Orchestral performances are typically reserved for more formal occasions… with some etiquette implied. An audience member is expected to dress nicely and sit still, only applauding at the end of a number.
Well, what if we scrapped all the formalities and treated orchestral performances like heavy metal concerts?
The audience at the recent Truck Festival in Oxfordshire did just that. While the Oxford Symphony Orchestra was onstage, the large crowd organized a series of mosh pits, and the surreal clips have been making the rounds on TikTok.
In one video, we see the crowd moshing to John Williams’ “Indiana Jones Theme,” and in another the crowd jumps up and down to Gioachino Rossini’s “William Tell Overture.”
And it’s not just brutes randomly smashing into each other. Rather, the crowd became a physical orchestra of its own, collaborating as a group so that the pit started churning right as the music hit a turnaround. In yet another clip, the crowd synchronized into pirouettes during a more twinkly, ballet-like part of the movement.
Captioned one of the TikTokers who filmed the proceedings: “This is it, the most British thing … ever caught on camera.”
Of course, an open-air festival is much more conducive to an orchestral mosh. Slamming into people during Beethoven’s Ninth probably won’t go over too well at the opera house or theater. But one can dream.
Watch the TikTok videos of the Truck Festival orchestra moshers below.
@camburnett_ best video i’ve ever taken tbh #fyp #video #truckfest #oxfordsymphony #indianajones
@suehma1
@truck_festival Replying to @Liam it gets even better… 🩰 #oxfordsymphonyorchestra #truckfestival #truckfestival2023 #ukfestival #indiefestival