What To Expect

Most of our concerts are at Music Hall—a gorgeous building built in 1878 on the National Historic Register—and located in the vibrant and revitalized Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. Come for the music, stay for the ambience of Music Hall and the neighborhood, which is brimming with restaurants, bars, breweries, theaters and art galleries. Music Hall, which underwent a major renovation in 2017, is also located across the street from beautiful Washington Park.

Music Hall
1241 Elm Street
Cincinnati OH 45202

The CSO and Pops also perform in the community at summer parks concerts, in schools, and at Riverbend Music Center and the Taft Theatre.

The CSO Box Office is located at 1241 Elm Street. Find hours of operation and more information here.

Music Hall underwent a major renovation in 2017 focused on making the experience better from all areas of the hall—including increased leg room and wider seats. That said, the "best" seats are in the center, not too close to the front so that the sound blends better as it hits your ears. Sightlines to the orchestra are also better from the Balcony and Gallery levels. 

Music Hall has three levels: the main floor is called the Orchestra, the second is the Balcony and the third is the Gallery.

• For the best blend of value and great sound: Gallery
• Best legroom: Orchestra
• Lowest price: Partial View A & B on all three levels (though sightlines will be partially or, in some cases, almost fully obstructed—if you're wondering by how much, give us a call at 513.381.3300)
• Best sightlines: Center seats on all three levels
• View the detailed seating chart

More than anything, we want you to be comfortable so you can enjoy the music! Some people love dressing up and going out—so if you choose to do this, you won't be the only one. You probably won't see the Orchestra in tuxedoes anymore.

You'll also see more than a few people dressed casually in sweaters, jeans and khakis. Generally speaking, matinee and family performances are a bit more on the casual side than evening performances. For our special events or galas, bring on the ritz—this is the only time you might see the Orchestra in tuxedos.

We've pulled together complete parking information for you.

• We recommend planning your arrival 45-60 minutes before the start of the concert to allow time to park, enter through improved security, visit Will Call, explore Washington Park and Music Hall, enjoy a drink and make your way to your seat. If you're on our email list, you’ll receive a concert e-minder a few days before your concert with a listing of any Music+ experiences that may occur before, during or after your concert.
• Foyer doors to all CSO and Pops concerts now open 90 minutes prior to the performance. Lollipops foyer doors open one hour prior to the performances.

Bonus tip: Most classical concerts include a free pre-concert interview called Pre-concert Talks. These events are free and begin one hour before the concert. Visit this page for more information and specific dates.

New safety screening procedures are in effect at Music Hall. All persons are required to pass through a metal detector and have their bags searched, or be screened with a hand-held metal detector. Restricted items include outside food/beverage, pocket knives and mace/pepper spray. More information.

Young listeners age 6 and up are welcome at CSO and Pops concerts when accompanied by an adult. Everyone, regardless of age, must have a ticket in order to enter the hall. Please note that children under the age of 6 will not be admitted to CSO or May Festival performances.

Families with younger children are encouraged to join us for our Pops Family Series performances or Lollipops Family Concerts. For more information and concert recommendations, please call our box office at 513.381.3300.

The Cincinnati Arts Association has implemented additional safety procedures when guests arrive at Music Hall to help ensure a safe and pleasant experience for all. To learn more about what is permitted in Music Hall, please visit the Safety and Security information on Cincinnati Arts Association's website

At a practical level, most of our concerts are about two hours long with an intermission, and start at $14 for classical (CSO) performances and $25 for Pops performances. There are, of course, exceptions to this, with some concerts shorter in length, or with different pricing.

On a broader level, our hope is that you come away from any performance feeling inspired. You may also feel other emotions: some describe concertgoing as uplifting, transporting, relaxing, energizing, or just plain fun. You may feel curious to know more, or challenged by a piece of music you haven't heard before. As you dabble more, you may also come away with a deeper awareness of your likes and dislikes about music—an expansion of your musical tastes.

Whatever you feel, we respect everyone's right to experience the music differently. Here are some other things to keep in mind when it comes to value:

Ticket prices vary based on the concert you are attending, where your seat is located, and when you buy. We recommend buying early for the best availability and best price, as ticket prices increase based on demand as the concert date approaches.

Buying in bulk: A great way to save is to buy a season ticket package for as few as three concerts, or group tickets, where you save up to 25% when you pull together a group of 10 or more friends for a single performance. 

Other discounts: If you're a student, senior citizen, active military, or a first-time concert-goer, we've got options for you.

During the performance:

• Phones on and silent allowed.
• Non-flash photography is permitted only during moments of applause.
• Audio and video recording is not allowed.
• Please be mindful that the use of smartphones and other devices during concerts can be distracting to others.

Tag your photos @CincySymphony or @CincinnatiPops!

