Concert Night Access
So it’s concert night, what now?
Despite the challenges this year has presented, our goal is for our 91st season to be our best yet. With the health and safety of our patrons in mind, we have revamped the in-person concert experience. If you are able to join us for an in-person concert, here’s what to expect:
Patron Check-in
Patron Experience
Donor Lounge
The donor lounge is available to those whom contribute $1,000 or more.
Parking
Parking passes are available for $40.
Call the box office to reserve.
Bar
There are two bars available. One in the main lobby and the other located in the donor lounge.
Pre-Concert Prelude
Bill Talks!
Get your pre-concert prelude with Bill Bastian at 6:10pm to the left of the main lobby in the harbor side arena walkway.
Bussing & Parking Passes
Covid Protocols
However, we retain the right to require them if the venue/government insist on them for a particular venue or if the DSSO medical advisors feel the rates of community infection are at high rate. Mask status will be in each preconcert email.
Northern Sounds Magazine (Program)
About the concert
As of September 1, 2022, DSSO will impliment a mask optional policy for the audiences. However, we retain the right to require them if the venue/government insist on them for a particular venue or if the DSSO medical advisors feel the rates of community infection are at high rate. If there are no regulations within the venue, it defaults to mask optional.
The concert experience is one that you can create for yourself, so don’t come into with any prior notions of what you need to do our expect. While there may be some customs that are new to you, everyone is there to enjoy the performance. Surround yourself in the shared experience of the evening and watch the musicians as they are directed by Maestro Dirk Meyer. Open yourself to the flow of the music – the various cadences and rhythms, the change in timbres and volume, and how melodies move through the instrument families.
Preparation is not required for you to enjoy our performances. The music will speak for itself. We know that many frequent concertgoers find deeper enjoyment and engagement if they prepare for the concert. People approach this in many ways, from reading the program notes in our Norther Sounds Magazine, to listening to recordings of the works.
You might! What people call “classical music” is all around us: in commercials, movie soundtracks, television themes, cartoons, retail shops, and even some elevators. Popular music often quotes classical melodies, as well. If you do not have some instant recognition, do not be alarmed! We care that you had a great experience and learned something new at our concerts. Recognition and familiarity come with time.
Our Masterworks Series is where you will hear pieces by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Bernstein, Grieg, Mozart, Copland, etc. We call this the traditional cannon and is performed by orchestras all over the world. We will also feature new works by living composers or highlight specific artists at times. The Pops Series is where you’ll hear “popular” type music like The Beatles, Queen, movie music, Frank Sinatra, Broadway, etc. Either concert will provide you with a wonderful concert experience.
This is a short rest period for the musicians and conductor – very similar to half time in sports. Taking a break allows for the musicians to get prepared for the second half, with usually contains the longer and more complex pieces on the program. For the audience, listening is also an intense activity, and having some time to get up from your seat, read about the second half, and get a drink is a reward in and of itself. We have a standard 20-minute intermission at the DSSO.
About the orchestra
A symphony orchestra is a collection of up to about 100 musicians who play instruments of four basic families:
- Strings – violins (smallest, and highest in pitch), violas, cellos, and double basses (largest and lowest in pitch). These players sit in a semicircle directly in front of the conductor and make up more than half the orchestra.
- Woodwinds – flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, and related instruments. These players sit a few rows back from the conductor, in the center of the orchestra.
- Brass – trumpets, horns, trombones, tubas, and similar instruments. These instruments are the loudest, so you’ll see them in the rear of the orchestra.
- Percussion – drums, bells, tympani, the harp, and, on occasion, the piano. Some works use lots of different percussion; others may have a single musician playing the tympani, or no percussion at all. The percussion section is also found at the rear of the orchestra.
Just like athletes need to warm up before a game, musicians need to warm up their muscles and focus their concentration. Some of them are working on the passages they will be playing during the performance, with no regard for what anyone else is practicing.
This is a long tradition that started centuries ago. Sometimes musicians dress a little more casually, but they still try to look uniform, so that the audience can concentrate on the music. Soloists are the exception: they often dress distinctly, because they are the focus of attention.
The sound of each individual stringed instrument is softer than a brass or woodwind instrument. But in large numbers, they make a magnificent, rich sonority. For some large works, half the orchestra will be string instruments – as many as 40+ players!
The concertmaster sits in the first chair of the first violins. He or she acts as leader of that section, but also plays a leadership role with the orchestra as a whole. He or she is also the last orchestra member to enter the stage before a concert, and cues the oboe to “tune” the orchestra.
The penetrating tone of the oboe is easy for all players to hear. And its ability to sustain pitch is very secure. The oboe plays the note “A,” and all the players make sure their “A” is exactly on the same pitch as the oboe’s “A”. This ensures that they all are in agreement about the tuning before the concert begins.
This provides the conductor a little breather – a chance to collect his or her thoughts before starting the next piece. If the applause is very enthusiastic, the conductor will come onstage again, bow, and perhaps recognize some musicians who played important solos in the piece. This also allows for any changes to the stage to occur. We may need to adjust the seating for a soloist or bring out a piano. Some members or the orchestra may leave or come onstage, depending on what the instrumentation (musicians needed to perform a particular work) calls for at that time in the concert.