Portsmouth Sinfonia
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The Portsmouth Sinfonia was a musical group founded by English composer Gavin Bryars and several of his students, while he was teaching at Portsmouth School of Art in Portsmouth, England, in 1970.
Bryars was interested more in experimenting with the nature of music than forming a traditional orchestra, and instead of picking the most competent musicians he could find, he encouraged anyone to join, regardless of talent, ability and experience. The only rules were that everyone had to come for rehearsals, and that people should try their best to get it right and not intentionally try to play badly.
The early repertoire of the Sinfonia was drawn from standard classical repertoire (The Blue Danube waltz, Also Sprach Zarathustra, etc), so that most orchestra members had a rough idea of what the piece, or at least famous parts of it, should sound like; even if they could not play their chosen instrument accurately, they would at least have an idea that they should be going higher at one part then lower at another, and so on. The end result was the ensemble producing not only the correct note but several notes nearby, 'clouds of sound' that gave an average impression of the piece. Many modern composers and musicians found this to be interesting and even profound; the comedic aspects of the music were merely a bonus, though it was used extensively for marketing purposes. Brian Eno was interested enough to join the orchestra, playing clarinet - and subsequently producing their first two albums.
The group tried other experiments as well, such as the orchestra playing the introduction to a Schumann concerto, while a pianist played the opening bars of the Grieg piano concerto.
They were soon invited to play the famous Purcell Room at London's Festival Hall. Their album, Portsmouth Sinfonia Plays the Popular Classics was released in 1973. On May 28, 1974, at the height of their popularity, they played a concert at the Royal Albert Hall with conductor John Farley, which sold thousands of tickets. The orchestra's take on the late 1970s / early 1980s vogue for pop classical medleys, Classical Muddly - produced by their manager Martin Lewis and released by Springtime!/Island Records in 1981 - is particularly characteristic of their unique sound; it was specifically inspired by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra's Hooked on Classics. The record was a Top 40 hit in the UK.
Although the group never formally disbanded, it ceased performing in 1982.
