A devastated professional musician who had £25,000 worth of instruments stolen from a pub in Hackney last month has offered a reward for them to be returned.
Joe Harper, 33, a musician with the English Touring Opera, was having a drink after finishing a performance nearby when his bag, containing his oboe and the cor anglais, was snatched from by his feet.
The incident occurred at The Old Ship pub near Hackney Central station shortly before 12:30am on February 25.
“I’ve gone through a period of being really down about it. I’ve felt complete despondence, annoyance and real shock,”
Harper said.
“The bag was probably nicked under the assumption that there was tech in it – a laptop, or cameras, that sort of thing. I would have thought that once they realised there were instruments in the bag they would have surfaced at some point,” he said.
Harper told the Hackney Post that both instruments, along with other musical equipment that was in the bag, will cost a whopping £25,000 to replace. His oboe alone was valued at almost £10,000.
“With the oboe being so expensive, I’m currently in no sort of financial position to buy a brand new one again sadly, so I’m going to have to go second hand this time around.”
He was not willing to comment on whether the instruments were insured.
Oboist has heard nothing from the police
Following the theft, Harper has been able to borrow instruments from other musicians for his performances – but this is not a permanent solution.
“I’ve heard nothing at all since the theft, not even from the police, and that’s over three weeks ago now. I’ve had no direct contact from them whatsoever,” he said, offering a reward for the return of the instruments.
The musician had only purchased the oboe six-months before it was stolen, and it took him a painstaking nine-months to track down before this.
He is currently on a four-month tour with the English Touring Opera and will have to rely on borrowed instruments during this time due to the theft.
“I’m scouring Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree, Ebay, the works. I’m certainly holding out hope that they appear but there’s an inevitability that at some point I am going to have to replace the instruments out of my own pocket.”
