration of this incredible show that so many people have come to know and love,” Joosten said.

In some ways, Joosten’s story mirrors the spirit of the music she’ll conduct. She was raised in Cameron, Wisconsin, a small town of roughly 1,500 residents. Though she isn’t Scottish by heritage, Celtic traditions were woven into the community’s identity. Her hometown’s high school band was known as the Cameron Highlanders, complete with drum majors who marched in kilts.

“That music and culture have always been something I’ve definitely loved and admired from afar,” she said.