There is no dress code! Most people dress in “business casual” attire, but you will see everything from jeans and a t-shirt to suits and cocktail dresses.

Harvard OCTAVE concerts typically begin promptly at the advertised start time. We recommend arriving at least 15 minutes before concert time so you have time to park, get your ticket scanned, and find your seats. 

On each Ludus event page is a schedule, including what time the doors open and if there is a pre-concert activity. 

If you arrive after the concert begins, you will be asked to wait in the lobby until there is a break in the performance so as to not disrupt other concertgoers when you enter.

Concerts usually last 1.5 -2 hours with an intermission.

Of course, you will! Many frequent concertgoers enjoy learning more about the music and find it provides them a deeper appreciation, but the music is meant to be enjoyed all on its own. No studying required!

This is probably the number one source of anxiety among new audience members! Relax! We’re glad you’re here! 

There are two schools of thought about this. 

Once upon a time, audiences applauded at the end of every piece, even between movements of longer works.  And if they really liked what they heard, they might even demand a repeat! But some people feel that, since a work like a four-movement symphony was created as a whole, it is best to “frame the music with silence”, holding applause until the end.  

At Harvard OCTAVE, you should clap when you want to show appreciation for the performance! Don’t worry about the stuffy “rules” for when you should and shouldn’t clap at a concert. If you like what you hear, let the performers know! 

What is a concertmaster? What are his/her responsibilities?

The concertmaster is the lead violinist. As the violinist with the  highest “rank”, he/she sits in the first chair, next to the conductor’s  podium. The concertmaster leads the orchestra in its tuning prior to the  concert, and customarily plays all of the violin solos within pieces.  In addition, the concertmaster marks the orchestra’s scores with the  appropriate bowings – so all the violinists are moving and playing in  unison. 

Why does the conductor shake hands with the concertmaster at the beginning and end of each concert?

When the conductor shakes hands with the concertmaster, it is a gesture  of greetings or thanks to the entire orchestra. It is a custom of  respect and a symbol of cooperation.

Circumstances of  history, mostly, but also acoustics. The first orchestras (in the late  1600s) were mainly string instruments. A pair of oboes was sometimes  used to strengthen the first and second violin parts. Soon composers  were writing separate parts for the oboe, exploiting its singing tone as  a contrast to the violins. The bright, rather penetrating sound of the  oboe was easy to hear, and its pitch was more stable than gut strings,  so it was natural to rely on it for tuning (One can also imagine it  settling, or preventing arguments. Twenty string players squabbling over  a tuning note, then asking the oboist to intervene). Other instruments  drifted in and out of the orchestra – flutes, bassoon, French horns,  clarinets – before its instrumentation became relatively standardized as  we know it today. But oboes were almost always present, so they became  the standard instrument for tuning. 

There are exceptions. Sometimes a composer chooses to replace the  oboes altogether with the mellower clarinets. In that case, the clarinet  becomes the de facto tuning instrument. Then there are keyboard  instruments like piano, harpsichord or organ. The entire orchestra must  tune to them, but the oboe still plays a role. When a keyboard  instrument joins the orchestra as either a featured instrument or just a  section member, the oboist listens to the ‘A’ played by the keyboard,  matches it, and plays it so the rest of the orchestra can hear. And what  if there is no keyboard, no oboe, no clarinet – just strings? Then the  concertmaster pre-tunes his or her A string to A=440 Hz and plays the  note for everyone else to hear. 

Orchestras always tune to ‘A’, because every string instrument has an  ‘A’ string. The standard pitch is A=440 Hertz (440 vibrations per  second). Some orchestras favor a slightly higher pitch, like A=442 or  higher, which some believe results in a brighter sound. If you ever  played in concert band, you’ll remember that you always tuned to B flat.  This is because most of the band instruments are actually pitched in B  flat, and so this is their natural tuning note. 

Here’s a little secret you’ll never know as an audience member. Oboes  can play sharp or flat, just like any other instrument. But every  oboist uses a little electronic meter to ensure that their ‘A’ is  exactly right. In fact, some orchestras – even major orchestras – have  gone ‘modern’ and use an electronic device to sound the tuning note.  Even then, tradition is respected: it’s the oboist who turns the device  on for tuning, and off when the task is completed!