About The Orchestra

A symphony orchestra is a collection of up to about 100 musicians who play instruments of four basic types: Strings Violins (smallest and highest in pitch), violas, cellos, and double basses (largest and lowest in pitch). These players sit in a semicircle...

The concertmaster sits in the first chair of the first violins. In the case of the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, his name is Timothy Kantor. The concertmaster acts as leader of that section, but also plays a leadership role with orchestra as ...

Just like basketball players taking shots and practicing moves before the game, musicians need to warm up their muscles and focus their concentration. This is fun to listen to and to watch. Some of them are working on the passages they need to polish...

The sound of each individual stringed instrument is quieter than a brass or a woodwind instrument. In large numbers, they make a magnificent, rich sonority, and that's why there's so many.

The penetrating tone of the oboe is easy for all players to hear. Its ability to sustain a single pitch is very secure. The oboe plays the note "A," and all the players make sure their "A" is exactly on the same pitch as the oboe's....

The players of each individual section—first violins, second violins, violas, cellos, and doublebasses—play in unison most of the time. All the cellos move together, for instance. As you listen, noticing the different bowings for each section...

This is a long tradition that started a few centuries ago. Sometimes, these days, musicians dress a little more casually. But they still try to look uniform, so that the audience can concentrate on the music. Soloists are the exception; they often dress...

Fewer stands mean that the musicians, who are moving around quite a bit, have more room to play freely. Also, because the strings play more continuously than the other parts, their page turns can fall in inconvenient places where there should be no break...

This provides the conductor a little breather-a chance to collect his or her thoughts before starting the next piece. If the applause is very enthusiastic, the conductor will come onstage again, bow, and perhaps recognize some musicians who played important...

Look closely and you'll see that some of them do! But in general, they are concentrating deeply, just like outfielders waiting for the fly ball or pitchers winding up to a curve ball. They're in the zone. After the music is over, you may see them...