CLEVELAND — Every year, the Cleveland Orchestra leaves Severance Hall, hitting the road to perform in places like New York, Florida and even overseas, but to make that possible, they must pack up the instruments and equipment of more than 100 musicians.

What You Need To Know

  • Every year, the Cleveland Orchestra hits the road to perform, but to make that possible they must pack up the instruments and equipment of more than 100 musicians

  • Stage manager Joe Short said about 10 to 15 orchestra staffers work to ensure everything in the travel process runs smoothly

  • It’s a lot of logistics and work, Short said, but worth the experience for the musicians and to uplift the city of Cleveland around the world

Stage manager Joe Short said his team handles the plan to get everything from point A to point B safely. 

“My team and I will be responsible for two well-packed, 53 foot, temperature-controlled trucks,” Short said. “Temperature controlled because of the old and delicate instruments, so we're watching temperature and humidity.”

While the Orchestra has done three week tours in Europe and Asia, right now, Short said they’re prepping for what he calls a “run-out” to New York City, where they’ll spend two nights performing in the legendary Carnegie Hall. 

“It's as big a deal to an American orchestra as one would think it is to play at Carnegie Hall,” he said. “There's quite a bit of anticipation, quite a bit of excitement. No matter how often we go, and we go every year, it’s still very exciting for myself, my crew and the musicians when we walk through the door and onstage at Carnegie Hall.”

Short said about 10 to 15 orchestra staffers, depending on the length and distance of the trip, work to ensure everything in the travel process runs smoothly, so the musicians can just focus on their performance. 

In the days and weeks before a trip, instrument and equipment cases line the hallways of Severance Hall. Then, on the day of departure, Short and his crew will load it all into temperature-controlled trucks before meeting them in NYC that afternoon.

“It's a little bit harder to load into New York than it is in some other American cities because of the lack of loading docks, because of the lack of real estate,” he said. “So it'll take about three hours from start to finish, about an hour and a half to unload the instruments, and then about an hour and a half to get everything in the right place, get everything unpacked and get the stage set.”

From there, his crew grabs a quick dinner before the orchestra starts their rehearsal, and the show eventually begins. Then they’ll tear down and reset the stage for their next performance, and pack it all up to come back to Cleveland again.

For trips overseas, Short said they have to bring all the equipment to Chicago’s O’Hare Airport or JFK in New York, and fly it all out on a large cargo flight because Cleveland’s aren’t large enough to support their needs.

It’s a lot of logistics and work, Short said, but worth the experience for the musicians and to uplift the city of Cleveland around the world.

“We're very proud to share the Cleveland Orchestra with cities who otherwise may not have an opportunity to ever hear of the city of Cleveland,” he said.

And, he added, none of this would be possible without the help of another Orchestra administrator.

“It would not be possible without Rebecca Vineyard, who's the director of touring and operations, who is in charge of all of this,” he said. “She's in charge of the trucks. She's in charge of the hotels. She's in charge of the flight. She's in charge of the water backstage. She's literally in charge of everything the Cleveland Orchestra does on tour, and she is our hero. And none of us could do it without her.”

The Cleveland Orchestra is performing in Carnegie Hall on March 18 and 19 before coming home to finish out the season.