A Joyful Introduction
A Novice's Guide To The Symphony
While I have long been a fan of the performing arts - theatre, ballet, orchestra, I have only ever dabbled as a performer myself. I learned about Debussy while at the barre, sang Fauré and Handel in choir, and played a passable Für Elise, with enough basic music theory to get by. I am, by all accounts, a classical music novice.
And even though I may have only a basic understanding of symphonies or concertos, I assure you that this does not lessen my appreciation of classical music or orchestra concerts. Yet, what can be intimidating about the symphony, is attending in the company of the devoted, well-studied, more experience classical music enthusiast.
For those of you who, like me, prefer to be able to hold their own in a conversation about classical music or even have a better understanding of the phrases you frequently see and hear, this new blog series is for you. Welcome to the Joyful Novice's Guide To The Symphony.
In this series, I'll cover a broad range of topics. Want to know what a principal musician is? How about why there's a first and second violin section? Why do we call ourselves a Philharmonic and not a Symphony Orchestra (what's the difference, anyway)? Plus, you see it on almost every concert program, but what exactly is a concerto?
Get all these questions answered and more - all in about 500. Quick information and context to help you know a little bit more about the Spartanburg Philharmonic and what we do. All in layman's terms from the perspective of a music novice with a healthy appreciation for classical music. I'll leave the more nuanced music history and theory to the experts. For that, I highly recommend checking out our Program Notes page.
We hope you enjoy this series, and if you have a topic you'd like us to cover - just let us know.
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