Final answer:
Symphonic bands differ from symphonic orchestras in their instrumentation; bands focus on wind and percussion while orchestras include strings. Orchestras also aim to promote equality and understanding, demonstrating music's power in social initiatives like the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra.
Step-by-step explanation:
Symphonic bands differ from symphonic orchestras primarily in their instrumentation. While symphony orchestras typically feature a balanced mix of strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion, symphonic bands are composed mainly of wind and percussion instruments. In symphonic bands, woodwind and brass instruments dominate, and there is often a greater variety of these instruments than found in the woodwind and brass sections of orchestras. In contrast, orchestras include a substantial string section comprising instruments like violins, violas, cellos, and double basses, which is generally not the case with bands. Additionally, when tuning up, members of an orchestra begin together, with woodwind instruments playing high-frequency notes and stringed instruments often playing lower notes to get in tune harmoniously.
Symphonic orchestras have a broader range in terms of tonal color and dynamics due to the inclusion of strings, which provide warm, sustaining tones that complement the sharper attacks of wind instruments. They also promote equality and understanding across sociopolitical divides, as seen in the example of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. This international orchestra aims to foster harmony and respect among musicians from diverse cultural backgrounds, not necessarily to make peace, but rather to create the conditions conducive to peace, thus highlighting the power of music to unite and to serve as a deterrent against oppression.