Dave Soldier

Dave Soldier (born David Sulzer; November 6, 1956) is an American neuroscientist at Columbia University who is better known as a composer and musician in a variety of genres including avant-garde, classical, and jazz.

Music by animals

Many of Dave Soldier's works are collaborative. This includes collaborating with animals such as with the Thai Elephant Orchestra which he co-founded with conservationist Richard Lair, based on the observation that elephants are said to enjoy listening to music; however, it had not been known if they would perform on musical instruments. This ensemble consists of up to 14 elephants at the Thai Elephant Conservation Center near Lampang, and is listed by Guinness as the world's largest animal orchestra, with a combined weight of approximately 23 tonnes (50,706 lb). He built giant musical instruments on which he trained the elephants to improvise: they eventually played on 22 instruments. The orchestra has released three CDs and play an abbreviated concert daily at the Conservation Center.