"At exactly 10 a.m. the orchestra tunes and the rehearsal starts. Precisely 2½ hours later, the orchestra stops."
Doesn't leave much time for the "band meetings" in the back of the van over a hash pipe, does it?
Ah, memories of the band bus! No funny cigs for us, but oh the memories! I was telling the kiddies band bus stories just yesterday but some stories I, smilingly, kept to myself.
The reason for the rigid rehearsal time is because being in an orchestra is a UNION gig. There is a union rep that sits (and usually sleeps or reads the paper) through the whole rehearsal, and walks over to the conductor and points at his wristwatch if the rehearsal goes one second late.
And, "band meetings over a hash pipe" are more common with rock bands, not orchestras.