What is the harps role in the orchestra?

And while Dicterow is an exception, the average pay of a sample of US orchestras in 2013 and 2014 makes jaw-dropping reading for anyone in a British orchestra: $148,720 (£86,000) for the Los Angeles Philharmonic; even for less famous orchestras in the States, the pay is astonishing: $81,892 (£47,500) for the St Louis ...

San Francisco Symphony musicians earn an average annual salary of $165,000, with a minimum salary of $141,700, he said.

Orchestra Descriptions: String Orchestras. Concert Orchestra - 4th Period. Camarata Orchestra - 5th Period. Sinfonia Orchestra - 6th Period. Intermezzo Orchestra - 3rd Period. Chamber Orchestra - 7th Period. Full Orchestras. Philharmonic Orchestra – after school rehearsals and sectionals.

Piano, celesta and harp are placed to the left, behind the violins, frequently in line with flutes and oboes.

Thomas BeechamMalcolm Sargent

A full-size orchestra has between 70–100 musicians and they are sometimes called a symphony orchestra or philharmonic orchestra. Orchestras are usually led by a conductor who directs the performance by way of visible gestures. The conductor unifies the orchestra, sets the tempo and shapes the sound.”

Alex Skolnick

The primary responsibilities of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble, and to control the interpretation and pacing of the music. ... Typically, orchestral conductors use a baton more often than choral conductors.

The leader of the first violin section – commonly called the concertmaster – also plays an important role in leading the musicians.

Usually, a band does not use instruments of the string family. In some cases, bands that do use string (mainly cello, bass, piano, or harp) instruments are called symphonic bands.

BRASS. The most common band instruments that are not found in the orchestra are the baritone horn and the Sousaphone. The baritone horn plays mainly in the same register as the trombone, however, the timbre of the baritone is a much more “round” and “full” sound.

Thomas BeechamMalcolm Sargent

Today the term concerto usually refers to a musical work in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra. The concerto first arose in the baroque with the concerto grosso (Italian for big concert(o)), which contrasted a small group of instruments with the rest of the orchestra.

Orchestras always tune to concert pitch (usually A=440 Hertz, 440 vibrations per second). Conveniently, every string instrument has an A string.

Saxophones come in many shapes and sizes from tiny high pitched sopranino saxes to massive contrabass instruments which can be almost two metres tall. 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.

Major orchestra salaries range by the orchestra from a little over $100,000 to a little over $150,000. Principals, the ranking member of each orchestra section, can make a great deal more, in some instances more than $400,000. And most major orchestras play for a season lasting only about nine- months a year.

Instruments of the Orchestra

Orchestras play a wide range of repertoire, including symphonies, opera and ballet overtures, concertos for solo instruments, and as pit ensembles for operas, ballets, and some types of musical theatre (e.g., Gilbert and Sullivan operettas).

Conductor, in music, a person who conducts an orchestra, chorus, opera company, ballet, or other musical group in the performance and interpretation of ensemble works.