Words of Wisdom:

"I tried so hard, and got so far, but in the end, it doesnt even matter" - Rich8701

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  • Date Submitted: 09/05/2012 06:12 AM
  • Flesch-Kincaid Score: 40.7 
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n orchestra is a large instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus.[1] The orchestra grew by accretion throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, but changed very little in composition during the course of the 20th century.

A smaller-sized orchestra for this time period (of about fifty players or fewer) is called a chamber orchestra. A full-size orchestra (about 100 players) may sometimes be called a "symphony orchestra" or "philharmonic orchestra"; these modifiers do not necessarily indicate any strict difference in either the instrumental constitution or role of the orchestra, but can be useful to distinguish different ensembles based in the same city (for instance, the London Symphony Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra). 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. A leading chamber orchestra might employ as many as fifty musicians; some are much smaller than that. Orchestras can also be found in schools. The term concert orchestra may sometimes be used (e.g., BBC Concert Orchestra; RTÉ Concert Orchestra)—no distinction is made on size of orchestra by use of this term, although their use is generally distinguished as for live concert. As such they are commonly chamber orchestras.
The word "orchestra" was used to describe the place where musicians and dancers performed in ancient Greece. The orchestra, or symphony orchestra, is generally defined as an ensemble mainly composing of bowed stringed instruments, percussion, wind and brass instruments. Often, the orchestra is composed of 100 musicians and may be accompanied by a chorus or be purely instrumental....

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