The Orchestra

Today's full symphony orchestra can be made up of between 50 and 100 musicians, and has changed considerably over the centuries. Early incarnations of the orchestra had fewer than 20 members, and did not have a conductor. Instead, the orchestra was led by the first violin – often the composer doubling as a musician! Recorders were a major part of early orchestras. As the centuries passed, and new composers searched for different sounds, the instruments included in the orchestra grew. The harp was the last instrument to join the orchestra.

The instruments themselves underwent change, too. Over time, instruments were altered to allow musicians to control tune, pitch, and volume. Advances in their manufacture included sectional construction, rather than creating and instrument in one piece; reducing the bore (the hole through the middle of an instrument); and adding extra keys. This increased the range of notes available to composers, and helped to create the complex and beautiful symphonies we enjoy today.

And what about the conductor? Early conductors functioned as time-keepers to ensure that the musicians kept to time and played pieces correctly. However, as the years have passed, the role of the conductor has grown to become one of manager and interpreter. Today's conductor keeps time, provides cues for musicians, and communicates – with a baton, through eye contact, hand movements, or posture – subtle nuances of volume and pitch that affect the emphasis and emotion of each piece of music.

Understanding the history of the orchestra and how it operates today enhances the richness of the concert experience. Why not increase your appreciation of the orchestra by investigating some of the links below, and taking your new knowledge to the next performance?

The Orchestra

The Symphony - An Interactive Guide
This WebQuest provides in-depth information on classical music and the orchestra, including a timeline of composers and events, a colour-coded breakdown of the different sections and instruments of the orchestra, audio files of famous symphonies, and an interactive section for fun. http://library.thinkquest.org/22673/index.html?tqskip1=1&tqtime=0217

Composer World: Guide to Orchestras
This page, part of the Yamaha music website, provides a number of interesting facts about the orchestra, the conductor, different types of orchestral music, and concert venues.
http://www.digitalmusicworld.com/html/composer/Orchestra/OrchestraMain.asp

The Boston Symphony Orchestra
The education pages of the Boston Symphony Orchestra site offer two interactive features: Travel the Timeline, which allows you to explore the people, venues and musical styles of different centuries and eras; and Explore the Orchestra, which encourages users to click on the instruments of a virtual orchestra to hear audio files and read about the history of each instrument.
http://www.bso.org

The Orchestra Instrument Encyclopedia
This site, which includes a section with resources for teachers, includes a glossary of musical terms, general information on a number of musical instruments, and accompanying audio files of what the instrument sounds like.
http://www.si.umich.edu/chico/instrument

Instrument Encylopedia: Tour the Instruments
This website provides facts and audio files of a selection of instruments, and a fun instrument quiz.
http://www.lehigh.edu/zoellner/encyclopedia.html

Classical Music

Classical Music Timeline
This website provides an overview of each major musical period throughout history, accompanied by more in-depth articles on the different aspects, styles and composers within each period.
http://www.iclassics.com/iclassics/timeline_main.jsp

Music History 102
This site contains information on the different musical periods, with links to biographical profiles on the prominent composers of each period.
http://www.ipl.org/exhibit/mushist

Music – TKI Webguide
This Webguide focuses on historic instruments, musical structures and techniques, developing musical ideas, exploring meaning in music and understanding music in a social context. It also includes links to suggested classroom activities. http://www.edgazette.govt.nz/webguide/79_11

Performance

PrMusic/3/3 - B version 1
This assessment material, entitled "Present Music as a Composer or Performer", relates to New Zealand music achievement standards 3.3. It examines students presenting music in composition or performance, and involves students composing music demonstrating a range of musical, technical and presenting skills. http://www.tki.org.nz/r/ncea/musicpract3_3Bv1_10feb02.doc

The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
This is the official site of the NZSO, including musician profiles, tour dates and a regular orchestra newsletter.
http://www.nzso.co.nz

Christchurch Symphony Orchestra
The Christchurch Symphony Orchestra site provides information about concerts the orchestra will be performing. It also includes information about the orchestra, and the opportunity to order tickets online.
http://www.cso.co.nz

New Zealand composers and musicians

Alex Sylvester Lindsay (1919-1974)
A biography of Alex Sylvester Lindsay – New Zealand violinist, conductor, and orchestra leader. This biography was originally published in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography Volume 5 (1941-1960), 2000. http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/Essay_Body.asp?PersonEssay=5L10&QuickSearch=true
Is part of http://www.dnzb.govt.nz

Douglas Lilburn Project
A Radio New Zealand/Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa feature on music composer Douglas Lilburn. This site contains archived images and soundfiles, along with first hand accounts from the composer's family, friends and colleagues.
http://www.southwest.org.nz/dl/htm/index.htm

Please note: These links were valid when this page was posted. However the Web is very volatile, and TKI has no control over outside websites. Please let us know if you find a broken link or if you have an update for a link. Te Kete Ipurangi recommends that teachers view all websites we link to before using them with students.

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