Gamelan, the term for a traditional musical ensemble in Indonesia, typically refers to a percussion orchestra composed predominantly of tuned gongs of various types and metal-keyed instruments. The ensemble is conducted by a drummer, and often includes voice, bamboo flute, xylophone, and stringed instruments.
The modern symphony orchestra contains four main sections: strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion.
Amsterdam
Brass family
The piano is an entire orchestra in itself – but sometimes its sound is a part of the big symphony orchestra.
Under the leadership of its chief conductors, Milan Horvat, Leif Segerstam, Lothar Zagrosek, Pinchas Steinberg, Dennis Russell Davies, Bertrand de Billy and Cornelius Meister, the orchestra has continuously expanded its repertoire, gaining growing international renown.
Four groupsThe typical orchestra is divided into four groups of instruments: strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion.
Bassoon
Plus 4 harps, a keyboard player and 5 percussionists. In all 144 musicians, not counting a narrator, five vocal soloists, a huge choir and a separate male choir.
1 : of, relating to, or composed for an orchestra. 2 : suggestive of an orchestra or its musical qualities.
Playing in an orchestra is typically harder than a band. Orchestral music is more complex and the fewer wind and percussion players are more exposed than in a band. Although marching bands may seem physically harder, playing demanding orchestra music is also physically and mentally taxing.
Definitively the 20 greatest Beethoven works of all time
Sir Thomas Beecham
Barry WhiteThe Love Unlimited Orchestra was a 40-piece string-laden orchestra, formed by American singer-songwriter Barry White, that served as a backing unit for White and female vocal trio Love Unlimited. From the early 1970s on, they also recorded several singles and albums under their own name.
Explanation: Lyrical and bouncy; sharp and mellow; sweet, plaintive and joyous: Strings can beautifully convey each of these, and this is why they are the heart of any orchestra. In the hands of a master performer, a stringed instrument can make you giggle one minute and weep the next.
Terms in this set (32) Instrumental music, often orchestral; tells a story through music; evokes particular feelings and associations.