London Vegetable Orchestra
London Vegetable Orchestra | |
|---|---|
| Genres | Cover versions |
| Instrument(s) | Carrot recorder, courgette trumpets, butternut squash trombones, pumpkin drums and aubergine castanets, amongst others |
| Years active | 2009-present |
| Website | londonvegetableorchestra |
The London Vegetable Orchestra is a British musical ensemble that fabricates and subsequently plays musical instruments made out of vegetables.[1][2][3] It is the only vegetable orchestra in the United Kingdom.[4]
The orchestra was founded circa 2009 by recorder-maker Tim Cranmore, who took a bet on that he could not carve a recorder from a carrot; he did create one, and in so doing founded the ensemble.[1] Many of the original members were students at the Royal Academy of Music at the time.[5] As of 2016, members of the orchestra were also professional musicians with either the London Symphony Orchestra or the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.[1] Like the Long Island Vegetable Orchestra, the group was inspired by The Vegetable Orchestra.[6][7]
Instruments created by the group include courgette trumpets, butternut squash trombones, pumpkin drums and aubergine castanets.[1] Other vegetables played include bell peppers, potatoes and parsnips.[8] The group must use fresh vegetables, created on the day of performance, to ensure the best sound quality.[9] In 2017 the ensemble collaborated with LG, who demonstrated the strength of their products by refrigerating vegetable for a week before the orchestra used them to make instruments.[10] The group has performed on Countryfile, Russell Howards Good News,[11] This Morning,[12] Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway,[4] Room 101,[13] amongst others.
The group plays a wide range of music from Greensleeves to Billie Jean (punning on both names: 'Greens-leaves' and 'Billie Auber-jean').[1] In October 2024, the group undertook a one-off performance entitled 'The 'Farmonic' Orchestra' at the Other Palace Theatre in London, sponsored by Ginsters and raising money for The Trussell Trust.[14] In December 2024 a video of the group performing Jingle Bells on Radio 3 went viral on Instagram.[15] The performance quickly gained over 11 million views.[4] In April 2025 the group performed at Windsor Castle and Charles III joined them in an impromptu, informal performance of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star on a carrot recorder.[8][16][17]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Singh, Maanvi (2016-05-27). "Check Out These Musicians Who Literally Play With Their Food". NPR. Retrieved 2025-04-07.
- ^ "Gallery: tuning up with the London Vegetable Orchestra". Gramophone. Retrieved 2025-04-07.
- ^ Ramnarine, Tina K. (2017). Global Perspectives on Orchestras: Collective Creativity and Social Agency. Oxford University Press. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-19-935222-7.
- ^ a b c "London Vegetable Orchestra". londonvegetableorchestra.com. Retrieved 2025-04-11.
- ^ "London Vegetable Orchestra". londonvegetableorchestra.com. Retrieved 2025-04-07.
- ^ Stein, Eliot. "Vienna's unpredictable Vegetable Orchestra". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2025-04-07.
- ^ Correal, Annie (2017-08-15). "Cue the Carrots! Strike Up the Squash!". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-04-07.
- ^ a b "Britain's King Charles joins vegetable orchestra in humorous Windsor Castle musical event". in-cyprus.philenews.com. 2025-04-07. Retrieved 2025-04-07.
- ^ "London Vegetable Orchestra – Video of the day - Trademagazin". trademagazin.hu. 2017-06-14. Retrieved 2025-04-07.
- ^ "LG and London Vegetable Orchestra keep it Fresh this World's Environment Day". www.lgcorp.com. Retrieved 2025-04-11.
- ^ "Musicians know how to handle their vegetables. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 2025-04-11.
- ^ Could you play a tune on a carrot? Meet the incredible London Vegetable Orchestra where every instrument is made entirely from vegetables! 🥕 | By This Morning | Facebook. Retrieved 2025-04-11 – via www.facebook.com.
- ^ Wheeler, Paul (2012-01-27), "Episode #12.2", Room 101, Frank Skinner, Gabby Logan, Sarah Millican, retrieved 2025-04-11
- ^ Edwards, Lauren (2024-10-11). "Musicians play instruments made out of pasty vegetables in new West End show". Wales Online. Retrieved 2025-04-07.
- ^ "La improvisada actuación de Carlos III tocando la flauta zanahoria junto a la Orquesta Londinense de Verduras". ELMUNDO (in Spanish). 2025-04-04. Retrieved 2025-04-07.
- ^ "From crown to carrot: King Charles give a rendition of Twinkle, twinkle little star". BBC News. 2025-04-03. Retrieved 2025-04-07.
- ^ "King Charles plays musical carrot with vegetable orchestra at Windsor Castle". Sky News. Retrieved 2025-04-07.
