Timpani? Sure. A $16,000 set of handmade best-in-the-world timpani with exactly the sound the musician wants? Probably not.
> Why do they bring all of these instruments?
I think people are very personally attached to their instruments.
Indeed, and in a top-tier symphony orchestra like BSO, many (if not most) of the musicians will be playing one-of-a-kind handcrafted instruments that are hundreds of years old.
I’m sure that whatever keyboards they have me code on at the new job will be fine.