Executive Director

We are proud to announce that Orchestra Indiana and Hillcroft Services’ Reliable Transit Division have once again partnered together for the 2022-23 season to provide FREE shuttle service for OI patrons in need of additional assistance to and from the two main parking lots and the handicap lot that feed Emens Auditorium.

Shuttle service will be offered to and from the McKinley Avenue Parking Garage, the New York Street Parking Garage, and the Handicap Lot on the corner of Riverside Ave. and Dicks St. starting one hour prior to show time and will resume immediately following the conclusion of the show for 30 minutes. We hope that this service will be beneficial for any OI patrons who may need additional assistance to and from the parking facilities.

It depends on the concert and on the age of your kids. Many standard-length classical concerts may be difficult for small children because they require an attention span that may be beyond what a child can maintain. Our free community concerts and Education Concerts are a great way for families (including children of all ages) to enjoy classical music together. Your kids or grandkids may also enjoy the concerts in our Indiana Trust Pops Series, which include a holiday concert, movie music, and more!

To further build your children’s interest in classical music, play classical music at home or in the car. When they are old enough to sit quietly for an extended period, you may wish to bring them to the first half of a Classical concert. In all cases, it’s a good idea to check with the orchestra directly about the appropriateness of the concert you plan to attend with your kids. And don’t forget that children in grades K-12 can get free tickets to our subscription concerts!

Why are the musicians onstage playing before the concert begins?
Just like athletes warming up before a game, 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.

Why do the musicians wear formal black clothes?
This is a long tradition that started centuries ago. Sometimes musicians dress a little more casually, but they still try to look similar, so that the audience can concentrate on the music. Soloists are the exception: they often dress differently, because they are the focus of attention.

Why are there are more stringed instruments than anything else?
The sound of each individual stringed instrument is softer than a brass or woodwind instrument. But in large numbers, they make a magnificent, rich sound.

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 instruments, their page turns can fall in inconvenient places where there should be no break in the music. The musician on the inside seat turns pages while the musician on the outside seat continues to play.

Why do their bows move together?
The players within each string section – first violins, second violins, violas, cellos, and double basses – are usually playing the same part, so it’s essential that they sound as one. Each type of bow movement produces a different sound, so each string section sounds more unified when the players use the same bow motion.

What does the concertmaster do?
The concertmaster sits in the first chair of the first violins. He or she acts as the leader of that section but also plays a leadership role with the orchestra as a whole. He or she 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 on the same pitch before the concert begins.

Why does Maestro leave after most pieces 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.

Why don’t the musicians smile while they play?
Look closely and you’ll see that some of them do! But in general, they are concentrating deeply, just like outfielders waiting for the fly ball or pitchers winding up to a curveball. They’re “in the zone.” Some musicians “feel” the music and move in their chairs or move their heads. After the music is over, you may see them smiling broadly. If it was a concerto, and they liked the soloist’s performance, they won’t just smile – the string players will tap their stands with their bows as a sign of appreciation and others will stomp their feet.

A symphony orchestra is a collection of up to about 100 musicians who play instruments of four basic types: strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. Click on the hyperlinks for each instrument to hear an Orchestra Indiana musician play and discuss each instrument.

1. Strings – violins (smallest, and highest in pitch), violas, cellos, and double basses (largest and lowest in pitch). These players sit in a semicircle directly in front of the conductor and make up more than half the orchestra. The harp is also a string instrument, although it looks very different from the other strings. The harp player usually sits behind the violin sections.
2. Woodwinds – flutes, oboes, clarinets, and bassoons. These players sit a few rows back from the conductor, in the center of the orchestra. You may sometimes see closely related instruments being played alongside these instruments. Each of the woodwind instruments has “cousins” that may be smaller, like the piccolo, or larger, like the English horn, bass clarinet, and contrabassoon.
3. Brass – trumpets, horns, trombones, and tubas. These instruments are the loudest, so you’ll see them in the rear of the orchestra.
4. Percussion – drums, bells, tambourines, chimes, symbols, woodblocks, and sometimes odd things such as hubcaps that are struck, plucked, rubbed, etc. This includes the timpani, xylophone, and marimba. Some works use lots of different percussion; others may have a single musician playing the timpani, or no percussion at all. The percussion section is at the back of the orchestra because percussionists often play more than one instrument and need space to move from one to the other during the concert. Although the piano is really a keyboard instrument, not percussion, it is occasionally used in the orchestra and will usually be located towards the back of the orchestra, near the percussion.