r/orchestra • • 2h ago

Question Just out of curiosity

0 Upvotes

Out of curiosity how many high school orchestras make chamber their most elite orchestra and not symphony? And for the ones that do, I’ve always wondered why? Wouldn’t it make more sense to have the symphony orchestra represent the strings program since it has more instruments like brass and such which can make the orchestra sound like really big and play masterworks like the finale of Tchaikovsky 5?(I entirely understand if a school just can’t do a full orchestra, but this question mainly applies to the ones which do)

Personally in my school symphony is the main elite tier while chamber is an unselective and optional double block open to anyone who makes symphony


r/orchestra • • 9h ago

Agastya's Symphony

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2 Upvotes

r/orchestra • • 11h ago

Question Technical Details of Conducting an Orchestra

2 Upvotes

Recently, I am particularly interested in conducting, and would like to learn more about what a conductor does and how. I specifically want to know the technical details of how they communicate with the orchestra and what various hand signals mean.

I am looking for recommendations on sources to learn about this, with a preference for documentaries and/or books.

Thank you!


r/orchestra • • 10h ago

Combien de répétitions pour monter Daphnis & Chloé ou le Sacre du Printemps?

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1 Upvotes

r/orchestra • • 23h ago

Curious what it's like to work behind the scenes at an orchestra?

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9 Upvotes

A weekly newsletter about making orchestras a better place to work, based on nearly 15 years of experience in orchestra production and arts administration.


r/orchestra • • 17h ago

How can I achieve the best sound for strings in daw?

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1 Upvotes

r/orchestra • • 1d ago

Question Orchestration help

0 Upvotes

I am currently composing a Piano Concerto. I do have plenty of experience with Piano, as I have composed a set of 24 Preludes, 1 per key, as well as a Fantasia, and a Concerto for Two Pianos, but I have very little experience with Orchestration. I have a little experience with Strings and Percussion, but not Woodwinds or Brass. (For reference, this will be a Romantic era Concerto, I am aiming to make it feel like a Rachmaninoff style Concerto, but to a much lesser extend (like Rachmaninoff's Piano feeling with Chopin's Orchestration, and it will be in C Minor (1st movement in C Minor, 2nd in Eb Major, and 3rd going from C Minor to C Major). Total instrumentation used: 1 Piccolo, 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinet in Bb's, 1 Bassoon, 4 Horn in F's, 2 Trumpets, 2 Trombones (both Bass), 1 Tuba, 1 Timpani, 1 Bass Drum, 1 Snare Drum, 1 Cymbals, 1 Triangle, 1 Piano, 2 Violins, 1 Viola, 1 Cello and 1 Double Bass). Do you guys have tips for orchestration? (note, I am using inspiration from more than just Rachmaninoff and Chopin, and I am trying to make this uniquely me)


r/orchestra • • 1d ago

Bruckner 4, I. Mov. sounds like Organ Piece

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1 Upvotes

r/orchestra • • 2d ago

Never Ask . . .

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1 Upvotes

r/orchestra • • 2d ago

Can you guess this ostinato?

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3 Upvotes

The link is a soundtrack from Avatar The Last Airbender final episode and I was wondering what its ostinato is. I think I can get pretty close to it, but I need your help to figure out the notes. the ostinato starts at 0:37.


r/orchestra • • 2d ago

Music snippet of a new project :)

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2 Upvotes

this ofc is the most recognizable part. i use flat.io and try to make the midi sound as realistic as possible

NOWHERE near finished. please give suggestions (or thoughts and opinions) on how to make it sound more balanced i love feedback ;)


r/orchestra • • 3d ago

Isolated "tracks" of symphonic music?

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1 Upvotes

r/orchestra • • 4d ago

Jamphony is a multiplayer MIDI site where you can jam with others

2 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

There are several decent sites where you can plug your MIDI keyboard into your computer and play music live with other people in your browser. I've spent a lot of time on ones sites like PianoRhythm, MultiplayerPiano, Pianoverse, and MultiplayerOrchestra. They are great fun, but I feel they fall short because people almost always end up playing AT each other instead of playing WITH each other.

I made Jamphony to try and fix that and encourage jamming. It supports your MIDI controllers, note input from your computer keyboard, and you can click notes with your mouse.

Rooms are designed to hopefully avoid a free for all situation. There are a limited number of seats so if you're spectating and there is an open seat, you can sit down pick from piano and orchestra instruments. Room hosts can limit how many players can use a specific sound at once. You could limit the room to only two instruments per player for example, so then 5 people won't be on Marimba. If a sound you want is taken, there's a button to request an instrument swap with another seated player.

