Once the performance begins, you will notice in your programme that sometimes pieces have three or more seperate movements or sections. A short pause often follows each movement. It is customary to refrain from applauding during these pauses. After the final moovement of a work, you may applaud to your heart's content!

If you are still uncertain when to applaud, a good sign is when the conductor puts his arms down, turns around or steps off the podium. If all else fails, you can always wait for the rest of the audience to begin clapping.

Who is the orchestra leader and what does he do?

The leader of the orchestra is the violinist who sits in the first chair of the first row of the orchestra. The leader plays an important part in helping communication between the conductor and the orchestra. As he sits close to the conductor, he can hear and see things from the conductor's perspective, but can also take into consideration how it feels to be a part of the orchestra. He can convey what both parties are thinking and act as a spokesperson - sharing opinions about the tempo (speed) of the music, the dynamics (volume) or the timbre (the sound made e.g. short, long, smooth, spikey). This often means the leader needs to be a very good diplomat, making sure there aren't any arguments about how best to play the music!

At a more technical level, before the concert day has even arrived, the orchestra leader looks at all the music and decides how the string parts should be 'bowed'. Ever wondered how all the string players have their bows going up and down at the same time?

The orchestra leader has written it in the music! This means that each string

player creates the same sound and timbre so that together, the section sounds like one instrument.

The orchestra leader is a great person to watch in a concert, see if you can spot him communicating using eye contact and through gestures with his instrument with both the conductor and other players in the orchestra.

Do I have to be silent during the concert?

The convention of silence during performances developed late in the 19th century. Before this, composers such as Mozart expected that people would eat and talk over their music, particularly at dinner, and Mozart in particular was delighted when his audience would clap during his symphonies. However this began to change, and there are examples of composers deliberately requesting audiences not to clap or make noise. However today, and at concerts like this, we know you’re with your whole family and we don’t expect you to be completely silent. We hope you will be quiet enough so you and the people around you can hear and appreciate the music and show respect for the musicians and conductor, as it takes a lot of concentration for them to perform!

How can I show how much I enjoyed a piece or the whole concert?

You will know when a piece has ended as the conductor lowers his hands to his sides. Sometimes, when a special atmosphere has been created, particularly after a quiet piece, the conductor will ‘hold’ the silence, with hands held in the air or slowly lowered over several seconds, in the hope of allowing the audience to stay joined with the artistic creation even for just a brief moment after its sounds have ceased.

Once the applause has started, feel free to cheer if you really liked what we played! Traditionally, concert goers shout the word bravo (or you can shout bravi for the orchestra itself). Both words have original senses of great and skillful but bravo has come to mean well done. Shouting the French word encore (again) at the end of a concert means you’d like to hear even more!

Concert for Cancer Research UK

28 September | 7.30pm

Grosvenor chapel

For more information click here