The Orchestra What is an Orchestra A large

The Orchestra

What is an Orchestra? - A large group of musicians that includes string, woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments. Also called a symphony orchestra or philharmonic orchestra. - Orchestra (means “a dancing place in Greek)comes from the area in front of the stage in ancient Greek drama reserved for the chorus.

Components of the Orchestra - An orchestra generally has 80 to 100 musicians. - A chamber orchestra is smaller, with about 40 or fewer musicians. The conductor directs the musical performance with visible gestures, e. g. hands and facial expressions. The conductor is also called the musical director. - - The concertmaster is the 1 st principle violin player. This person is second in command to the conductor. - Each instrumental section has a leader known as the principle.

Instrument Families Strings: Produce sound (pitch) by plucking strings with fingers or using a bow Woodwinds: Produce sound when air is blown through a reed or across an opening; pitch is modified by finger holes or keys Brass: Produce sound when the lips are buzzed and air is forced into tubes or coils; pitch is modified by lengthening or shortening air flow with valves or a slide Percussion: Produce sound by shaking, hitting or scraping.

Instruments of the Orchestra - Strings Violin, viola, cello, double bass, http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v= ue. Jc. Rmfwe. SM

Instruments of the Orchestra - Woodwinds piccolo, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, contrabassoon.

Instruments of the Orchestra - Brass Trumpet, Horn, Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba

Instruments of the Orchestra - Percussion Timpani, snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, triangle

What do they play? - The repertoire (collection of musical pieces) of a symphony orchestra is usually classical music or opera. - Orchestras sometimes play popular music - Symphony orchestras also commonly used to perform film scores - Score: the sheet music for a composition. It includes all parts written for each instrument

Orchestra Seating

Musical Compositions Symphony: composition for orchestra in 4 movements 1. fast, dramatic 2. lyrical, slow 3. dance – minuet or scherzo 4. brilliant/heroic, fast Concerto: musical work for solo instrument or small group & orchestra

Musical Compositions Concerto grosso: composition that alternates between a soloist and the orchestra Theme & Variation: composition where one theme is stated then altered in successive statements Sonata: composition in several movements for soloist or small ensemble

Musical Compositions Rondo: musical form with a recurring theme Cantata: Vocal genre for solo singers, chorus and instrumentalists based on a lyric or dramatic poetic narrative Oratorio: Large-scale dramatic piece, based on a text of religious or serious character, performed by solo voices, chorus and orchestra; similar to opera but without scenery, costumes or action. Fugue: composition where theme is imitated and overlaps