Lessons from a Columbus Symphony morning dress rehearsal

I enjoy hearing the Columbus Symphony perform, but am often too busy to attend weekend concerts.

• So I went to my first Friday morning dress rehearsal as part of our "Never Have I Ever" series .

Why it matters: It is a mesmerizing experience to watch and hear true artists at work.

The intrigue: The Ohio Theatre was surprisingly crowded with retirees, families and student field trips. I even saw a well-behaved baby in the balcony.

• My $16 seat, which came with complimentary doughnuts and coffee, would have cost $84 for a normal show.

What they said: "You know this is just a practice, right?" guest conductor Carl St. Clair joked to the audience.

• "Most cities don't have this many people at a regular concert."

How it worked: St. Clair conducted each piece in full, shouting things to players like "phrasing!" that could be heard across the concert hall.

• Musicians occasionally stood during the music to ask one another questions, while pianist Claire Huangci wrote notes on her tablet.
• After finishing, the group ran back through a few trouble spots before moving to the next piece.

Between the lines: The rehearsal offered life lessons you don't often receive at 10 in the morning:

🎹 Tchaikovsky is still Tchaikovsky, even in jeans.

• Audience members and musicians alike wore very casual dress — Huangci performed in a tank top and jeans — proving that great art trumps formality.
• Classical music can feel stuffy, but the Columbus Symphony tries to make it accessible through pop culture tie-ins , family shows and performing in other communities .

😤 Haters are always gonna hate.

• Tchaikovsky learned this long before Taylor Swift did. He first showed his magnificent Piano Concerto No. 1 to a friend, who dismissed it as worthless and needing to be rewritten.
• But he published the concerto as is. Audiences in Columbus and around the globe are still paying to hear it nearly 150 years later.

❤ There's no substitute for live music.

• Another rehearsal highlight was " Alone Together, " a stirring piece from 2021 depicting life and death during the pandemic.
• The shared listening experience, with all the memories evoked, was indescribably beautiful.

If you go: Three more dress rehearsals are planned for this season in April and May. Get tickets .

What's next: The group, which has played at the ornate venue for over 50 years, plans to build a dedicated performance space on the Scioto Peninsula that could open as early as 2028, WOSU reports .

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