Est 1923

BBC Four presents Scrapheap Orchestra

Charlotte Smith
Friday, December 2, 2011

The BBC Concert Orchestra takes a bow at the BBC Proms (BBC/Chris Christodoulou)
Cellos in concert at the BBC Proms (BBC/Chris Christodoulou)
Charles Hazlewood and the BBC Concert Orchestra on the steps of the Royal Albert
Andy Wheeldon’s scrap flutes (BBC/Georgia Yiapanis)
Woodwind maker Andy Wheeldon works on a clarinet (photo: BBC/Georgia Yiapanis)
Percussion expert Paul Jeffries works on the bass drum (photo: BBC/Love Producti
A french horn made from scrap (BBC/Richard Cannon)
An assistant to brass maker Andy Taylor poses with the finished tuba (BBC/Chris
A completed double bass (photo: BBC/Richard Cannon)
The finished cello made from a Jaguar car bonnet (photo: BBC/Richard Cannon)
String expert Ben Hebbert works on a cello made out of a classic Jaguar car bonn
A finished violin made from scrap (photo: BBC/Richard Cannon)
Violins waiting for the next stage of the production line (photo: BBC/Georgia Yi
String instrument expert Robert Cain works on the violins (photo: BBC/Georgia Yi
Charles Hazlewood with the BBC Concert Orchestra and their scrap instruments (ph

BBC Four will air a 90-minute documentary on Sunday, December 11 (9.30pm GMT), following the quest to build an orchestra of 44 instruments entirely from scrap in 11 weeks. Conductor Charles Hazlewood challenged top instrument makers from around the UK with the task of turning broken furniture and the contents of road-side skips into musical instruments. Hazlewood and the BBC Concert Orchestra performed Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture on the scrap instruments at this year's BBC Proms. You can see photographs and learn more about the documentary by launching the gallery view - simply click the first image below.

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