Symphony strings section
This article is the first in a series about Butler County Symphony Orchestra.
There can be anywhere from four to a dozen violins playing at a Butler County Symphony Orchestra concert, but when there is a violin solo, it most likely is Tanya Satteson bowing the strings.
Satteson, of Cranberry Township, is the principal violinist for the Butler County Symphony Orchestra, and the orchestra’s concertmaster of several years. She not only plays many of the lead parts for the string section, but coordinates the instrumentalists’ bowing, so they all line up, and is a literal voice for her section and the entire orchestra to the conductor.
As Satteson put it, she is the musician representing the instrumental members of the orchestra.
“The role of concertmaster, basically, it’s the person who is sitting as the principal violin, you’re leading your own section, but you’re also kind of representing the whole orchestra,” Satteson said. “This is the person that will be tuning the orchestra in the beginning; decide which bow direction the violins go. If there are any solos in the score, that will be me playing.”
Satteson and the violins sit at the front of the orchestra stage during concerts, and the stringed instruments — violin, viola, cello and bass — play prominent roles in many songs. However, Satteson said every member of the orchestra is part of the ensemble for a reason, and the musicians must cooperate to bring the vision of the conductor and the composer to life.
“Musicians are really, really good at collaborating. It’s something we’re trained in,” Satteson said. “I have great colleagues and I think we work really well together. The caliber now of BCSO in the time I have been to the orchestra has just risen so dramatically.”
Christina Savannah, a member of the board of directors for the Butler County Symphony Orchestra Association, said the music director would typically organize musicians and the number of instruments for each season. Because the association is in the midst of a search for a permanent music director, the board of directors worked to make sure each show has the appropriate number of musicians. They also promote the orchestra and raise funds.
Savannah said she and the board of directors have been managing the musicians while the three finalist conductors for the role of permanent music director come in for their two shows each.
The association hires each musician one season at a time, and the organization aims to have the full orchestra of 60 players each season — but different concerts have different instrument requirements.
“Every concert we do, the size of the orchestra changes … It depends on who is needed,” Savannah said. “Board members and musicians that have in the past met with the music director to make programming decisions. Usually it’s things they want to hear or want to play, and he takes their information and ultimately decides what gets played at each concert. Usually we do that in the fall and winter.”
Stringed instruments can occupy a wide range of tones, so there are often many string players at every orchestra concert.
“We’re usually around 10 to 12 violins. We usually have a little less violas, then cellos, we’ll have a few less of those, and double basses are the ones that stand up,” Satteson said. “It’s a huge section of the orchestra.”
This season is the fourth for William García Hernandez, a cellist with the Butler County Symphony Orchestra. He said the instruments of the string section can hold down the root of the sound and provide harmonies with other instruments.
According to Hernandez, the cello is a midrange voice in the orchestra, which is included in just about every piece of orchestral music. He said the cello is one of the closest instruments to the human singing voice.
“It’s really important because we don’t just need to blend in, we need to provide the bass,” Hernandez said. “We have multiple roles; it’s a mix between the foundation, the base of the orchestra, and sometimes singing through the cello. It’s really cool; how can we handle the lines.”
Although Satteson leads the string section and speaks for the musicians, she said every musician is tasked with learning their parts on their own, and being prepared for rehearsals and the show. The music typically arrives a few weeks before the scheduled performance, and the orchestra as a whole gets only a few rehearsals before the curtain rises for the concert.
“Everybody learns their own parts, so the goal is to practice on your own,” Satteson said. “You really have to come completely prepared and make sure you are executing the conductor’s vision.”
Members of the orchestra are paid for their performances, but Satteson and Hernandez each said it is not their full-time job.
The conductor’s vision comes together at each show, just a few days after the full orchestra meets to rehearse the show’s music for the first time together. The conductor will walk on stage and be greeted with a handshake by the concertmaster, Satteson, before beginning the music.
Hernandez said that working with different conductors is challenging, but ultimately a learning experience because of what each one brings to a piece. The concert March 8, “Bizet to Brahms,” will be interesting, he said, because the orchestra will have to play some difficult music, as well as adapt to the conductor candidate who will conduct the show.
“This concert is a challenge not only because it’s a new conductor, but it’s a great symphony, a hard symphony,” Hernandez said. “The conductor has different styles, different feeling in how they approach the orchestra, how they lead, also they’re conducting, we can express more, or don’t express anything at all.”
While preparing for the “Shostakovich Five!” show, which took place Saturday, Feb. 8, Satteson explained that the show’s music is violin-heavy. The composer, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, wrote symphonies that incorporate most of the instruments available to the typical symphony, and Satteson said that the music has “a lot of notes.”
Nevertheless, Satteson said each concert feels fun to play in because of the work put in prior, making the payoff good for the audience and, hence, the musicians.
“You’ve worked hard, learned your part, then you get to rehearsal and work with the conductor and get his vision for it,” Satteson said. “You make something beautiful that you can’t do on your own.”
Information for the symphony orchestra’s concert March 8, “Bizet to Brahms,” is available online at butlersymphony.org.
