Alternative front by academy musicians (9)

I believe the answer is:

orchestra

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'musicians' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'alternative front by academy' is the wordplay.
'alternative' becomes 'or'.
'front by' becomes 'chest' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'academy' becomes 'ra' (abbreviation for Royal Academy).
'or'+'chest'+'ra'='ORCHESTRA'

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(Other definitions for orchestra that I've seen before include "Large body of musicians" , "Large group of players" , "Musical ensemble" , "Big band" , "Theatre area for musicians" .)

I've seen this clue in The Hindu.

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