Who's Who in an Orchestra

A chart of the chain of responsibility in an orchestra — how a decision travels from the conductor through the concertmaster and section principals, on-platform and off-platform roles, and how players get in.

What's inside

• A diagram of how an interpretive decision travels from the conductor to the concertmaster and section principals
• On-the-platform roles from concertmaster to section players, and what each actually decides
• Off-the-platform roles — music director, librarian, orchestra manager, stage manager and composer
• A four-step path into an orchestra, from youth orchestra through study, audition and trial
• Notes on reading the stage, what earns respect in a professional section, and how the same chain runs in a school orchestra