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. String instruments include harp, violin, viola, cello, and double bass.
Generally, orchestras with fewer than 50 members are called “chamber orchestras," while full-size orchestras of 50 to 100 musicians are called “symphony orchestras" or “philharmonic orchestras."
Benjamin Britten
Symphony, a lengthy form of musical composition for orchestra, normally consisting of several large sections, or movements, at least one of which usually employs sonata form (also called first-movement form).
If the string section is the most defining of the orchestra, the violins are generally the most defining members of the string family (don't tell the cellists). The violins carry the melody, particularly the first violins. The second violins will often support the first violins' harmony by playing it in a lower pitch.
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.
This simpler, more direct style of theater began the transition to the Classic era. Oratorio: A large-scale religious work performed by solo singers, chorus, and orchestra without staging, scenery or costumes.
Gamelan, the term for a traditional musical ensemble in Indonesia, typically refers to a percussion orchestra composed predominantly of tunedgongs of various types and metal-keyed instruments. The ensemble is conducted by a drummer, and often includes voice, bamboo flute, xylophone, and stringed instruments.
Shifting is the term used to describe the movement of your hand up and down the length of the fingerboard. It helps some beginners to think about their left hand as an elevator. First position is like the first floor of a building and your hand can travel up the fingerboard to the next floor.
What we consider today the 'traditional' arrangement of an orchestra — with the violins to the left of the conductor, the violas at the center, and the cellos and double basses to the right — wasn't always how orchestras were laid out.
The gamelan ensemble is made up of sixteen bronze xylophones, several gongs and gong-chimes, drums, cymbals, and bamboo flutes—over forty instruments in total. This particular type of gamelan is a relatively new style known as gamelan semara dana.
Conductors help musicians start and stop together. Conductors set the tempo, or speed, that everyone will play. ... Conductors show different musicians when to start playing with a cue, or a motion directed at them.
The Chamber Orchestra of Europe will also be Orchestra-in-residence at the Esterhazy Palace in Eisenstadt from 2022. With more than 250 works in its discography, the COE's CDs have won numerous international prizes, including two Grammys and three Gramophone Record of the Year Awards.
The bright, rather penetrating sound of the oboe was easy to hear, and its pitch was more stable than gut strings, so it was natural to rely on it for tuning (One can also imagine it settling, or preventing arguments. ... But oboes were almost always present, so they became the standard instrument for tuning.
The strings are the largest family of instruments in the orchestra and they come in four sizes: the violin, which is the smallest, viola, cello, and the biggest, the double bass, sometimes called the contrabass.
The Sections of the Orchestra. The typical orchestra is divided into four groups of instruments: strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion.
The brass family members that are most commonly used in the orchestra include the trumpet, French horn, trombone, and the tuba.
Generally speaking, they are the piccolo (highest note is the highest C on the piano, although it requires a skilled player to comfortably play the notes in the top half or so of the highest octave) and the contrabassoon (which can comfortably reach the lowest Bb on the piano, and some instruments with a low A ...
Instruments of the OrchestraStrings. Learn about the string instruments: violin, viola, cello, double bass, and harp! ... Woodwinds. Learn about the woodwind instruments: flute, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon! ... Brass. Learn about the brass instruments: trumpet, french horn, trombone, and tuba! ... Percussion.
Opera – a staged drama set to music in its entirety, made up of vocal pieces with instrumental accompaniment and usually with orchestral overtures and interludes.
Lincoln Center
Conductor
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.
The Boston Pops Orchestra's