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An orchestra with inept players sold out the Royal Albert Hall

Ellsworth Toohey
Jul 20, 2026
∙ Paid
Diliff / CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

In 1970, composer Gavin Bryars and a group of students at the Portsmouth School of Art formed the Portsmouth Sinfonia, an orchestra open to anyone regardless of talent. Trained musicians could join too, as long as they picked an instrument entirely new to them. The rules: show up for rehearsals, and try your best…

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