Guest Services

For Severance

Severance is Cleveland’s musical home for symphonic music and other presentations. We are strongly committed to making everyone feel welcome. To that end, a few guidelines for attendance are listed here. Additional information and policies are listed in the sections “About Severance,” “Dining,” and “Accessibility.

The Doors Open Early

The doors to Severance open three hours prior to most performances. You are welcome to arrive early, enjoy a glass of wine, learn more about the music by attending a Concert Preview, or stroll through this landmark building’s elegant spaces. The Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Concert Hall usually open 30 minutes before the curtain.

Lost Tickets

If you have lost or misplaced your tickets, please contact the Ticket Office as soon as possible. In most cases, the Ticket Office will be able to provide you with duplicate seating passes, which you can pick up prior to the performance.

Coat Check

Complimentary coat check-in Severance is located in the street-level galleries and off the Bogomolny-Kozerefski Grand Foyer. Large bags, backpacks, and musical instrument cases must be checked at the coat check.

Elevators

Wheelchair-accessible elevators are located on all lobby levels. Severance's historic patron elevators operate from the Smith Lobby and provide access to all restrooms and accessible seating. Two additional self-service elevators provide access from the Garage and Street Levels to the upper floors in Severance.

Accessibility Services

Severance Music Center offers infrared assistive listening devices, large-print programs, wheelchair transport, ADA-compliant seating, and other services to help make our performances accessible to all patrons.

If you would like to request assistance for an upcoming concert, please contact the Severance Ticket Office at 216-231-1111 or 800-686-1141 or create a request using the button below.

Submit assistance request

Electronic Communication and Assistance Devices

Please turn off or silence all electronic devices. If you are expecting an urgent call, check your device with an usher.

Patrons with hearing aids are asked to be attentive to the sound level of their hearing devices and adjust them accordingly.

So that all patrons may enjoy the performance, please note that anyone creating a disturbance may be asked to leave the concert hall.

Photography, Video, and Audio Recording

Photography and video and audio recording during performances is strictly prohibited. However, you are welcome to take photos of yourself, and your friends and family before and after performances.

Food and Beverages

While we encourage you to enjoy the food and drinks offered at Severance Restaurant and at the lobby bars, food and beverages are prohibited inside the Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Concert Hall and in Reinberger Chamber Hall.

Children

Regardless of age, each person must have a ticket and be able to sit quietly in a seat throughout the performance. Season subscription concerts are not recommended for children under the age of eight. However, Musical Explorers programs are designed for families with young children. Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra performances are recommended for older children.

Late Seating

Performances at the Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Concert Hall start at the time designated on the ticket. In deference to the comfort and listening pleasure of the audience, late-arriving patrons will not be seated while music is being performed. Latecomers are asked to wait quietly until the first break in the program when ushers will assist them to their seats. Please note that performances without intermission may not have a seating break. These arrangements are at the discretion of the House Manager in consultation with the conductor and performing artists.

Concert Previews

If you want to learn more about the music or the musicians before you hear them, then arrive early for Cleveland Orchestra Concert Previews. These free previews are held in Reinberger Chamber Hall on the Street Level of Severance starting one hour before most Cleveland Orchestra concerts. Concert Previews for Friday Matinees take place in the Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Concert Hall.

The previews include local and national experts and guests leading lectures, interviews, or discussions about the composer, compositions, and performers featured in each concert. You’ll get helpful background information, fresh musical insights, and some great stories.

Concert Previews are made possible by a generous endowment gift from Dorothy Humel Hovorka.

Security

For security reasons, large bags, backpacks, and musical instrument cases are prohibited in the concert halls. These items must be checked at the coat check and may be subject to search.

Severance is a firearms-free facility. No one except on-duty law enforcement officials are allowed to possess or carry a firearm on the premises.

In the Event of an Emergency

Emergency exits are clearly marked throughout the building. In the event of an emergency, ushers and house staff will provide instructions. Contact an usher or a member of the house staff if you require medical assistance.

Information Centers, staffed by volunteers from Blossom Friends of The Cleveland Orchestra, are located in Smith Plaza inside the Main Gate and on the path outside the Main Gate, across from the Lawn Ticket Booth.

