Orchestra

Overview

While the orchestra had its beginnings in the Baroque era, what we now think of as a symphony orchestra became standardized in the Classical era. Mozart and Haydn could never imagine some of the myriad ways that orchestras are now a part of everyday life. We’ll be looking for modern uses for the orchestra that go beyond the traditional symphony concert.

Instructions

Find an example of a modern use of orchestra (examples might be a jazz album with strings, a rock project with strings, a game soundtrack, or a television or movie score) and trace what you hear back to the development of the orchestra in the Classical era. Is the instrumentation similar to a Classical era orchestra, or have newer instruments been added? How would you describe the genre of the new music you found? Share links to your musical examples with the class.