How do concerts begin?
Musicians must prepare for a concert as athletes do for a big game in that they must “warm up.” When you first sit down, you will probably see members of the orchestra gradually filling the stage and warming up by playing their instruments. When the orchestra is ready, the lights dim and the audience becomes silent. The concertmaster (the leader of the first violin section) will enter from backstage. The audience claps and he takes a bow. The concertmaster then turns to the orchestra and cues the principal oboist, who sits in the middle of the orchestra, to play a single note (an A). All the musicians tune their instruments to this note. The conductor then comes onstage. As the audience applauds, the conductor may invite the orchestra to stand up to share in the applause. The conductor shakes hands with the concertmaster (since he is the representative of the orchestra). The concert is ready to begin!
