Musical ensemble accompanying a theater performance
The pit of La Fenice in Venice
A pit orchestra is a type of orchestra that accompanies performers in musicals, operas, ballets, and other shows involving music. The term was also used for orchestras accompanying silent movies when more than a piano was used.[1] In performances of operas and ballets, the pit orchestra is typically similar in size to a symphony orchestra, though it may contain smaller string and brass sections, depending upon the piece. Such orchestras may vary in size from approximately 30 musicians (early Baroque and Classical opera) to as many as 90–100 musicians (Wagnerian opera). However, because of financial, spatial, and volume concerns, current musical theatre pit orchestras are considerably smaller (at most 20–30 musicians, including not more than ten string players).
^Mervyn Cooke, A History of Film Music Cambridge Univ. Press, 2008 ISBN 978-0-521-81173-6. pp. 18–21
A pitorchestra is a type of orchestra that accompanies performers in musicals, operas, ballets, and other shows involving music. The term was also used...
An orchestrapit is an area in a theater (usually located in a lowered area in front of the stage) in which musicians perform. The orchestra plays out...
continue. Orchestras play a wide range of repertoire, including symphonies, opera and ballet overtures, concertos for solo instruments, and pit ensembles...
fairly large orchestra and has three onstage ensembles in addition to the pitorchestra (a marching band in act 1, scene 3; a chamber orchestra in act 2,...
A pitorchestra cannot be seen by all audience members. However, audience members in higher seats can see the pit musicians; as such, a typical pit orchestra...
weeks of shows—before disbanding. Pickup groups are formed to play in pitorchestras for musical theatre performances, operas, or operettas, accompany jazz...
Look up PIT, pit, or pits in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Pit or PIT may refer to: Ball pit, a recreation structure Casino pit, the part of a casino...
sections are sometimes used in jazz, pop, and rock music and in the pitorchestras of musical theatre. The most common seating arrangement in the 2000s...
norm in Classical music and in most large ensemble writing (e.g., orchestra, pitorchestra, choir). In popular music and traditional music, the accompaniment...
musical theatre pitorchestras. It isn't even uncommon to find a pianist performing a piano concerto while also conducting the orchestra. In fact, many...
Nathanson and Fowlkes, who met in the early 1980s while playing in the pitorchestra of the Big Apple Circus, both subsequently joining John Lurie's band...
Philharmonic Orchestra is also known for its commanding standard as a pitorchestra. It has received good reviews for its work as a pitorchestra when engaged...
launched her fifty year career." Also of note is the opening night pitorchestra, which was composed of many well-known jazz musicians, including Benny...
an arranger or orchestrator to create the instrumental score for the pitorchestra to play. In jazz big bands, the composer or songwriter may write a lead...
acts like Buddy Rich. At the age of 31, he played the banjo in the pitorchestra on the European tour of the musical Show Boat. After noticing the actors...
Urbana Pops Orchestra (or "UPO") was first conceived in late 2009 as an extension of Urbana Park District's summer youth theater pitorchestra. The following...
rhapsody several times including the 1924 original scoring, the 1926 pitorchestra scoring, and the 1942 symphonic scoring. The rhapsody is one of Gershwin's...
supervising the musical interpretation of the performers and pitorchestra, and conducting the orchestra. In the 20th century, the title and position typically...
in November 2010. The rest of his bandmates performed as part of the pitorchestra for Turn Off the Dark. He played his final performance on Sunday, September...
unusual uses of the song, composer Herbert Stothart arranged for a full pitorchestra to segue seamlessly from the overture of Il trovatore into the chorus...
audiences. Armstrong returned to New York in 1929, where he played in the pitorchestra for the musical Hot Chocolates, an all-black revue written by Andy Razaf...
orchestrators for the show. The original orchestra consisted of 31 players: a large Broadway pitorchestra enhanced to include 5 percussionists, a guitarist...
the singer. At the premiere, though, the barrel organ failed, and the pitorchestra (a jazz band) had to quickly provide the accompaniment for the street...
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