ORCHESTRA (Gr. ὀρχήστρα) was the place allotted to the chorus in the Greek theatres; but it signifies in modern times that place occupied by the instrumental band in a theatre, or by the instrumental and vocal performers in a concert-room. The word orchestra is also used as synonymous with band. In the Leipzig Musical Gazette, passim, there are plans and descriptions of some of the most celebrated orchestras—that of the Grand Opera at Paris, of a grand amateur concert at Vienna, of the San Carlo Theatre at Naples, of the Scala Theatre at Milan. (See also Burney's account of the great Handel commemoration in Westminster Abbey in May 1784; and the published accounts of the Handel commemoration in the Crystal Palace in 1857. For remarks on orchestral instrumentation, see article MUSIC.) (G. F. G.)