Even the quietest texts on the dimmest phones can be distracting to other audience members. We would appreciate if you saved your texting for intermission, though you are welcome to step out into the lobby if it’s an emergency!  

Most concerts run about 2 hours, including a 15-20 minute intermission. Check any concert’s page for a more specific estimate.

Generally speaking, Pops performances are made up of shorter pieces and last about 2 hours with intermission. CSO performances typically open with an overture or other shorter work about 10 minutes or so in length. That’s usually followed by a concerto (a piece with a featured soloist, say, a pianist, violinist or other instrumental player who usually travels the world playing with orchestras) for another 20-30 minutes, and then comes intermission for another 20 minutes. The second half of the performance is often a full symphony of four or more individual movements, totaling 40-60 minutes depending on how long the composer wrote—and how fast the conductor conducts! This isn’t always the format, and you’ll see that some of our concerts have multiple shorter pieces and no long symphony at all, but it gives you an idea of what to expect, at least in terms of overall length of the concert.

• Lollipops Family Concerts run about one hour with no intermission.
• CSO Proof concerts run about 70-80 minutes with no intermission.
• CSO Night/Light concerts run about 1 hour with no intermission.

Ushers, identified by a uniform and name tag, will greet you at the auditorium doors. They will offer you a Fanfare magazine (program book) and will help you to locate your seats.

Out of consideration for fellow guests, late seating is at the discretion of the front-of-house staff. All who arrive late or exit during the performance will be seated at an appropriate break which, in some cases, may not be until intermission. Good news: if you arrive late or leave and want to re-enter, you will be invited to the P&G Founders Room to view the concert via video monitors until there is a break in the program.

The short answer: Applaud when you feel moved to do so. The longer answer: many pieces of music are divided into sections (“movements”), so if you aren’t sure if it’s over, wait for others to start clapping and join in.

Why two pieces of advice? Well, the rituals around applause changed over time. In Mozart's day, the audience was rather rowdy—clapping, talking, and even shouting during the performance. Sometime in the 20th century, this changed, and audiences clapped only at the end of the entire piece of music. (And then clapped for a long time.) This is still the convention today at most orchestras around the world, though our policy is if you have an emotional reaction to the music and need to express it, do it. The musicians are playing their hearts out for you, and your applause means everything to them.

All levels of Music Hall have elevator access, accessible seating and accessible restrooms. Other accommodations include:

• Guest drop-off lane at the south end of Music Hall (in front of the Box Office entrance at 1241 Elm Street, Cincinnati); volunteers are stationed here to assist guests with mobility challenges
• Assisted listening devices can be checked out at Guest Services in the Lindner Grand Foyer
• Lollipops Family Concerts and Classical Roots are American Sign Language-interpreted for the deaf and hard-of-hearing; email the Box Office ([email protected]) for more information

Feel welcome to chat pre-concert (before the musicians are settled on stage and the conductor has taken the podium), as well as at intermission.

Insider tip: During some concerts, between pieces of music, a short break occurs in order to reorganize the musicians, bring a piano on stage, etc. Many audience members will talk quietly during that time, until the musicians have taken their seats again and the concert resumes.

Pre-concert Talks are free pre-concert discussions that offer a deeper dive into the music, hosted one hour before most CSO concerts in the main auditorium, and free to all ticketholders. No advance reservations are needed; just show up and come and go as you please.

Grab a drink or some snacks at concessions. Skip the line by pre-ordering drinks for intermission. Drinks are allowed in the auditorium for most performances; note that drinks with ice are not allowed in the auditorium during classical concerts. (It’s a noise thing.)

• Like us on Facebook: Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
• Follow us on Twitter: @CincySymphony, @CincinnatiPops
• Follow us on Instagram: @CincySymphony

Join our email list for special offers and information.

First off, you don’t need any musical knowledge to attend any concert—come as you are, you are welcome. However, we do offer suggestions of concerts that might be particularly appealing to orchestra newcomers based on familiarity of the music or the guest artist, or programs that tell a specific story. Our Box Office staff is also eager to help you make your selections (513.381.3300 or [email protected]). 

There is no “right” way to enjoy a concert. We respect that everyone experiences the music differently. In fact, it’s completely okay not to like a piece of music! That’s part of the discovery of listening to music: expanding your horizons and learning about yourself. Music is meant to affect you, to spark reactions and feelings, to lead you to reflect on memories. It can be as exciting and energizing as it can be romantic or spiritual. Feel free to close your eyes and lose yourself in the music, or keep your eyes glued to the stage to capture the talent and passion of the orchestra members, or simply use the time to disconnect, relax and people-watch. What you get out of a concert experience is entirely up to you, knowing that there is something about experiencing a live performance that is awe-inspiring—it's both communal but also extremely personal.

First off, there is no wrong way to experience a concert. While you will see audience members sitting in rapt attention, you will also find people who have come to rest, relax, and escape the daily grind.

