I unironically listen to John Powell. Which I know is stereotypical but like he put actual crack in the httyd soundtrack.
Firefly by Ryan George (more of an ensemble piece than orchestra but it’s quirky and I like it especially if u like woodwind noodling)
Sketches on a Tudor psalm. Enough said just go and listen to it it’s a whole journey
Planets by Holst is fun and a classic for a reason
Dvorak’s Symphony No 9 in E minor, Op 95 from the new world (spicy and sweet and everything you need from an orchestra piece imo)
Laboring Songs by Dan Welcher (as much as I lament that the man was clearly high when he wrote it, I am also a sucker for weird auxiliary percussion )
Idk if any of this was useful to you, I am but a mere wind ensemble percussionist. But I also love incorporating my own irl interests into fic so I hope this helps
John Powell and httyd are iconic so, understandable 👏
I literally opened up YouTube so quick to listen to all of these and I gotta say these pieces are spectacular ( ☆∀☆) I especially enjoyed Firefly and Dvorak (the 2nd and 4th movements? Chills 👀👀)
(I was greatly entertained by the amount of different percussion instruments in Laboring Songs asdfghjk)
I was a part of strings orchestra in high school but I absolutely loved listening to wind ensemble and symphonic band during concerts, the percussionists were always such a treat 👏👏 They also always got the best pieces to play it was great 😂😂
Thank you so much for this!! I have noted these down and I'll see what I can do with them 😁😁