In the classical era, all orchestras played without conductor, being led by the 1st violin or the soloist. ... The conductor will make sure that the volume of the instruments balances so nothing is drowned out. They also have the last word on ideas of phrasing, tempo, bowings and general style.
The saxophone is a wind instrument with a reed and the body is made of brass, and so it forms a bridge between the woodwind and brass sections of the orchestra. It has a single reed and a conical bore.
London Symphony Orchestra
Composers create and arrange musical scores for anything that requires a soundtrack. The scores written need to be technically correct in order to create flawless performances by choruses, musicians or instrumental ensembles.
Decca label
Percussion instruments include any instrument that makes a sound when it is hit, shaken, or scraped. ... The most common percussion instruments in the orchestra include the timpani, xylophone, cymbals, triangle, snare drum, bass drum, tambourine, maracas, gongs, chimes, celesta, and piano.
Here lies the crucial argument: orchestra players wear black, because the audience wants to pay attention to the music – not them. Many classical music lovers believe that there should be absolutely nothing to distract from the music, not even the performers themselves. Playing in an orchestra is a group effort.
During the Romantic period (ca. 1800-1910), string sections were significantly enlarged to produce a louder, fuller string sound that could match the loudness of the large brass sections used in orchestral music from this period. During the modern era, some composers requested smaller string sections.
Instruments of the OrchestraString family. Violin. Viola [vee-OH-lah] Cello (violoncello) [CHEL-low] ... Woodwind family. Flute, Piccolo. Oboe, English horn. Clarinet, Bass clarinet. ... Brass family. Trumpet. Horn (French horn) Trombone. ... Keyboards and Harp. Celesta [cheh-LESS-tah] Piano. Harpsichord.
Instruments of the OrchestraString family. Violin. Viola [vee-OH-lah] Cello (violoncello) [CHEL-low] ... Woodwind family. Flute, Piccolo. Oboe, English horn. Clarinet, Bass clarinet. ... Brass family. Trumpet. Horn (French horn) Trombone. ... Keyboards and Harp. Celesta [cheh-LESS-tah] Piano. Harpsichord.
“The role of a Conductor is to unify a large group of musicians into a core sound instead of a wild bunch of different sounds surging out; the role of a Concertmaster is to decode the conductor's information, and transmit it to the orchestra, plus to his section; the role of Principals is to use all this information ...
The Classical orchestra came to consist of strings (first and second violins, violas, violoncellos, and double basses), two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two or four horns, two trumpets, and two timpani.
Violins
The musicians of the RMS Titanic all perished when the ship sank in 1912. They played music, intending to calm the passengers, for as long as they possibly could, and all went down with the ship. All were recognized for their heroism....Georges Alexandre KrinsOccupationViolinist.
A symphony or philharmonic orchestra will usually have over eighty musicians on its roster, in some cases over a hundred, but the actual number of musicians employed in a particular performance may vary according to the work being played and the size of the venue.
A modern full-scale symphony orchestra consists of approximately one hundred permanent musicians, most often distributed as follows: 16–18 1st violins, 16 2nd violins, 12 violas, 12 cellos, 8 double basses, 4 flutes (one with piccolo as a specialty), 4 oboes (one with English horn as a specialty), 4 clarinets (one with ...
Orchestration, the arrangement or composition of music for instruments, especially those found in an orchestra.
How much you can make as a classical musician varies wildly. According to the American Federation of Musicians or AFM, Toronto branch, hourly rates for orchestral musicians start at $106 for the leader and $53 per hour for what they call side players, with a three-hour minimum. That's scale for a freelance gig.
The first conclusively documented orchestral use of the snare drum was by the French composer–viol virtuoso Marin Marais in a storm scene in his opera Alcyone (1706).
Orchestras are usually led by a conductor who directs the performance with movements of the hands and arms, often made easier for the musicians to see by use of a conductor's baton. The conductor unifies the orchestra, sets the tempo and shapes the sound of the ensemble.