Composers have been writing music for the group of instruments we call an orchestra for the last four centuries. Endlessly adaptable and always evolving, an orchestra can be made up of 20 players or ...

CATEURA, Paraguay — The sounds of a classical guitar come from two big jelly cans. Used X-rays serve as the skins of a thumping drum set. A battered aluminum salad bowl and strings tuned with forks ...

The word “symphony” is ultimately from Greek “symphonia,” concord of sounds, harmony, a meld of “syn-,” together (as in synchronize, synthesis) and “phōnẽ,” sound (as in phonetics, telephone). The ...

Use the tabs below to find out about each section of the orchestra, watch video clips, and read interviews with musicians. There are more strings in the orchestra than all the other instruments put ...

Of the four instruments represented in a modern symphony orchestra string section — violin, viola, cello and contrabass — the cello is the most versatile. In a traditional ensemble context, whether ...