Gig in the Dump:
Classical Music is Rubbish

Video: Click here to watch the Gig in the Dump >

The beautiful music of Elgar could be heard amongst scrap metal, bin bags and shrieking gulls yesterday as players from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra played a recital in their most unusual venue ever – a London rubbish dump.



And instead of treasured centuries-old violins and shining trumpets, the musicians were playing bizarre instruments made from junk, including violins built from artificial legs, a cello created from an old crossbow and a clarinet that started life as garden hosepipe.

The instruments show some of the ways the 434 million tonnes of rubbish thrown out in Britain every year (enough to fill the orchestra’s regular venue, the Albert Hall, every two hours) could be recycled and reused in innovative ways.



Stephen Bell, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conductor, comments:

'This is the first time in our history that we've deliberately set out to play a rubbish gig, but we're highlighting a serious environmental message. Every one of us in Britain throws away half a tonne of rubbish every year and only a quarter of it gets recycled. But this recital shows that one man’s rubbish could easily be another man's violin and will hopefully make people think twice before they bin their waste.'

Video: Click here to watch the Gig in the Dump >

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