AN ORCHESTRA that volunteered to play for shoppers at the Victoria Centre were asked to leave after complaints from two shops.
The Robin Hood Youth Orchestra was booked to play from 10am until 1pm on Saturday but was told to finish at about 11am, having played for around half an hour.
The group had to leave the shopping centre, which is run by intu, but were taken in from the cold by the Harvester in Trinity Square, where they had to improvise to finish their set.
Ruth Huxtable, of Stapleford, is a parent of one of the members.
She said: "I think intu should have been more appreciative of the orchestra. They have given up their Saturday mornings to play there and a number of them caught the bus in specially."
The orchestra play to a high standard as every member must be at least grade four in their instruments.
"There were people watching on both levels [ground floor and lower floor] and they were clearly enjoying it," she added. "They play with enthusiasm and there were a lot of very positive comments."
Ian Burton, Head of Nottingham Music Service said: "Our orchestra is well known for playing with energy and enthusiasm, which is why they get such a fantastic response from audiences."
He said Harvester were quick to offer an alternative venue and thanked them for making the orchestra feel welcome.
"I'd also like to pay tribute to our fantastic students who not only behaved with exceptional maturity but were able to change with no rehearsal to a totally different type of performance, flash-mobbing Trinity Square and performing an improvised gig with no written music. They are a tribute to Nottingham."
The orchestra, which played last year, have been invited back to perform on a smaller scale.
A spokesperson for intu said: "We received a number of complaints about the noise levels in the centre on Saturday so unfortunately we had to ask the Robin Hood Youth Orchestra to finish its performance earlier than planned after two sets.
"We're committed to supporting local groups and charities here at intu Victoria Centre."
