Anarchestra’s mission is to expand musical participation, experimentation, and empowerment for musicians and non-musicians alike.
Anarchestra is two things: first, it is a group of approximately 200 instruments and a collection of works composed for them, almost all of which were designed, constructed, and written by musician and artist Andrew Thurlow between 2000 and 2020. The instruments were designed to liberate players from preconceived notions of music and music performance. Together, they represent the largest work of outsider musicianship since the works of Harry Partch.
Second - and more importantly - Anarchestra is the thousands of people who play and have played music on these instruments (and all are welcome), as well as the socio-musical ideas that inform their playing. Beyond the instruments themselves, Anarchestra exists as a type of new folk music: a philosophy of instrument making and playing that removes the distinction between musicians / non-musicians and is open to all. Anarchestra does not just invite everyone to play music; it asks people to take an active role in defining what music is, both for themselves and for society.