Please note that the information posted here is for Blossom Music Festival concerts presented by The Cleveland Orchestra; other policies apply to performances presented at Blossom by Live Nation. For information about these concerts, visit LiveNation for more details.

Gates & Box Office Hours

Gates to the Blossom grounds open 2 1/2 hours prior to concerts by The Cleveland Orchestra.

Box Office: Sat. - Sun. 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. starting the weekend following Memorial Day through Labor Day, and on concert days, 1 p.m. through intermission.

“Under 18s Free” Tickets

Tickets for under-18s are free with the purchase of full-priced Adult tickets. These passes can be obtained from either the Lawn Ticket Booth or the Main Box Office. For more information about Under 18s Free, click here.

Complimentary concert activity books for young audiences can be obtained by visiting either of our Information Centers.

General Information

Weather

We regret there can be no refunds, even in the event of inclement weather, and all events are performed rain or shine. In the event of severe weather conditions, a coordinated campus-wide alert will be issued. Patrons and staff will be directed to shelters in a safe and orderly manner by our staff and loudspeaker system.

Navigating Blossom Music Center (Directions, Parking)

Parking is free with your ticket to Festival concerts featuring The Cleveland Orchestra for subscribers or when tickets are purchased 10 days in advance of the performance. Parking in Paved Lots A, B, C, D, and E requires a printed and dated hang tag. Free tram service throughout the grounds is available to all patrons for Blossom Music Festival concerts. A limited number of golf carts are also available (first-come, first-served basis). Click here for more information about parking at Blossom.

Dining & Concessions

Blossom offers numerous food and beverage concessions, a full-service restaurant, The Tasting Room (wine, beer, etc.), picnic, and catering options. For full details, reservations, and contact info, please visit our "Dining at Blossom" page.

Learn More About Concerts and Blossom Music Center

As you enter the gates of Blossom Music Center, ushers will offer you the program guide for your evening’s concert. Blossom Music Center is considered one of the finest outdoor venues in the country. The acoustics within the Pavilion and the sound system for Lawn guests ensure that you will hear a beautiful concert.

Pavilion Policies & Grounds Information

For the comfort all guests, guidelines have been instituted for late seating and food/beverages in the Blossom Pavilion. Please follow posted signage for the following Pavilion seating options:

Classical Concerts

• Late seating is permitted only at designated seating breaks in the music.
• Bottled water only is allowed in the Pavilion.

Pops Concerts

• Late seating is permitted between pieces and during speaking from the stage.
• Beverages and small snacks are allowed in the Pavilion.

Film Concerts

• Late seating is permitted throughout the performance.
• Food and beverages are allowed in the Pavilion (no picnics).

Patrons with pavilion tickets who arrive after the start of the music will be seated in the Pavilion at the first convenient pause in the concert; please wait at the back corners of the Pavilion and our ushers will help you to your seat(s) at the break.

Seating on the Lawn

Patrons on the Lawn can bring chairs; however, please keep in mind that your chair can obstruct other people’s views. Short-legged chairs make good neighbors--if you choose to bring chairs with a high back, we ask that you please choose an area near the top of the hill, so others' view of the stage is not impeded.

Chairs are available for a rental fee of $5 per evening. Tents or other tall structures are strictly prohibited, along with balloons and other items that block the view of the stage are not permitted on the lawn.

Cameras & Recordings

Recording, video, and taking of pictures is strictly prohibited inside the Pavilion during performances.

Noise, Texting, and Other Distractions

Please turn off mobile phones, pagers, alarms, and other devices that make noise or emit light, and refrain from use during the concert. In consideration of other audience members, patrons are respectfully requested to abstain from talking and making other audible distractions that might interrupt others’ enjoyment of the performance.

Smoking

All Blossom Music Festival events are presented in a smoke-free environment. Smoking is not allowed anywhere on the grounds or in buildings once you have entered through the ticket gates. A smoking area is available outside the gates in a designated area of parking lot A.

Need more information?

We're happy to help.

Information Centers, staffed by volunteers from Blossom Friends of The Cleveland Orchestra, are located in Smith Plaza inside the Main Gate and on the path outside the Main Gate, across from the Lawn Ticket Booth.

During weekday business hours, call The Cleveland Orchestra’s Severance Music Center Ticket Office at 216-231-1111 or email info@clevelandorchestra.com.