On Friday 12th January, 2007, Joshua Bell – a world famous violinist, scheduled to play at a sold out concert in Boston that night, played 6 classical pieces on a $3.5 million handcrafted violin for roughly 43 minutes in a metro station in Washington, D.C. during rush hour.
Dressed in jeans, a long sleeved t-shirt and a baseball cap, Joshua began to play. It was estimated that around 1,097 people passed by that morning, presumably on their way to work. With the violin case at his feet containing a few dollars to get the ball rolling, Joshua only managed to make $32 dollars. Ironically, the tickets for his sold out concert that evening fetched in at over $100 dollars a ticket.
This was part of an experiment in context, perceptions and priorities conducted by The Washington Post.
To see the video footage of Joshua bell playing in the metro station, click here http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hnOPu0_YWhw
