Talk:Musical ensemble
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To the best of my knowledge, there is no difference between a symphonic orchestra and a philarmonic orchestra in terms of the number of musicians, instruments, musical arrangement, and quality of the musical performance, but there is a significant difference between the two terms as symphonic orchestra refers to a group of professional musicians who get paid for their musical performance, whereas the term philarmonic orchestra refers to a group of philantropic musicians who do not get paid, at least in theory, for their musical performance. The term philharmonic is rooted on philantropy or philantropic, and means, from its Greek root, philos (friend), and harmony ... namely, friends of harmony.
I got this info a few years ago from a well known American musicologist. You may review the concept, and make a correction to your article if needed.
