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. 

All patrons who visit City Recital Hall must check in via a QR code before they enter as per recent NSW Government regulations. Before you visit the venue, please download the Service NSW App to ensure your arrival at the venue is as smooth as possible: 

• iOS 
• Android 

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 City Recital Hall staff member to sign in via an alternative method.

As of 3 January 2021, it is mandatory to wear a mask in all indoor entertainment venues in Greater Sydney. Children under the age of 12 are exempt but are encouraged to wear a mask where practicable. 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. You can learn more about restrictions in Greater Sydney on the NSW Health website.

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. For City Recital Hall’s latest Health and Safety measures, click here. 

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. We recommend you check City Recital Hall’s latest advice on bar, cloak room and box office hours here.

Due to COVID-19 social distancing requirements, no pre-show talks are currently planned for our Sydney 2021 Season. We will advise you if this changes for your upcoming performance.

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.

Our venues adhere to maximum capacities in line with current State Government requirements. Due to the changing nature of these requirements, we will notify you if there are capacity changes to your performance.

High touch surfaces and shared spaces will be cleaned regularly by venue staff, in addition to routine cleaning in adherence with current Government recommendations.

The Brandenburg has moved to environmentally sustainable digital programs. 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.

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.