Attendance Guide
Getting to a performance
The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra welcomes everyone to our concerts, from the most knowledgeable music lover to someone attending for the very first time.
Scroll down on the page for our most frequently asked questions.
COVID-19 Safety at the Concert Hall
Our return to the concert hall includes increased safety measures. Please keep up-to-date with state health advisories about COVID-19, including outbreaks, such as the NSW Health website or the Coronavirus Information Line on 1800 020 080. Please consider downloading the COVIDSafe App.
Please do not attend a performance if you are feeling unwell, have experienced any symptoms of COVID-19 in the past 14 days, are awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test, have been in contact with a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19 or have returned from overseas or a hotspot area. Please review our COVID-19 terms and conditions if you are no longer able to attend a performance due to these reasons. We ask that you err on the side of caution when considering your attendance.
Things to note before attending a performance:
- All audience members must check-in for contact tracing. Please check-in using the displayed QR codes. If your mobile device is unable to scan QR codes or use the app, please see venue staff for assistance. Before you visit a NSW venue, please download the Service NSW App to ensure your arrival at the venue is as smooth as possible:
- Face masks are strongly recommended to be worn while at City Recital Hall, Riverside Theatres and Melbourne Recital Centre.
- Concerts are scheduled to proceed at capacity limits in line with State Government advice. At present, City Recital Hall, Riverside Theatres and Melbourne Recital Centre are operating at 100% capacity.
- Please practise social distancing and avoid close contact
- Practise good hand hygiene. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for 20 seconds
- Use hand sanitiser (including before and after eating); and cough or sneeze into your elbow or a tissue
- Where possible use contactless payment methods at all transaction points at the venue
If you have any questions about attending a Brandenburg performance or our plans for 2021, contact us on 1300 782 856 (Mon-Fri 9am to 5pm), or send us a message.
For City Recital Hall’s latest Health and Safety measures, click here.
For Melbourne Recital Centre's Health and Safety measures, click here.
For Riverside Theatres' Health and Safety measures, click here.
Everything else you need to know!
We’ve put together a primer covering off common questions we’ve been asked over the years, along with helpful tips to ensure your Brandenburg experience is a memorable one.
If you have a question that’s not covered here, please call us on 1300 782 856. We’re here to help!
All ticket buyers will receive an order confirmation of their purchase, listing their door and seat numbers. This order confirmation will be accepted as a ticket for entry. Ticket holders may either print their order confirmation or present the email on a phone or smart device for admittance on arrival.
‘DISCOVER’ Brandenburg & SAVE UP TO $50 ON A NIGHT OUT
We are thrilled to announce that we’re now accepting the NSW Government's Discover vouchers. You can redeem your $25 Discover vouchers on single tickets and subscriptions to all 2021 Brandenburg performances in Sydney.
How to redeem your vouchers
If you’re a NSW Resident, aged 18 and over, you can access the vouchers via the Service NSW app, and download them as a QR code.
To redeem a voucher on a Brandenburg performance, please make your booking via our Box Office on (02) 9328 7581 and quote your 9-digit code, or visit in person at Level 1, 247 Coward Street Mascot NSW 2020 (vouchers can’t be used with online transactions). Our office is open 9am-5pm Monday to Friday excluding NSW Public Holidays.
Please note vouchers are valid with single ticket and subscription purchases only. Vouchers must be redeemed by 31 July 2021.
All patrons who visit the concert hall must check in via a QR code before they enter as per recent NSW Government regulations.
Before you visit a NSW venue, please download the Service NSW App to ensure your arrival at the venue is as smooth as possible:
If your device does not allow for QR code check in, you can still check in via the Service NSW App. If you are having trouble, or cannot use the app, please see a venue staff member to sign in via an alternative method.
It is strongly recommended that a face mask be worn while at a the concert hall. Please be aware that some members of the community may have issues with wearing masks due to health conditions – we ask that all audience members be respectful of others, as reasons for not wearing a mask are not always obvious.
Nothing is more important than the health and safety of everyone at the concert hall. Our venues are closely following State Government guidelines and advice. Up-to-date venue COVID-19 health and safety information will be provided in your pre-concert email and will be updated to this page.
Venue Health and Safety Information
Both the Melbourne Recital Centre and City Recital Hall are open one hour prior to our concert start time, and Queensland Performing Arts Centre foyers generally open 90 minutes prior to the performance start time. Some people like to arrive with time to read the concert program, enjoy a glass of champagne, catch up with friends and even make some new ones. It’s a great way to wind down from your day at work, rushing around or fighting with the traffic. We suggest you allow extra time if driving on a Friday night as traffic tends to be at its worst.
With COVID-19 safety requirements, some things may be a little different. Please ensure that you have enough time to complete your QR check-in prior to the concert.
The Brandenburg has moved to environmentally sustainable digital programs and podcast pre-concert talks. A free digital program is available via your pre-concert email and also to view via QR code at the concert hall on the day.
Due to COVID-19 social distancing requirements, we are currently unable to offer pre-show talks at the concert hall. We are however offering the pre-show talk in the form of a podcast - you can listen here.
If you are running late, don’t worry! Although entry into the concert hall is restricted once the performance has begun, ushers will be able to let you in at a suitable break. Venue COVID-19 Safety Plans will require you to sit in an allocated late-comers row until the end of the performance, rather than your allocated seat. The venue ushers will be able to assist you.
If you or a member of your party appear to have flu-like symptoms, you will be directed to leave the venue, get tested, and self-isolate, in accordance to state Government COVID-19 guidelines. If you fall ill while at the concert hall, please alert the nearest staff member and exit the venue. Depending on the nature of your illness, a First Aid Officer may attend to assist you.
High touch surfaces and shared spaces will be cleaned regularly by venue staff, in addition to routine cleaning in adherence with current Government recommendations.
For the benefit of our musicians and your fellow audience members, we kindly ask that you turn all electronic devices to silent before a performance begins. Other distractions can include talking and whispering, shuffling feet, coughing and paper rustling. Please respect the performers and those around you by ensuring these distractions are kept to a minimum. Photographing and recording is strictly prohibited at all times.
Just like jazz or pop concerts, orchestral concerts have a unique format which is easy to pick up. As a book has chapters, so a piece of orchestral music has several sections called movements. Although our musicians pause briefly between each movement, it’s accepted practice not to applaud but to wait until the end of a piece. At that time separate applause may be given to the soloist, which the conductor will indicate. To understand what’s going on, you can refer to your digital program to see how many movements there are in each piece or follow the cues from those around you.
The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra performs on period instruments which are more fragile than their modern equivalents and sensitive to temperature and humidity. In particular, the gut strings are not as stable as the metal strings on modern instruments. The materials and construction of period instruments contribute a great deal to their distinctive sound, but a consequence is that they tend to lose pitch quicker than their modern counterparts. For this reason, the Brandenburg re-tunes during a concert more often than a modern symphony orchestra does. The musicians need to be able to hear their instruments and one another during the tuning process, so we ask you to remain quiet at this time.
What could possibly be better than a ticket to one of our concert series?
A subscription package!
Get a subscription package!
If you’re a fan of the Brandenburg we think you’ll love our range of subscription packages! Available for Sydney or Melbourne venues, in sets of 3, 4, 5 or 6 concert packages; you’ll get the complete Brandenburg experience, for the perfect price in the perfect seat, the whole year round!