Secondly, here’s a secret: everyone’s mind wanders from time to time! Whether the music is connecting you to old memories or sending you to your shopping list, there is no shame in it.

Attending concerts can be a little like visiting an art museum: there is no guarantee the first painting you see will be your favorite, and you might need to stay and explore a while before you find something that stops you in your tracks. We wish we could guarantee you would love each and every concert, but art speaks to every person differently—that’s the joy of it! We hope you’ll spend some time with us and try a few different concert experiences.  

You don't need to study up to enjoy the performance. We try to make every performance contain all the information you may need to fully experience and enjoy it, including program notes you receive in our Fanfare Cincinnati magazine at the concerts.

However, if you want to dive a little deeper before you arrive, we put every issue of the monthly Fanfare Cincinnati magazine on our website. We also offer free pre-concert talks, Pre-concert Talks, one hour prior to most classical (CSO) concerts.

Above all, the experience of listening to the music is all you need. Enjoy the journey!

We understand, the musical terms can be mind-boggling! Here is a glossary of terms that we like to refer to: https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/musical-terms/

P.S. A concerto is a piece of symphonic music that highlights a soloist (often a violinist or a pianist). An overture is usually a short work, meant to introduce an opera, ballet or musical.

A great deal of thought goes into the selection of each and every concert that we perform. Beyond simple logistics (schedules, cost, artist availability and more), we strive to strike a balance between what audience members love and what serves the artistic mission of the Orchestra. For example, audiences often request that we invite Amy Grant or Yo-Yo Ma, which we love to do! We are also an Orchestra which supports new music and diverse voices. With each new season, we work to combine all of these priorities into collection of concerts which excite, move and inspire our audiences (as well as our musicians!).

You might hear us joke: “Same Orchestra, different jackets!” The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra are both drawn from the same roster of musicians. https://www.cincinnatisymphony.org/about/the-orchestra/

Just as the CSO and Pops both offer you something different to hear, they also offer our musicians something different to play!

The concertmaster is the leader of the first violin section and also plays a leadership role within the Orchestra. You will see them cue the Principal Oboe (the CSO’s Principal Oboe is Dwight Parry) to set the pitch for the Orchestra to tune their instruments just before the concert begins.

Following the retirement of Timothy Lees, the CSO is proud to welcome Stephani Matsuo as the new concertmaster. 

The short answer: roughly 75-100.

The longer answer: The number of musicians you see on stage depends on the piece of music being performed. In your program book, you will find a list of instruments required for each work. For example, Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 calls for as many as 120 orchestra musicians, not counting vocalists!

The CSO currently counts 91 musicians on its roster. However, each musician may not perform on every concert, and additional musicians may be engaged as needed.

A symphony orchestra is typically grouped in this way:

• Strings: violins, violas, cellos, double basses  
• Woodwinds: flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons
• Brass: trumpets, horns, trombones, tubas
• Percussion: drums and timpani, bells, xylophone, piano

Here is a helpful guide to the traditional setup of an orchestra. 

Here is a helpful guide to the traditional setup of an orchestra. 

However, the conductor may move sections around as they see fit, to create the best possible blend of sound for the music that is being performed.

The CSO is proud to be a “52-week Orchestra,” which means that these musicians work full-time on their CSO and Pops duties (while also performing as the official orchestra for the Cincinnati Opera, Cincinnati Ballet and May Festival as part of their CSO contract). Many musicians also enrich the cultural life outside of their time at the CSO by teaching privately or at local universities, volunteering and performing with other musical ensembles.

Most musicians practice daily, but the number of orchestral rehearsals dedicated to any given program is variable. Our Orchestra usually has 8 “services” scheduled in a week, which can be broken up into, as an example, 6 rehearsals and 2 concert performances.

It can be difficult to spot the musicians watching the conductor, but it does happen! The conductor’s prompting can be particularly important when an instrument is beginning a solo or making an entrance—for example, that gong needs to be right on time! Each section of instruments also has a leader that helps keep their group in time with the other instruments.

The conductor also makes larger decisions about how a piece of music will be performed according to their “interpretation” of the composer’s vision. For instance, the conductor’s decisions can change the tempo of a symphony or the overall balance of the sound (“how loud should the tubas be in relation to the violins?”).

(Interested to know more? We recommend "What does a conductor do, anyway? A music critic lays it out" from The Washington Post)

Nowadays, each of these terms (orchestra, symphony, philharmonic) means essentially the same thing.

For a deeper dive into the nuances between them, Mental Floss has done a great job explaining how “every symphony is an orchestra, but not every orchestra is a symphony. Likewise, every philharmonic is a symphony, but not every symphony is a philharmonic.”  

http://mentalfloss.com/article/52912/what%E2%80%99s-difference-orchestra-symphony-and-philharmonic