Your first classical concert

Arrive about half an hour early: there is a coat check, a bar for a drink before the concert and at intermission, and many orchestras hold a free talk about the music before the concert.

The orchestra comes on stage and tunes to an A from the oboe. Then the concertmaster, the leader of the violins, walks on to applause, the conductor follows, and the hall goes quiet.

Most evening concerts start at 7:30 or 8 p.m. and last about two hours, with an intermission of about twenty minutes.

A symphony or concerto has several movements with short pauses between them. Most audiences stay silent in those pauses and clap at the end of the whole piece, when the conductor lowers their arms.

Nobody minds if you clap too early, and after a thrilling first movement some audiences do. At the opera you can applaud after a big aria; in a recital you can wait for the musician to lower their instrument.

Not sure? Wait for the people around you, then clap as long as you like. American audiences stand up often, so join the standing ovation if you loved it.

Wear whatever you would wear to a nice dinner, or to the office. Jeans are fine everywhere; you will see suits and dresses next to sneakers.

Opening nights, galas and New Year's Eve concerts are a little dressier, but even there nobody is turned away for their clothes.

Buy from the hall's box office, the orchestra's own website or the ticket seller it links to. Resale sites often charge more than face value and add their own fees.

Students and kids pay much less, or nothing: the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra lets kids and students in free, and the Minnesota Orchestra has student rush tickets, under-40 tickets and free tickets for kids for select concerts. Many American orchestras have similar programs.

Ask about rush tickets: discounted seats sold shortly before a concert when there are seats left.

Free concerts are everywhere once you know where to look: college music schools, church organ recitals with a free-will offering at the door and, in summer, concerts in the park.

In St. Paul, the Schubert Club's Courtroom Concerts are free at noon most Thursdays at Landmark Center, and most University of Minnesota School of Music concerts at Ted Mann Concert Hall cost nothing.

Family concerts are short, often an hour or less, and made for kids, with a story, a host and an age range on the ticket. Some orchestras also give sensory-friendly concerts, with a relaxed hall where moving and making noise is fine.

For regular evening concerts, check the hall's age advice; kids who can sit still for forty minutes usually enjoy a matinee with a famous piece. The Minnesota Orchestra's Hall Pass gives kids free tickets to select concerts.

American concert halls have wheelchair spaces with a seat for a companion, as the Americans with Disabilities Act requires. Book these through the box office rather than online.

Many halls lend assistive listening devices; ask at the box office or the coat check.

In the Twin Cities, Orchestra Hall is on Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis and the Ordway is on Rice Park in downtown St. Paul, with parking ramps close to both. Northrop and Ted Mann Concert Hall are on the University of Minnesota campus, on the Green Line light rail.

Evening concerts usually end between 9:30 and 10 p.m. Ramps fill up before big concerts, so allow time to park.