Types of Virtual Orchestra Activity

The term "Virtual Orchestra" is so loosely defined, that the number of different types of art forms, research activities, etc., that use this word is huge. Below is a (not quite) exhaustive list of different activities that use or are closely related, to the sobriquet "Virtual Orchestra".

Databases

Simulation

live performance

Orchestral simulation

Perhaps the most common use of term relates to computer systems that are programmed to simulate the orchestra. Whether intended for prerecorded or live situations, the object here is to create a sound indistinguishable from a traditional acoustic orchestra. This is a not insignificant problem. Any nontrivial implementation will have to solve a variety of different issues, many of which are not immediately obvious.

One proposed test to determine the accuracy of the simulation involves a variant of the Turing Test.

Orchestral simulation for television, video and film projects
Orchestral simulation as pure audio recordings

Virtual Orchestra as a recording Genre

Record Labels and lists of composers and musicians specifically composing studio-based performances of virtual orchestras.

Performance and performance organizations using computer technologies as a component of the artistic medium.

Conductor Interfaces

Devices, both hardware and software, that interpret conductor gesture into performance parameters.

Interactive performance technologies

Devices, instruments, software and systems that provide musical output for live performance

Concerto:

Music written for instrument and virtual orchestra

Instrumental Databases

Web Pages that play recordings and examples of different instruments

Repositories of instruments and their sounds

Distributed orchestras

orchestral or ensemble performances by musicians performing from multiple locations

Compositional AI

Computer programs that create compositions based on sets of rules.

Style Simulation

systems that apply a particular style or styles to existing raw musical data.

Immersion/virtual reality environments

Orchestrations that provide audiences with the perception that they are surrounded by the musical textures.

Graphic Environments

Synaesthetic integration

Combining visual and other sensoria as integral components of musical performance

Virtual Graphic environments

Software and applications that generate visual representations of musicians performing instruments

Sample Sets

Libraries of recorded orchestral sounds for use in samplers to generate orchestral simulation projects.

Software

Commercial, shareware, and freeware applications

Gaming based technologies

Systems and solutions for music in the non-linear story based world of computer and online gaming.

Category Defying!

Stellar Music

Music generated from the oscillations of stars

Controversy

News and information regarding the controversy fueled by musician and musician unions against the implementation of these technologies within traditional (or nontraditional) environments.

History

Information regarding the development of performance based virtual orchestra.

Philosophy

Discussions regarding meaning, direction, and potential

Education

Use in educational environments

Bibliography

Sources for books and related media

Different implementations using the term or related to "Virtual Orchestra"