A small orchestra with fifteen to thirty members (violins, violas, four cellos, two or three double basses, and several woodwind or brass instruments) is called a chamber orchestra. ... Larger orchestras are called symphony orchestras (see below) or philharmonic orchestras.
The Johann Strauss Orchestra was founded in 1987. Following six months of rehearsals, we gave our first concert on January 1, 1988. The orchestra began with only twelve members, but now there are 50, sometimes even 60 on very large stages.
It's so hard to find work as a violinist, that usually the less talented people choose the viola, and as viola players they manage to find work playing or teaching the viola. Well, to be in a symphony orchestra, you have to be very good indeed, but to be a soloist, you really have to be absolutely brilliant.
The white bow tie with the black tuxedo usually indicates a highly formal event such as opening night for the season. When I had performed in pit orchestras years ago we wore black bow ties with black tuxedos.
They are not the biggest, but the most. Many times there are 30 violins playing together in the symphony orchestra. The violin often plays the melodies, but also rhythms and sounds.
So why do today's orchestras tune to the oboe? The penetrating sound of the oboe stands out from the orchestra, so it's easy for all the musicians to hear. Its pitch is also steadier than strings, so it's a more reliable tuning source. ... So they became the standard instrument for tuning.
Violins
The short answer is: there is no difference at all. They are different names for the same thing, that is, a full-sized orchestra of around 100 musicians, intended primarily for a symphonic repertoire.
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 ...
Anyway, the guitar section would hardly blend into the orchestra. ... That's because guitars have strong attack. The sound of the guitar section would be too sharp to blend it with the other sections. That's why you can only see a solo guitar playing in some orchestral pieces.
The Boston Pops is made up of all the members of the Boston Symphony EXCEPT for the first chairs. The first chairs tour as the Boston Symphony Chamber Players. ... The BPEO is the branch of the Pops that tours; while the BSO's Boston Pops orchestra plays all the Pops concerts at Symphony Hall and Tanglewood in the summer.
Soon after its invention, the cornet was introduced into the symphony orchestra, supplementing the trumpets. The use of valves meant they could play a full chromatic scale in contrast with trumpets, which were still restricted to the harmonic series.
Nomenclature. The principal conductor of an orchestra or opera company is sometimes referred to as a music director or chief conductor, or by the German words Kapellmeister or Dirigent (or, in the feminine, Dirigentin).
In general, the first violinist, or the concertmaster, carries the tune or the melody of a particular piece of music, while the second violinist plays the harmony. In a professional orchestra, the position of first violinist is usually paid more than other members of the orchestra.
Percussion instruments
Violin. The violin is the baby of the string family, and like babies, makes the highest sounds. There are more violins in the orchestra than any other instrument (there can be up to 30!) and they are divided into two groups: first and second.
Fundamentally, orchestration is the art of realising musical forms and ideas using instruments and voices. ... Orchestration is closely related to (and an important part of) arranging, the practice of taking music for one instrument or set of instruments and re-writing it for another.