Musicians who have played in an orchestra are very familiar with the concept of ordered chairs. In fact, they may even boast about what chair they sit in, from time to time. People who are unfamiliar with musical terms may find these discussions baffling. In fact, some people may even believe that these discussions revolve around furniture manufacturers, and they may not quite understand the deeper significance of the word "chair" in an orchestra. This article will outline the chair system, and perhaps this will help to clear up lingering confusion.
Katherine Winikoff played in her high school orchestra for many years, and she held the 2nd chair position. This means that Katherine Winikoff played at an extraordinarily high level of skill and competency, as she was in a leadership position in the orchestra. This designation has nothing to do with furniture, but it does have much to do with skill.
Periodically, orchestras hold blind competitions. The players are all asked to play music and submit to a ranking system. In some cases, musicians like Katherine Winikoff were asked to play music the entire orchestra had already been playing. In other cases, musicians are asked to play music they've not studied in this past. This so-called sight reading is designed to test how well musicians can read music and follow directions, and it's considered a very difficult task to do well.
After all of these competitions are complete, the players are ranked based on performance. In general, the smaller numbers are better. Katherine Winikoff's No. 2 position is incredibly advantageous, as it proves that she had both talent and ability. She had done well on her auditions and was rewarded with a high rank.
Once the rank is determined, the players sit according to rank, and their music is handed out accordingly. Players with a high rank, like Katherine Winikoff, are often given difficult pieces with high parts, while players with lower rankings are given less complicated pieces to play. Sometimes, however, the entire group plays in unison, no matter the rank.
So if Katherine Winikoff were to boast about her high rank in the violin section, that boasting would be justified. She had played well and taken a leadership role. This is certainly something she could be proud of.
