A Symphony Orchestra is defined as a large ensemble composed of wind, string, brass and percussion instruments and organized to perform classical music. Wind instruments include flute, oboe, clarinet and bassoons. ... People have been assembling different combinations of instruments for thousands and thousands of years.
People have been putting instruments together in various combinations for millennia, but it wasn't un- til about 400 years ago that musicians started forming combinations that would eventually turn into the modern orchestra. Around 1600 in Italy, the composer Claudio Monteverdi changed that.
A symphony 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.
Oratorio: A multi-movement musical work written for soloists, chorus, and orchestra that are based on stories from the Bible. Orchestra: A group of musicians organized to perform ensemble music.
Percussion family
The four most commonly used instruments in the string family are the violin, the viola, the cello and the double (string) bass.
The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Trumpet. ... There are 2 to 4 trumpets in an orchestra and they play both melody and harmony and also support the rhythm. You play the trumpet by holding it horizontally, buzzing your lips into the mouthpiece, and pressing down the three valves in various combinations to change pitch.
The most major indicator of classical music's importance in society today is the fact that much of the popular music that is currently being produced uses similar beats, harmonies, and melodies as those that were used in some of classical music's best works. ...
The Baroque period was between the years 1600 and 1750. Key features included small orchestras, with often a focus on the harpsichord or string instruments, and often polyphonic textures. Example composers would be Bach or Handel. The Classical period came after, between the years 1750 and 1820.
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. ... These distinctions have largely broken down today and most good sax players will be capable of playing in a variety of styles.
The Sections of the Orchestra. The typical orchestra is divided into four groups of instruments: strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion.
The sound qualities of the instruments are very different and they do vary dramatically in the volume of sound they produce. Some musical instruments produce a very smooth sound while others can be more shrill.
Today, chamber music broadly refers to any music played with one instrument to each part – and on a small-ish scale. Don't let the term 'chamber orchestra' confuse you, however – a chamber orchestra can be small enough to play chamber music, but often they're large enough to play orchestral music.
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.
Carlos Miguel Prieto
Trans-Siberian Orchestra