Didn’t know whether to file this under glasswork or gadgetry, so I’m opting for both. The Glass Orchestra, in Toronto, plays exclusively on glass instruments, most of which the members design and fabricate themselves.
Think of it as musical water glasses, on steroids. They’ve got some MP3s on the site you can listen to, sound a bit like a cross between Windham Hill and Devo. Kinda fun.
Fascinating! To me, the most interesting bit is the tonality of the reed instruments. The resonance of the glass is so totally different from that of brass or silver. The Dot has a sterling silver flute (well, she does have a Masters in flute performance!) and the sound is very, very different from “lesser” metals. Hmmm… I wonder how hard it would be to cast a glass mouthpiece for my trombone?
GcB