About the Orchestra

What is a symphony orchestra?

The Honolulu Symphony Orchestra is made up of 65 full-time and 20 part-time musicians who play instruments of four basic types: strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion.

Strings – The string section is made up of violins, violas, cellos, and double basses. These players sit in a semicircle directly in front of the conductor, and make up more than half the orchestra.

Woodwinds – Woodwinds include flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, and related instruments. These players sit a few rows back from the conductor, in the center of the orchestra.

Brass – The brass section includes trumpets, horns, trombones, tubas, and similar instruments. These instruments are the loudest, so you'll see them in the rear of the orchestra.

Percussion – Included in the percussion section are drums, bells, timpani, the harp, and, on occasion, the piano. Some works use lots of different percussion; others may have a single musician playing the tympani, or no percussion at all. The percussion section is also found at the rear of the orchestra.

Why are the musicians onstage playing before the concert?

Musicians need to warm up their muscles and focus their concentration. Some of them are working on the passages they need to polish up before the performance, with no regard for what anyone else is practicing. Not all of the orchestra players practice onstage, of course. Just like the audience, everyone is doing his or her own thing. Some are talking; others are paging through their music. And some don’t come onstage at all until a minute or two before the performance. But at concert time, everyone is in place and ready to begin.

Why do the musicians wear formal black clothes?

This is a long tradition that started a few centuries ago. Sometimes musicians dress a little more casually. But they still try to look uniform, so that the audience can concentrate on the music. Soloists are the exception: they often dress differently because they are the focus of attention.

What does the concertmaster do?

The concertmaster sits in the first chair of the first violins. He acts as leader of that section, but also plays a leadership role with the orchestra as a whole. He is also the last orchestra member to enter the stage before a concert, and cues the oboe to "tune" the orchestra.

Why do all the musicians tune to the oboe?

The penetrating tone of the oboe is easy for all players to hear. And its ability to sustain pitch is very secure. The oboe plays the note "A," and all the players make sure their “A” is exactly on the same pitch as the oboe’s "A". This ensures that they all are in agreement about the tuning before the concert begins.

Why do the string players share stands?

Fewer stands mean that the musicians, who are moving around quite a bit, have more room to play freely. Also, because the strings play more continuously than the other parts, their page turns can fall in inconvenient places where there should be no break in the music. Look closely and you’ll see that the player on the outside keeps playing while the player on the inside briefly stops to turn the page.

Why does the maestro leave after every piece of music?

This provides the conductor a little breather—a chance to collect his or her thoughts before starting the next piece. If the applause is very enthusiastic, the conductor will come onstage again, bow, and perhaps recognize some musicians who played important solos in the piece.