They is not your average orchestra.
Dressed in bright colours, they play music from Harry Potter, there are 14 flute players but not many violinists, and one of them is a British Airways pilot.
This is The People鈥檚 Orchestra, a band of talented amateurs from all over the Midlands who come together for the sheer joy of playing music.
Sixty-odd strong and run by volunteers, TPO is based in West Bromwich but performs throughout the region, with a concert of film music coming up at Birmingham鈥檚 Adrian Boult Hall.
TPO was founded two years ago by Sarah Marshall, now the orchestra鈥檚 managing director.
She set it up with Andy Sandham, her daughter Amy鈥檚 French horn teacher, and the help of professional conductor Iain Masson.
Classed as a charity, six months ago it hit crisis point when its office at The Public in West Bromwich was closed by Sandwell Council.
But now its future is secure after winning a 拢100,000 grant from the Arts Council.
Sarah says: 鈥淭he grant is fantastic news and means we can push on with an exciting artistic programme.
鈥淥ur existence has been very hand-to-mouth but now we can employ two managers.
鈥淭he idea for TPO came during one of Amy鈥檚 French horn lessons in my lounge.
鈥淪he was in the Birmingham Schools鈥 Symphony Orchestra but it wasn鈥檛 really her cup of tea. She liked some of the music they played but she had long periods where she had nothing to do.
鈥淲e realised there鈥檚 a gap in the market for people who like to play for fun. People who learned instruments when they were younger up to a Grade 7 or 8 level, but didn鈥檛 go on to music schools or join professional orchestras.
鈥淭hey may not have played for years while their instruments gathered dust in the attic.
鈥淲e want to get these people playing again.
鈥淪ome of our members have not played for 20 years or so. They find they鈥檙e a bit rusty at first, but it鈥檚 like riding a bike, it comes back after a few rehearsals. A lot of people have surprised themselves by how good they are.
鈥淭he orchestra has really grown quickly. We launched with just one member, my daughter Amy, in April 2012. But by November we had 35 members and performed our first concert at Adrian Boult Hall. Six weeks later we played a sold-out show in Symphony Hall.
鈥淲e have about 65 members now but would like more than 100.
鈥淲e used to have quite formal auditions which scared some people off, so now we just ask them to come along to rehearsals and sit with the orchestra. After two or three weeks, the conductor decides if they are suitable, but we very rarely turn people away.
鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 pick just two flute players, so we have 14. It鈥檚 surprisingly balanced though, everyone listens to each other and works very well together.
鈥淚t looks on paper like it wouldn鈥檛 work but it does.
鈥淲e have eight members in the horn section but are still looking for trombone and tuba players.
鈥淲e have a full set of saxophones, half a dozen clarinets and bassoons.
鈥淲e鈥檙e looking for more percussion players, they seem difficult to find.
鈥淓ven more rare are violinists, which is baffling. There must be lots of them out there. That鈥檚 our mission, to boost our string section.鈥
The members come from throughout the Midlands and range in age from 15 to 71. Professions include doctors, teachers, music teachers and even a British Airways pilot playing the trumpet.
鈥淭he main thing is, it鈥檚 a lot of fun,鈥 says Sarah. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e a good bunch and very supportive of each other. They do things like bake cakes for concerts.
鈥淲e want to be accessible for audiences, to get rid of this idea that going to see an orchestra is something stuffy and elite. It鈥檚 really not.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 wear black suits and bow ties, we鈥檙e very colourful. Each section has their own coloured T-shirt with a picture of their instrument on it. The brass section is yellow, strings are green, woodwind is orange and percussion is blue.
鈥淵ou can see from a distance that we鈥檙e The People鈥檚 Orchestra.
鈥淚f people don鈥檛 have their own instrument, we can lend them one. Don鈥檛 let that put you off.
鈥淲e play popular music like film scores, the music for games like World of Warcraft and TV theme tunes like Match of the Day and the Formula One theme 鈥 we had to get permission from Fleetwood Mac to do that. We鈥檙e prepared to have a go at anything.鈥
TPO has an office at West Bromwich Town Hall, run by volunteers.
One of the charity鈥檚 aims is to help local unemployed people get back to work, by giving them experience in administration, marketing and social media.
TPO rehearses every Sunday at Trefoil House in Birmingham city centre.
It is planning a flashmob event in Birmingham city centre soon to raise awareness of the orchestra.
It is also be performing at the Birmingham Mail鈥檚 Pride of Birmingham Awards at the Town Hall on September 26.
Its next concert is on June 22 at Adrian Boult Hall in Birmingham. Film Greats includes music from Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Jurassic Park and Schindler鈥檚 List, plus the world premiere of Flight of the Pegasus, composed specially for the orchestra by John Koutselinis.
鈥淗e found us through Linkedin and sent us the piece, arranged specially for us with more flute parts! It will sound fantastic.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to do the best we can with the piece, but need more string players to do it justice.鈥
* Tickets for the June 22 concert are available by ringing 0121 569 2616 or visiting
* The People鈥檚 Orchestra will be playing live at the inaugural Pride of Birmingham awards on September 26.
The awards, organised by the Birmingham Mail in association with Virgin Trains, will be a star-studded event at the city鈥檚 historic Town Hall.
They will celebrate the courage, caring and compassion of remarkable people who make a difference.
As well as the orchestra, celebrities from showbiz and sport, rock and pop, film and TV will join host Gaby Roslin on the night.
Among those helping to present the awards will be Black Sabbath guitar hero Tony Iommi, BRIT Awards nominee Laura Mvula, pop wizard Roy Wood, soul queen Ruby Turner and UB40 legend Ali Campbell.
Sporting stars will include Aston Villa legends Stiliyan Petrov, whose battle against cancer has been an inspiration in itself, Dion Dublin and Ian Taylor.
From film and TV come celebrity chef Glynn Purnell, James and Oliver Phelps 鈥 the Weasley twins from the Harry Potter movies 鈥 and Doctors favourites Ian Kelsey and Lorna Laidlaw.
Additional celebrities have yet to be announced, and there will be surprise special guests on the night, plus familiar faces beaming in by video.
More live music will come from the award-winning Black Voices, whose founder Carol Pemberton has just been made an MBE.
Pride of Birmingham will benefit a 拢1 million campaign to set up Europe鈥檚 first Rare Diseases Centre at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, teaming medics and researchers from the QE, Childrens Hospital and Birmingham University.
The Pride of Birmingham awards will be open to the public, and details of tickets will appear soon. Keep up to date with news on facebook and twitter by checking out #PrideofBrum.
The Birmingham Post has launched a free app for iPad and iPhone.聽
