Conductors, I'm feeling brave...?

Get as many students involved as you can. Get your students excited about this new experience. Make it fun, and make SURE that your wind/brass/percussionists have something to do. Middle school students counting rests can be deadly...

Most middle school kids won't have enough independent musicianship skills to be able to handle a "one-on-a-part" kind of orchestra. You need to factor in that your first trumpeter is going to get nervous on the night of the concert, and your 2nd clarinetist is going to break one of her right-hand pinky keys just before you go on stage. If you've gone one-on-a-part, then you're sunk.

You might also consider making this a "team effort" with some other teachers. If the middle school band director plays horn, then put him/her in the horn section. They'll be able to help the students play AND keep behavior under control...

I suppose you're looking for the standard number of musicicians used in symphony orchestras.

Strings:

-1st violins: 16 or 18

-2nd violins: 14 or 16

-violas: 10 or 12

-cellos: 10 or 12

-double basses: 8 or 10

Make sure strings are always even and sit in pairs at a stand.

For winds, brass and percussion, the number of players depends on the pieces you're playing.

Normally it's the following:

-2 flutes (1st flute also plays piccolo)

-2 oboes

-2 clarinets (Bb or A)

-2 bassoons

-4 F horns (when there are only two parts, 1 and 3 play the highest part and 2 and 4 the lowest)

-2 trumpets

-2 tenor trombones

-1 bass trombone

The number of percussionist is something that really depends on the piece, but count mimimal 3 players (unless your are playing stuff from the classic period, then you only need timpani).

If I were contemplating such a project, the strings would be my greatest concern: I trust that you have enough competent players to reasonably form such an ensemble.

I agree with you in that "you should stack the winds a little heavier than the brass": start with the minimum of brass, and then just double all the woodwinds(hope you have at least one good competent player each of the oboe and bassoon - if your school can afford it, perhaps two bassoons, and one contra/ just a thought.

The brass: as long as you have at least one fairly good trumpist(sp-?), one decent trombonist and a tubist capable of a respectable "ummph pah pah", you'll probably be alright. My major concern would be with seating 4 minimally, respectable French Hornist: good luck there, you'll certainly need it.

Percussion: my main concern here, would be a respectable tympanist, and cymbalist: again, good luck there.

A harpist? No comment.

I wish you, much, much good luck; and as one of my history professors was oh, so fond of saying(practically every other class), "the things we regret most when having grown old, is not the things we did, but those we didn't": so, "Go for it".

Alberich

I don't think there are concrete numbers. If you've got the kids with instruments use them. If the school is supplying the instruments then dole them out until the supply runs out. Unless there are unruly children, give them a chance to tackle the music. I don't think that an orchestral balance isn't the ultimate goal here, it's getting the kids involved in music.

Unless you're heavily stacked in bassoons, tubas, string basses and piccolos and have twelve oboes and nothing in the middle you're probably "good to go." [You'll probably have to limit the boys who want to do percussion.]

... just beware, you might spend some evenings rewriting parts for different instrumentation if you don't have the right instruments to cover those parts.

The closest thing I could give you to concrete numbers is to pick a percentage of a full orchestra and work with that.

Or try this:

Winds:

2 flute, 1 doubles on pic. (increase if you want to)

1 oboe/english horn (see if you can even find one ... expensive!)

2 clarinets (increase to 4 if you want to, rewrite oboe parts for 1 clarinet, if needed)

1 bass clarinet (if you have one)

2 bassoon (rewrite for solo cello if you have to)

Strings:

10-30 Violins (every one in the county, divided 1st/2nd)

5-8 Violas (if you've got 'em, or that gets passed up to 2nd/3rd Violin ... and transcribed to the range)

2 'cellos (minimum ... up it if you can)

1-4 double-basses (please avoid the electric variety. Rewrite for Tuba/Sousaphone if you have to).

Horns:

2-3 trumpets (one could drown 'em all out, but you could go as high as 8 (yes, eight))

1-2 T. bones

1-2 Tuba/Sousaphone (again, if you've got 'em, rewrite for double-bass if you have those instead.)

Perc:

Mish-mash of everything.

1 snare

1 bass drum

1 - 4 timpani (if you've got 'em)

Try to have a glock/bells or other idiophones (vibes, marimba, tubular bells)

hand percussion (claves, castanets, triangle, bell-tree or "insanities.")

... 1 conductor .... this one you can't double up on. :-)

Search the Kalmus catalog which is the largest for orchestra music:

http://www.kalmus-music.com/

A sample listing:

[Catalog] number:A0051

Composer:RIMSKY-KORSAKOV, Nikolai Andreievich (1844-1908)

Arranger:KENNEDY, Tom, transcriber

Title: Mlada: Procession of the Nobles

Instrumentation:

2FL+1Picc, 2Ob, 2Cl, 2Bsn - 4Hns, 3Trpt, 3Tromb, 1Tuba,

[1]timp player, [3]perc players, strings

Duration:5

142 titles listed for youth orchestras

http://www.kalmus-music.com/action.lasso

The “ConcertMasters” series for school orchestras:

http://www.kalmus-music.com/action.lasso?-db=Kalor...