About Orchestra Concerts

What’s the difference between a Symphony and an Orchestra?

Link to Joshua Bell Article

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Antonin Dvořák (duh•vor•zhaak): Czech composer, born 1841

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Baton: the thin, flexible wooden stick the conductor uses while conducting music. It usually has a thicker “bulb” on one end for easy grip.

Concert Season: the schedule of concerts for an orchestra. For example, the Phoenix Symphony’s season runs from mid-October through mid-May with one to two concerts per month. Audience members can purchase “season tickets” and have tickets to all regular concerts.

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Concertmaster/mistress: the first chair of the first violin section. The musical leader of the orchestra, with many responsibilities including tuning the orchestra at the beginning of rehearsal and concerts.

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Concerto (kuhn•cher•toh): a piece of music for a soloist to be played with an orchestra or small ensemble

Encore (ahn-korh) <from the French, encore “again”>: members of the audience will shout this during the final round of applause to request the performer/s to play another piece of music not on the original program. Used as a noun, an encore is a piece of music prepared by a musician or group to play after the concert is over and they will play it if they feel the audience will be receptive to it (or if their egos are large)

Etude (ay•tood) <from the French, étude “study”>: a piece of music specifically designed to practice a particular technique.

Green Room: the waiting area in a theater where performers wait until a concert (or other performance) begins.

Guarneri (gwar•nehr•ee): a famous family of violin makers in Cremona, Italy, beginning in the late 1600s. For more information on Guarneri, check out this link.

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Maestro (mahy•stroh) <from the Latin, magister “master”>: an honorific title of respect given to the conductor of a professional orchestra

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Luthier (loo•thee•ehr) <from the French, luth “lute”>: a craftsman who specializes in making or repairing string instruments, including violins and guitars

Partita (pahr•tee•tuh) <from the Italian, parte “part”>: a piece of music designed to be played by a solo instrument without accompaniment.

Principal Chair/First Chair: the leader of an instrument section in an orchestra. Sometimes called simply “principal.” They are normally the best player in the section.

Stand Partner: in an orchestra, string players share a music stand with another player of the same instrument. They are known as “stand partners.” The player on the inside of the pair is responsible for turning pages during concerts and rehearsals. For a humorous look at different types of stand-partners, check out this link.

Stradivarius (“Strad”): a violin made by Antonio Stradivari in the mid-1600s to early 1700s in Cremona, Italy. For more information on Stradivarius Violins, check out this link.

Tempo <from the Italian, tempus “time”>: the speed at which a piece of music is played. Examples include Allegro (fast), Largo (slow), Vivace (lively and fast)

Tuning: the process of adjusting an instrument into certain intervals. On a violin, the A-string is typically tuned first to 440 Hz, then the other strings (G, D, & E) are adjusted to the correct intervals in relation to the A-string.