chamber orchestra

American  

noun

1. a small orchestra, commonly of about 25 players.

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chamber orchestra British  

noun

1. a small orchestra consisting of about 25 players, used for the authentic performance of baroque and early classical music as well as modern music written specifically for a small orchestra

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Etymology

Origin of chamber orchestra

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

The music was played by 50 upright pianos, each of them with ever-so-slightly different tuning, amid a scattered chamber orchestra, the Klangforum Wien, of 25 other instruments.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 6, 2025

As is the small chamber orchestra and the conductor, Kyle Naig.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 7, 2024

The hourlong opera, for chamber orchestra and a cast of five, “is a quest, like ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ or Voltaire’s ‘Candide,’” Crimp said.

From New York Times • Jul. 3, 2023

This could be a chamber orchestra, a string quartet, a solo piano, a brass band.

From Washington Post • Apr. 28, 2023

This year, Pinky's greatest honor was his appointment as music director of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the only full-time chamber orchestra in America.

From 100 New Yorkers of the 1970s by Millard, Max