What is an Orchestra?
The word “orchestra” comes from a Greek word that means “to dance.” When the ancient Greeks built their theaters, they would leave a place in front of the stage for dancers to appear in the performances. This area in front of the stage was called “the orchestra,” which meant “the place in front of the stage where the dancers dance.” As musicians were added to spice up the shows in theaters, the musicians were put -where else- in “the orchestra” (that is, the space right in front of the stage). And bit by bit the location of the musicians became known as what the musicians were. (Sometimes when you go to a concert or a theater you can buy “orchestra seats,” which doesn’t mean seats in the orchestra, it means the seats down in front of the stage.) Nowadays, an “orchestra” can be just strings (violins, violas, cellos, and basses; called a “string orchestra”) or, more often, an orchestra is made up of strings AND other instruments (such as woodwinds, brass, and percussion); a small orchest
