Before You Arrive
The Max? The Cube? Sosnick Courtyard? What is all this?
Great question. The Max is our name for the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center, the cultural campus that serves as the DSO’s home in Midtown Detroit. (Not to be confused with the Broadway-presenting Fisher Theater in Detroit’s New Center neighborhood.)
The Max includes historic Orchestra Hall, where most DSO performances take place. It also includes The Cube (the Peter D. and Julie F. Cummings Cube, to be exact), a black box theater-style venue for curated, urban, boundless experiences.
Hundreds of musicians who participate in our Civic Youth Ensembles also call The Max home (in the Jacob Bernard Pincus Music Education Center).
The Max also includes the Paradise Lounge (a cool spot for pre-concert food and drinks), the Oval Lobby (the historic, wood-clad entrance to Orchestra Hall), the Herman and Sharon Frankel Donor Lounge, the William Davidson Atrium, and more. It’s a lot—if you’re ever confused about where to go (or where you already are), just ask an usher or DSO staff member for assistance.
Just outside of the DSO off of Parsons Street, Sosnick Courtyard is our outdoor venue perfect for enjoying a variety of artists ranging from classical to funk to jazz on warm summer evenings. The Sosnick Courtyard allows guests to enjoy first-come-first-served seating with bring-your-own chairs and blankets welcome. It also features an outdoor bar and is a social distancing-friendly option to enjoy live music.
Choosing a Seat
Orchestra Hall
There are three main levels in Orchestra Hall: the floor (including sections Main Floor A and Main Floor B), the Box Level, and the balcony (including the Dress Circle, Mid Balcony, and Upper Balcony sections).
When we say there are no bad seats in the house, we mean it. That said, different areas of the hall provide different experiences. For example, if you’re looking to see a soloist up close, look for seats on the floor. If you want to see each section of the orchestra and how they share the stage, try an upper level.
The Cube
One reason we love The Cube so much is that it offers very flexible seating. For shows with lots of movement and dancing we tend to keep the floor wide open; for film screenings and other “eyes up front” events we can pull tiered auditorium-style seating out from the wall.
Most performances in The Cube have a general admission ticket option and a VIP reserved seating option.
Sosnick Courtyard
The DSO’s outdoor event venue, Sosnick Courtyard, is the perfect location to enjoy the bliss of the warm summer air and the sense of community that comes from attending live, outdoor performances. Sosnick Courtyard offers an open, flexible venue with bring-your-own seating and VIP seating options, an outdoor bar, and community greenspace. Performances in Sosnick Courtyard include a wide variety of genres and guarantee a summer evening you won’t forget.
Other Venues
The DSO regularly performs at venues outside of The Max, and each one is different – so your best bet is to contact us directly with questions.
If you have questions about seating at any venue, or if you’d like a recommendation, please don’t hesitate to contact the Box Office.
As you prepare to enter The Max, please have your e-ticket barcode ready to access on your mobile device for our ushers to scan. Click here to view a video about how to access your e-ticket barcode.
You do you! We don’t have a dress code, and you’ll see a variety of outfit styles.
Business casual attire is common, but sneakers and jeans are just as welcome as suits and ties.
Well, it depends. But most concerts last about two hours (including intermission), and patrons tend to spend between three and four hours with us (including parking, enjoying food and drinks, etc.).
If you’re curious about the length of any piece of music on the Classical Series, we recommend browsing the program notes in Performance Magazine.
Unless otherwise noted, all concerts in Orchestra Hall include a 15- or 20-minute intermission; the same goes for most performances in The Cube and Sosnick Courtyard. Alert chimes play over loudspeakers throughout the building a few minutes before the start of every performance and at the end of intermission.
At most performances you’ll receive a program book with information about the music and guest performers. Conductors and performers will often make additional remarks from the stage.
Performance magazine is the program book for PVS Classical and PNC Pops series concerts, and you can read it before arriving (or after, or really any time) by clicking here.
We also offer informative, half-hour pre-concert talks for all PVS Classical Series programs; these generally take the form of informal lectures or onstage interviews. Pre-concert talks start one hour prior to all PVS Classical Series performances except Friday morning Coffee Concerts, where patrons can enjoy free coffee.
We love seeing young faces at The Max, but we get it: some of us are too young for Schoenberg. We recommend doing a little research about the music, performers, and themes for a performance when deciding whether it’s appropriate for kids.
Please note that all patrons (of any age) must have a ticket to attend concerts. And good news: students (of any age) can purchase an annual Soundcard membership for just $25!
And a reminder: we have lots of great programming designed especially for kids, including Tiny Tots performances and Young People's Family Concerts.
No worries! If the music’s already started, an usher will ask you to wait until a break before seating you. The same applies if you leave Orchestra Hall and re-enter. Most performances are broadcast (with sound) on a TV in the William Davidson Atrium as well. For outdoor performances at Sosnick Courtyard, you’re welcome to enter at any time throughout the concert.