Your first concert

A symphony concert is one of the least complicated nights out there is. You buy a ticket, you sit down, a hundred people play for two hours, you go home. Almost everything people worry about beforehand turns out not to matter. Here is what actually happens.

Tickets

Buy from the orchestra's own site; every concert page here links to it. Prices run from around fifteen dollars for the back of the balcony to well over a hundred up front, and the cheap seats are usually fine: the sound in a good hall carries, and from higher up you can see the whole orchestra, which is half the fun. Many orchestras sell discounted tickets to students, people under thirty or forty, and anyone willing to buy the day of the concert. Look for words like rush, student, or young professionals on the ticket page.

What to wear

Whatever you would wear to a nice restaurant. Some people dress up because they enjoy it; plenty wear jeans. Nobody is checking. The one practical note: halls are often cold, so bring a layer.

When to arrive

Twenty minutes early is plenty. Doors usually open half an hour before. Many orchestras offer a free talk before the concert, about thirty to forty-five minutes ahead, where someone walks through the program with musical examples. If you are new, this is the best deal in the building. If you arrive after the music has started, an usher will hold you at the door until a pause between pieces; that is normal, not a scolding.

How long it runs

About two hours including a twenty-minute intermission. A typical program is a short opening piece, a concerto with a guest soloist, intermission, then a symphony. Each concert page on this site lists the works, and each work page gives its length, so you can add it up. Film-with-orchestra nights run the length of the film plus intermission.

The beginning

The players wander on stage and warm up, which sounds like chaos and is. Then the concertmaster, the lead violinist, walks on to applause, cues the oboe to sound a note, and the whole orchestra tunes to it. Then the conductor walks on to more applause, shakes the concertmaster's hand, steps onto the podium, and it begins. Clap for the concertmaster and the conductor; it is expected.

When to clap

The custom is to hold applause until an entire work is finished, not between its movements. The reliable sign is the conductor lowering both arms and turning around to face you. If you clap at the end of a thrilling first movement, you will not be alone, the musicians will not mind, and nobody will remember. If you are unsure, wait for the people who obviously know, then join in. At the end, the applause can go on for a while, with soloists and the conductor walking off and on. Standing is optional and common.

During the music

Phones off, not just silent; screens glow in a dark hall. Cough between movements if you can, and unwrap anything before the music starts. Otherwise, do what you like: close your eyes, watch the timpanist, read the program note, let your mind wander and come back. Nobody is watching you. They are watching the orchestra.

Intermission

Twenty minutes. Stretch your legs, get a drink at the bar (most halls let you bring it back in, in a lidded cup), and look at the second half of the program. This is also when the stage crew rearranges the chairs for the symphony, which tells you the big piece is next.

Bringing kids

Most orchestras run family concerts, an hour long, in the afternoon, built for children, and those are the place to start. For a regular evening concert, a child who can sit through a movie can sit through a symphony, and a film-with-orchestra night is a near-guaranteed hit. Check the orchestra's age policy; many allow children over five or six at evening concerts, and some have free or cheap child tickets.

Afterwards

Some orchestras host a bar or lobby gathering after the concert, sometimes with the musicians. If you liked something, look it up on the way home: every work on this site has a page with a short guide to what you just heard and a list of who else is playing it. And if you liked the orchestra, save the season. The near me page will show you what is on next.

Written by OrchestraFinder. Dotted words open a short definition; the full glossary is here.