When I tagged along with The Cleveland Orchestra on their tours of Europe and the Canary Islands (1999) and Vienna (2003), I noticed that certain members tended to vanish on free days. Where’d they go? "They’re mountain climbers," violinist Judy Berman explained. "They’re off finding something to climb."

As are Jeremy Dawson, Clare Wallace and James Rees. Cellists all, they have an abiding appreciation for elevation. No longer content with cathedral rooftops, they plan to scale the UK’s highest mountain peaks — where, inspired by the slightly daft sport of extreme ironing, they intend to unpack their instruments and play recitals.

It’s not just for the challenge, though that’s surely the principal reason. It’s to raise funds for charities. Mountain rescue teams, for example.

Further reading:

Cello players reach new heights at the BBC

As a public radio listener, you’re probably well used to the idea of news about music, even if NPR has gradually drifted toward reporting less from the classical world and more from the indie and alternative landscape. But music about news?

Next week (5 June 2008), audiences at the New Generation Arts Festival in Birmingham, England will watch and listen as cellist Julian Lloyd Webber, composer Michael Wolters, and a corps of conservatory students improvise a musical accompaniment to BBC4’s live 7pm newscast.

The idea is both new and old. After all, pianists improvised accompaniment for silent newsreels nearly a century ago. For his part, Webber says it’s strictly an experiment.

More from The Independent.