Broadly defined, the term “symphony orchestra” can apply to any relatively large musical ensemble that is comprised of different instrument combinations. The orchestra’s origins date back to ancient Egypt.
Today, symphony orchestras generally play classical music and feature instruments that fall into one of the four broad classical instrument families. The conventions of the modern symphony orchestra solidified greatly in the late 1700s when composers began writing parts for stated combinations of instruments.
A full-scale symphony orchestra typically consists of roughly a hundred musicians. These musicians generally break down into approximately 70 stringed instrument players, 16 woodwind players, eight horn players, and five percussionists, one of whom is dedicated to the kettledrum.
