William, I sort of went off on what you posted about and looked at just my bass part. As the computer played through it, I imagined myself playing in a section. Suddenly, some very interesting bass parts came into view and clarified the compositional intent a bit. I spent today revising accordingly. I will give it a try with the rest of the parts!
Here are a couple of more questions this process is raising...
1) Is it "dangerous" to go into the orchestration phase too early? Given Mr. Bacos' feedback, I sense that some composers get to a more defined state of affairs before deciding what instruments are going to play what.
2) Or can it be valid to orchestrate as one completes the composing? (I noticed that the orchestration and the compositional process all come out "as one" in my imagination.)
3) I need to do a LOT more score study than I have done. Does copying scores help understand orchestration? Playing the parts individually on the piano? Other methods?
Thank you to all who have replied. I am in the midst of some great talent and I sincerely appreciate you guys taking the time to provide helpful feedback.
Eric