At the Dec. 9 orchestral performance at Reynolds Industries Theater, ushers will hand out crayons and sing-a-longs will commence, and the audience will be encouraged to keep their phones on to “drown out any dreadful noise that might emanate from the stage.”
To be sure, it will not be your average concert. But the Really Terrible Orchestra of the Triangle isn’t your average orchestra either.
Formed in May 2008 after conductor W. Sands Hobgood learned of Edinburgh’s Really Terrible Orchestra, RTOOT (capitalize of, not the) has grown into a 50-piece ensemble with members of all ages (the youngest is seven) and of all musical and professional backgrounds. The name, however, is a bit misleading. The orchestra is less cacophonous and more, as its Web site put its, “des enfants terribles.”
“They resemble very much a regular classical concert but they don’t have nearly the same level of seriousness,” assistant conductor Lyle Smith said. “We are very purposely self-deprecating.”
Indeed, this playfulness pervades almost every aspect of RTOOT, right down to the program, which includes chapters of famous books and coloring patterns in case the audience gets bored.
But that doesn’t mean RTOOT doesn’t take its music seriously. The humor becomes a tool with which to break down the stigma of classical music, presenting it in a relaxed, accessible—if not perfect—atmosphere.
“We think of ourselves as a zany group but really dedicated to classical music, doing the best we can—which is sometimes pretty decent,” Hobgood said. RTOOT practices weekly—Hobgood said it’s a necessity out of how bad they are. But Lyle said the practice and dedication of RTOOT is no different from that of the North Carolina Symphony, even if the end result is a bit less polished.
He adds the true phenomenon of RTOOT is how a disparate group of professional musicians, lawyers and business people have come together to form a community, each shouldering the burden of the group in their own way.
“The process of approaching music is an equalizer,” Lyle said. “It becomes about the music, not the individual performer.”
RTOOT will perform in Reynolds Industries Theater Dec. 9 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $7 and can be purchased at the Duke University box office. RTOOT is also collecting unwrapped gifts for the Toys for Tots program at the event.
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