if you live in cleveland and haven’t been to a cleveland orchestra performance at severance hall, shame on you. and if you don’t live in cleveland and haven’t been to a performance, shame on you too.

severance hall is a depression era masterpiece. i’ve been in about a gazillion concert halls across america and europe and, trust me, severance can hold its own. the gild work on the ceiling is so gorgeous it nearly distracts from the performance. nearly.

but, honestly, when you hear the strings rise up like a single voice, you’ll think you walked through st. peter’s gate and into a heavenly symphony. i have never heard music this pristine. and with $10 student tickets ($10!), i’m ashamed i’m not tucked up in the balconey every week.