Orchestra

I thought I would write a piece to promote our Arts and Cultural committee at LAAC, and one thing that comes to my mind when I think about arts and culture is music. Music is truly an art form that many participate, but few master. Yet, I was lucky enough to meet a group of individuals who have mastered their calling as musicians the other night in the back room of a violin shop at 1234 7th Street, just west of our Athletic Club.

        Walking into the violin shop, it appeared to be your typical workshop with violins and cellos lying on the worktable, but as I passed through the doors to the back, a vast concert hall emerged. I am not talking about Walt Disney Concert Hall size, but a stage that can support a philharmonic orchestra, also known as a full size orchestra of about 100 players. This was totally unexpected from the outside and very impressive to see up close.

The concert started with a blessing from their pastor and continued with words from the owner and concertmaster, Joseph. Following the opening presentation, we were blessed with a delightful array of food and drinks, which gave me a chance to talk with Jessica Suh, the Southern California Philharmonic Orchestra’s public relations representative.

        She explained to me the organization of an orchestra, which I had no clue how expansive it can be. First, there is the conductor who sets the tempo, which is the speed or pace of a given piece. It is an extremely crucial element of sound, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece. The conductor also cues the sections to begin playing, which generally consists of four proportionate groups of similar instruments. These four sections include Woodwinds, Brass, Percussion, and Strings. Each section has a principal player, who is the leader in that group of instruments.

The principal first violin, also called the concertmaster, is not only in charge of his string section, but the entire orchestra, subordinate only to the conductor. The concertmaster is in charge of leading the orchestra in tuning before concerts and rehearsals and other technical aspects of orchestra management. In the string section, the typical instruments one will hear are the violins, violas, cellos, and the upright bass.

The principal oboe is considered the leader of the woodwinds, which are musical instruments that produce sound when the player blows air against an opening causing the air to vibrate within a resonator. In the woodwind section, the instruments one will tend to see are oboes, flutes, clarinets, and bassoons.

The principal trumpet generally leads the brass section. Like the woodwinds, a brass instrument tone is produced by vibration of the lips as the player blows into a tubular resonator. The brass section contains the trumpets, horns, trombones, and tubas.

Finally, the principal percussionist can vary since there are so many percussion instruments available. In general, the timpani, which are large bowl drums, are the core symphonic instruments. A percussion instrument is any object that produces a sound by hitting, shaking, rubbing, scraping, or any other action that sets the object into vibration. The human voice was probably the first musical instrument, but percussion instruments such as hands and feet, then sticks, rocks, and logs were almost certainly the next steps in the evolution of music.

Typically, the string section is the largest body of a standard orchestra and the seating arrangement is with first violins, second violins, violas and cellos clockwise around the conductor, with basses behind the cellos on the right. The woodwinds are typically behind the violas in the middle, with the brass behind the woodwinds, and the percussion instruments behind the brass in the back of the half circle created around the conductor.

I have to admit, this was a little hard to follow, and the violin shop manager, Sam, drew me a nice diagram depicting the arrangement. After dinner and a nice explanation on the makeup of the orchestra, the Southern California Philharmonic Orchestra enchanted me with sounds one can only describe as magical. Hearing live music is amazing to me, and having a chance to see it up close and personal simply took my breath away. I feel blessed to have been apart of their inaugural rehearsal. To have this opportunity to hear and see a philharmonic orchestra in such an intimate setting is an experience one can only dream of, and I would recommend that all take advantage of the opening night July 2008!

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