Via unconsumption:

Twenty-year-old David Rocha dreams of one day becoming a professional violinist, but for now he plays for the community of Sao Miguel, a poor neighborhood outside Brazil’s largest city, Sao Paolo.

The violin he uses is fashioned out of old wood that he found at a garbage dump. The drawers of an old closet are now being used to play symphonies by Bach and Beethoven.

Rocha learned to make string instruments at a free workshop in his neighborhood’s social center.

With no money to buy good quality wood, Rocha began scavenging through the dumps near his home.

He has inspired other students to do the same.

Now, Rocha’s hand-made instruments are selling for up to $500 dollars and he says he feels honored to be able to help the environment by recycling trash into art.

(via Classical music made from garbage — CBS News)

Intriguing iPhone use, per NYT: digital music making. 

Will mobile phone orchestras supplant traditional instrumental ensembles?

Will such orchestras resonate with audiences – and with classically trained musicians and musicians of all music genres?

Key quote from the story: “… anyone with a cellphone could become a musician.”

For the classical music industry, the ability for anyone to create music on mobile phones could help to enhance the general public’s overall appreciation for music and the music-making process.

A potentially useful audience-development tool? Perhaps.

Will you download a Smule app (or other companies’ apps) onto your phone?