The Philadelphia Orchestra — Local services in Philadelphia

Of course, they're an excellent orchestra. My complaint is about the odd direction they seem to be going, where they seem to think they're a political organization instead of an artistic one. I had not been to a performance (no longer live in Philly) in over a decade. I was enjoying the music when I heard the absurd sound of a beer can cracking open behind me! So it seems that it's now permissible to drink inside the hall. The same woman put her foot on the front of the seat in front of her. I don't think this is a good move. Also before the performance and after intermission there is a very annoying announcement in this cartoonish voice about silencing phones. The tone of it is not professional and doesn't set the right mood. This isn't a comedy show; it's a performance. We're not children. Further, why the odd explanation that by renaming Verizon Hall Marian Anderson Hall it somehow proves and is meant to indicate that "all are welcome" here? What does that mean or have to do with a performance? Marian Anderson was one of the greatest singers ever. We don't need to reduce her to a token of "inclusion." And if the message is that by naming it after a black American it means that black audience members are "welcome " (weren't they always welcome?), what about every other group, like Hispanic, Asian, Native American, etc? I see a lot of that language on the website as well, i.e., "woke" stuff that has nothing to do with art. Let's stick with world-class-level artistry and artistic decisions and not go down the path of "inclusiveness" and other DEI jargon. It will only turn off the people most committed to your art. It actually makes it more exclusionary. Don't try to justify or defend or dumb down classical music. It's one of the great creations of Western Civilization. Keep politics out of it. We need an escape...

Went to 2/1/24 Orchestra After 5: Strings and Tango. The concert was awesome as usual.

The reviews are for the management of the event and the promotion sale and ticketing.

The set up for the pre-concert tango demonstration/lesson and a mini concert in the gathering area was terrible. There were many rows of chairs set up in front of the performance stage but people would stand in front of the seating area and all you can see was the back of the people. The tango lesson was held in a tight space in front of the stage and the people went up there were like in a sardine can trying to learn the dance. It was not an enjoyable experience.

False advertisement of a flash sale (Showmance buy one get one 50% off). The final purchase amount did not reflect the discount.

Booked a concert over the phone, received email indicating that the tickets will be delivered in a subsequent email. Never received them. Called again and was told that they will be emailed in the next 2 hours. Never...

The orchestra is very good but it is so badly run. Every time I try to go to their performances there's always one problem or another. This time I asked to book a concert along with parking and dinner, they managed to give me dinner on a separate day! Called twice already trying to fix it and got "sorry, we'll get back to you". Concert is in less than two days (new year's eve). Never again.

They charge 10% booking fee; exchanging tickets is a pain; once paid no money is ever returned (default is donation); and so on. Worst run company. MET opera and Carnegie are so much better. And the chamber society, also at Kimmel...