When will I be seated if I’m late?
As a courtesy to performers and audience members, if you arrive after the Concertmaster has come onstage, you won’t be seated until an appropriate interval in the show. Our ushers will guide you. But please try to arrive on time. Thank you!
May I leave early?
For the safety of all our guests, please remain in your seats until the house lights come back up.
May I take pictures?
Use of cameras, or any kind of audio or video recording equipment, is not permitted in the concert hall unless authorized by Cape Symphony management in advance and in writing. Use of flash is always prohibited. And if you don't want to annoy everyone in the place, please turn off electronic signals on phones, watches, etc. before the show starts!
We do encourage you to take pictures in the lobby - of yourself and your companions as well as with guest artists and musicians - and post them to social media with the hashtag #capesymphony.
Is it okay to talk during the performance?
There's no way to sugarcoat this: Talking during the performance is rude. Please respect the musicians, the conductor, and the people sitting near you by not talking while the orchestra plays. If someone near you is talking, feel free to speak to an usher and ask them to address it.
May I bring a snack?
Please don't. Unwrapping and consuming food or candy during the performance is disruptive, and food and drink are disallowed in the concert hall, in any case.
When do I applaud?
This is more controversial than you might think! Apparently, composers like Mozart expected and hoped for applause after each movement (section) of a piece. This tradition changed with certain 19th century composers like Schumann and Mendelssohn, who wrote music in such a way as to leave no pauses for the audience to sneak in a clap or two. In the 1930s, conductor Leopold Stokowski suggested that it would be more appropriate if audiences didn't applaud at all. He hoped people would sit in awe, rather than express their emotions by clapping.
Cape Symphony is different: We want you to clap when you feel like clapping! If you're moved by the music, by a soloist, or by anything else to put your hands together, then do it. Enjoy the experience and applaud when you want to.
In general, just before the concert begins, the orchestra members will all be seated on the stage, except for the Concertmaster. That's the violinist who sits in the first chair of the first row of the Orchestra. Applaud to greet the Concertmaster when they come onstage to tune up the orchestra, and again a few moments later when the Conductor comes onstage. Soloists may or may not come onstage with the Conductor; when they do, you applaud to greet them as well. These are not rules, just suggestions. We appreciate your applause!
