Going to a concert
Tips and hints so you feel like a regular
If you’re new to the Australian Chamber Orchestra or live classical music performances, you may be feeling a little apprehensive by the whole idea of concert etiquette. Don’t be. The following tips and hints are designed to help you feel like you’re a regular patron of the performing arts.
When should I arrive?
Try and arrive at least 20 to 30 minutes before the concert is scheduled to begin. This will give you plenty of time to take in the atmosphere, meet up with friends, enjoy a pre-concert drink at the bar, find your seat and read the program whilst the lights are raised.
Pre-concert talks
The ACO presents a complimentary talk about the music on the program of every concert. These talks begin 45 minutes prior to each performance and last for approximately 30 minutes. In 2009, pre-concert talks will be held in the following locations:
- Adelaide - Methodist Meeting Hall, behind Adelaide Town Hall
- Brisbane - QPAC Concert Hall, Balcony Foyer
- Canberra - Llewellyn Hall, Rehearsal Room 3
- Melbourne - the Arts Centre, Coles Myer Foyer
- Newcastle - Newcastle City Hall, Hunter Room
- Perth - Perth Concert Hall, Terrace Level Foyer
- Sydney (Sydney Opera House series) - Sydney Opera House, Northern Foyer
- Sydney (Angel Place series) - City Recital Hall Angel Place, Level 2 Function Room
- Wollongong - Bluescope Steel Gallery, next to IPAC
What if I’m late?
ACO concerts begin promptly at the announced starting time. For safety reasons, latecomers will not be seated and will have to wait in foyers until the interval or a suitable break in the performance when the lights are raised. This really isn’t a whole lot of fun, especially as the bar closes during the performance.
Those who wish to leave the auditorium during a performance cannot be re-admitted unless there is a suitable break. So our advice is, once seated, try and stay put.
A question of applause
There always seems to be someone in the audience who wants to clap the moment the music stops, much to the distraction of the performers and the consternation of other people in the audience. Don’t get carried away with them.
Just before the concert begins, the members of the ACO will walk on stage together. When they appear on stage, please feel free to greet them with hearty applause.
Unlike other orchestras, the ACO musicians stand when they play and normally, the ACO performs without a conductor. Instead, it is directed by Artistic Director, Richard Tognetti.
Any soloists who will be performing usually come onstage once the ACO musicians are ready; you applaud to greet the soloist or soloists as well.
Each piece of music may have several sections, or movements, which you could think of as chapters in a book. You do not have to applaud until the end of each piece of music, to show your appreciation to the performers.
So how do you tell the difference between the end of a work, and the end of a movement? The best thing to do is to consult your program to see the list of the movements in each work, so you will know how many movements there are.
Live performance rules
Noise of any kind – even low talking, whispering and coughing can be distracting to the musicians and interfere with the audience's enjoyment of the music. So please save all your astute asides, insightful comments and throat-clearing exercises until the interval.
Naturally, no photo-taking or use of recording devices is permitted at any time.
Those annoying mobile phones
It goes without saying that you’re attending an ACO concert to witness Australia’s finest chamber orchestra in action – to listen to a superb performance.
What you certainly do not want to hear is a cacophony of beeps and shrill mobile ring tones performing at will. So even if your mobile ring tone plays a quirky little rendition of Beethoven’s 5th – turn it off – no one wants to hear it.
Switch off all mobile phones, pagers, beeping watches, and other electronic devices before the performance begins.
What should I wear?
Dress code is pretty relaxed, but most people consider attending an ACO performance to be a special event and thus dress accordingly.