One of the most unusual orchestras in the world is coming to Mexico to perform in next month’s Morelia Music Festival.
Instead of guitars and drums, the First Vienna Vegetable Orchestra plays Cuke-o-phones, radish-marimbas, carrot flutes, pumpkin basses, leek violins, and other freshly made instruments.
The First Vienna Vegetable Orchestra blows carved-out carrots, taps turnips, claps with eggplant cymbals, twangs on rhubarb fibers, and rustles parsley and greens, all in the creation of an experimental sound that eventually winds up – literally – in the audience’s stomach.
The Vegetable Orchestra was founded in 1998, and consists of 11 musicians, a sound engineer, a video artist and, of course, a cook.
The instruments are made from scratch just one hour prior to each performance using the freshest vegetables available, then all ninety pounds of vegetables are cooked into a soup following the performance.
The Morelia Music Festival runs from November 13-29. It has grown in stature since its founding in 1989 and is now an important showcase for Mexican and international musicians. Visit festivalmorelia.mx to see the full schedule and reserve tickets.