Seating Chart MakerOpen the maker

Orchestra Seating Chart Maker

An orchestra seating chart maps every chair on the platform to a player. The one below loads a 38-chair classical orchestra in 8 sections — strings fanned around the podium, winds and brass in rows behind. Rename the sections and drop your own players in.

Autumn ProgrammeConcert Hall · Oct 18, 2026Conductor1/1 seatedMCMaestra c.Violin I8/8 seatedVHViolin H.VPViolin P.VAViolin A.VSViolin S.VMViolin M.VTViolin T.VLViolin L.VDViolin D.Violin II6/6 seatedVIViolin I.VKViolin K.VSViolin S.VMViolin M.VRViolin R.VAViolin A.Violas4/4 seatedVBViola B.VNViola N.VTViola T.VOViola O.Cellos4/4 seatedCICello I.CPCello P.CCCello C.CFCello F.Double Basses2/2 seatedBGBass G.BABass A.Woodwinds8/8 seatedFSFlute S.FRFlute R.ODOboe D.OHOboe H.CTClarinet T.CYClarinet Y.BPBassoon P.BCBassoon C.Horns & Trumpets4/4 seatedHEHorn E.HWHorn W.TJTrumpet J.TSTrumpet S.Timpani1/1 seatedTBTimpani B.

Drag tables · click a guest, then a seat · drag canvas to pan

Event details (title on your chart)
Guests (38/38 seated · 38 seats)

Paste a whole list here — one name per line, or separated by commas.

  • Maestra Ruiz — conductorConductor
  • Violin I — HanaViolin I
  • Violin I — PeterViolin I
  • Violin I — AditiViolin I
  • Violin I — SeanViolin I
  • Violin I — MartaViolin I
  • Violin I — TobiasViolin I
  • Violin I — LeahViolin I
  • Violin I — DiegoViolin I
  • Violin II — IngridViolin II
  • Violin II — KofiViolin II
  • Violin II — SylvieViolin II
  • Violin II — MarcoViolin II
  • Violin II — ReikoViolin II
  • Violin II — AndersViolin II
  • Viola — BramViolas
  • Viola — NadiaViolas
  • Viola — TerryViolas
  • Viola — OksanaViolas
  • Cello — IvoCellos
  • Cello — PriyaCellos
  • Cello — ColmCellos
  • Cello — FredaCellos
  • Bass — GunnarDouble Basses
  • Bass — AlmaDouble Basses
  • Flute — SukiWoodwinds
  • Flute — RowanWoodwinds
  • Oboe — DelphineWoodwinds
  • Oboe — HamishWoodwinds
  • Clarinet — TomasWoodwinds
  • Clarinet — YaraWoodwinds
  • Bassoon — PietWoodwinds
  • Bassoon — CoraWoodwinds
  • Horn — EliasHorns & Trumpets
  • Horn — WandaHorns & Trumpets
  • Trumpet — JonahHorns & Trumpets
  • Trumpet — SadieHorns & Trumpets
  • Timpani — BrunoTimpani

Free, no signup · exports PNG and print-ready PDF · start from one of 15 templates or open a blank chart

The shape, and the reason for it

An orchestra is seated by balance rather than by hierarchy. Strings are quiet individually, so they are used in bulk and placed nearest the audience. Brass are loud, so there are few of them and they sit at the back with the platform’s risers lifting the sound over everyone in front. Woodwinds land in the middle, where they can be heard through the strings without covering them. The arc is not decorative either: it keeps every player roughly equidistant from the conductor, which is what makes a downbeat arrive at the same moment across a hundred feet of stage.

The proportions follow from that. In the layout above the strings take 24 of the 38 chairs — about 63% of the orchestra in five sections — while the entire wind, brass and timpani complement fits in three rows behind them. That imbalance is not an accident of this preset; it is the standard ratio, and it is why adding six more violinists changes the sound far less than adding one more trumpet.

Section by section

Building yours

  1. Set each section to the size you actually have. Click an arc and change its seat count — a section of eight violins is four shared desks.
  2. Paste your roster in one go. A whole column copied out of a spreadsheet works, and each line becomes a player, so there is no re-typing after auditions.
  3. Press Auto-seat to fill the sections in list order, which is what you want when the list is already ranked, then drag the handful of players who need moving.
  4. Drag whole sections to match your platform. A shallow pit needs a flatter fan than a concert hall stage, and the arcs rotate.
  5. Export the PDF for the stage crew and the PNG for the players’ group chat.

Printing it for the platform

The export is what the setup crew actually uses, so put the programme name, the hall and the date in the title block before you print — a chart on a music stand at eight in the morning with no date on it is worse than no chart. A print-ready PDF scales to a poster without going soft, which matters if it is going on the rehearsal-room wall rather than a clipboard. Free exports carry a small watermark in the corner; the layouts, the sections and both file formats are not limited.

Related charts

For wind band instrumentation rather than strings, the band seating chart maker opens with concert band arcs already labelled. The template gallery has the rest of the starting layouts, and the free seating chart maker gives you an empty platform if you would rather build the fan from nothing.

Orchestra seating chart FAQ

▸What is the standard orchestra seating arrangement?

Strings fan around the conductor in a shallow arc, with first violins on the conductor's left and cellos and basses on the right. Woodwinds sit in a row directly behind the strings, brass behind them, and timpani and percussion across the back. Height and volume increase as you move away from the podium, which is the whole logic of the shape: the loudest instruments are furthest from the audience and the quietest are nearest.

▸Why do the strings sit in front?

Because there are so many of them and each one is quiet. A single violin cannot compete with a single trumpet, so the balance is achieved with numbers and with distance — many string players close to the audience, few brass players far from it. In the chart loaded here the strings are 24 of 38 chairs, roughly 63% of the orchestra, which is typical.

▸Where do the second violins go?

It depends which tradition you follow, and both are still in use. In the standard modern arrangement — the one loaded above — the second violins sit beside the firsts on the conductor's left, so all the violins project toward the audience together. In the older antiphonal or European seating, the seconds move to the conductor's right, directly opposite the firsts, which makes passages that toss a phrase between the two sections audible as a physical left-to-right effect. Drag the Violin II arc across if you want the antiphonal version.

▸How do I seat players within a section?

By desk, from the front. The principal sits at the outside of the front desk nearest the conductor — the concertmaster in the first violins — with the rest of the section ranked behind and inward. String players share desks in pairs, so a section of eight is four desks. After auditions you drag names along the arc to re-rank without redrawing anything.

▸Can I make it a full symphony orchestra?

Yes. The preset is a classical orchestra at 38 chairs — roughly the size Haydn and Mozart wrote for. A full late-romantic symphony orchestra runs closer to eighty or a hundred players. Increase the seat count on each string arc, then add rows behind for the extra brass, harp and percussion. Nothing caps how many you add.

▸Does this work for a concert band or a jazz band as well?

It does, but there is a closer starting point. The Concert Band Arcs preset on the band page opens with 4 concentric arcs sized for wind band instrumentation rather than strings. Use this page for orchestras and pit orchestras, and the band page for concert, symphonic and jazz ensembles.

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