Musical taste

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If you're at a concert where scraps from constructing the instruments end up in a soup served afterward, chances are that you're attending a performance of the Vegetable Orchestra. Founded in 1998 and based in Vienna, Austria, the orchestra plays instruments crafted entirely of fresh vegetables, including carrot recorders, pumpkin basses, and leek violins. In fact, vegetables that aren't fresh are rejected as unreliable. The orchestra's 11 members perform an eclectic mix of musical styles; their most recent CD, Automate, includes covers of songs by the electronic band Kraftwerk. Listen to excerpts and view footage of the orchestra shopping for, preparing, and performing on their perishable instruments at vegetableorchestra.org.

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