Also to help people play together, we calculate the chord you are currently playing from your notes and display it on screen to help others follow. Hosts can also use the Next Chord feature, which uses reserved keys they can press to shape out a chord and help direct the rest of the room to it in a progression.

I also wanted to deal with the spam players that usually plague the other sites. Every user has a "reputation" on their profile based on thumbs up/down from other players. As a room host, you can set a min reputation needed to sit down (unless you invite them on purpose). Guests who haven't logged in can still chat and play, but hosts can choose to disable that from their rooms if wanted.

The site launched recently so I'm mostly looking for testing and feedback right now. If you decide to make an account, you can leave feedback for me directly through the settings menu, or dropping feedback in this comments is good too! I am also very interested in hearing feature ideas or improvements to existing features.

Link: https://jamphony.com

Thanks!


r/orchestra • • 4d ago

Question Audition Questions

11 Upvotes

Hi friends!
Sorry if these questions are asked a lot, I tried searching the sub and didn’t find much specifics.

My city’s orchestra just opened applications for two violin positions, and spots on their sub list. Thing is, I’ve never applied for an orchestra before. I played with a professional orchestra in my last year of being a student so I have that experience, but there was no audition as I was recommended by a professor.

Can anyone give any advice on how to format a resume for this application? And if I get called to audition what can I expect (ie. Will I be playing all the excerpts, will there be sight reading, will there be a verbal interview, etc)

Any advice yall can provide is much appreciated ^.^


r/orchestra • • 4d ago

12 brass ENSEMBLE pieces- anime Bang bravern ED

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1 Upvotes

r/orchestra • • 4d ago

NYC holiday gigs for violin?

7 Upvotes

Christmas is quickly approaching and I need something to play for! I love filling my schedule with Christmas gigs around the holidays, but haven’t been able to find any since moving to New York. Does anyone know of any Christmas productions/concerts that need a violinist? I’m even willing to play for a church program like the Messiah or something. I could play for free! If anyone can provide any advice or help, I’d appreciate it!


r/orchestra • • 4d ago

Seventy Five Trombones

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1 Upvotes

r/orchestra • • 4d ago

Music The World of Hans Zimmer - 'Man of Steel (Superman)' at The 02 Arena, London |12/10/2026]

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2 Upvotes

The World of Hans Zimmer - A New Dimension on Monday 12th October 2026 at The 02 Arena, Greenwich, London, England, U.K.

Man of Steel (Superman) - What Are You Going to Do When You Are Not Saving The World?

Music: Hans Zimmer from Germany
Conductor & Arranger: Matt Dunkley from England
Musicians: The Odessa Orchestra & Friends from Ukraine and Europe


r/orchestra • • 4d ago

Music The World of Hans Zimmer - A New Dimension in London [12/10/2026]

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1 Upvotes

Gladiator medley - The Wheat, The Battle, Elysium, Now We Are Free

Music: Hans Zimmer from Germany
Conductor & Arranger: Matt Dunkley from England
Musicians: The Odessa Orchestra & Friends from Ukraine and Europe
Singer (multi-lingual vocals): Carla Chamoun from Beirut, Lebanon
Singer (soprano): Gan-ya Ben-gur Akselrod from Tel Aviv, Israel
Choir: The Nairobi Chamber Chorus from Kenya


r/orchestra • • 4d ago

Alexander von Zemlinsky: Maeblumen bluhten uberall

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1 Upvotes

Happy birthday to Austrian composer, conductor, and teacher Alexander von Zemlinsky (14 October 1871-15 March 1942).

Alexander von Zemlinsky: Maeblumen bluhten uberall

Sinfonia Toronto; Nurhan Arman, Conductor

Lynn Anoush Isnar, Soprano

Orchestra version by Nurhan Arman

https://youtu.be/EtEUjiR0oZ4

This excerpt is from a Sinfonia Toronto livestream on December 9, 2022.


r/orchestra • • 5d ago

For your GRAMMY Consideration. Katia Osorio - Kalliope - Miguel del Aguila

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0 Upvotes

r/orchestra • • 5d ago

Question Is this piece actually recorded live?

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1 Upvotes

r/orchestra • • 5d ago

Feedback Creation Of Something, Original Orchestral Composition

2 Upvotes

My latest composition. I hope to get some feedback on it and let me know if you like it :)

Link to the music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2k7yLIF5XY


r/orchestra • • 5d ago

Professional classical musicians, am I approaching potential performance opportunities the wrong way?

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1 Upvotes

r/orchestra • • 5d ago

Mahler's Ego

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1 Upvotes