Enjoy some good, clean fun with the Bathtub Orchestra
A quirky band is bringing cheer wherever they pop up in Bath.
The Bathtub Orchestra will take on anyone who plays an instrument, with members aged from their early 20s to late 60s, and their upbeat repertoire covers everything from The Beatles to Lady Gaga.
Even lockdown couldn’t stop them from rehearsing and now those all dodgy Zoom calls have paid off in the joy they’re bringing the people of Bath.
Musical director Edward Bettella descxribed how the orchestra got started: “Back in 2018, one of the guys I teach piano to said he wanted people to play with - something bigger than a normal band, but playing pop music. He asked me if I wanted to conduct it and I said ‘yeah, why not?’
“I can’t remember precisely where the name came from, but it was one of our members who came up with it. We wanted something with ‘Bath’ in it obviously, but also something informal - nothing too stuffy.
“So we put out a few local ads looking for members and we started off with around 15 people. Since then, it has doubled in size and we really don’t need to advertise a lot - people tend to find us.
“A lot of our members used to play instruments and have picked them up again in later life, or else they’re in their 20s and work has taken over a bit, but they still want to play. We have such a broad range of ages and instruments.”
By day, Edward is a piano teacher and part-time composer of pop and classical music. Over the past few years, he has been asked to write parts for some unusual instruments.
“We had a bass clarinet turn up to rehearsal recently and that was something I’ve never written for before. We have a lot of big jazz band instruments, like saxophones, but also a string section and a growing rhythm section with guitars and keyboards.
“It’s a mini-community and I think that really emerged during lockdown. We kept going through the pandemic with online rehearsals and so many of our members said it was one of the highlights of their week,” he said.
All in all, the Bathtub Orchestra can cause quite a stir when it wants to. Like last month, when it performed beside the canal in Widcombe - delighting passersby.
“One of our members lives beside the canal and her decking is just about big enough to fit all of us so we decided to put on a free performance, in conjunction with a local cafe. So many people passing by stop to watch, it’s really lovely.
Claudia May was walking along the canal during the performance and stopped to watch. She posted a video on Twitter and said: “How on Earth is Bath THIS wholesome?!
What a lovely surprise on our Sunday stroll.”
There are plenty more gigs on the calendar for 2022. You can catch the orchestra at Westonbirt Arboretum on Saturday, November 26, Bath Christmas Market on Tuesday, November 29 and at Larkhalls URC Church for their Christmas concert on Saturday, December 10.
They’ve also booked a collaboration with the Ramshackle Orchestra at Christchurch in Bath next March.