Music Hall "Backstage Tours" are alive and well. Our 30 volunteer tour guides are eager to share their knowledge and love of beautiful Music Hall with visitors from around the country and the world. Some guides are experts in the history of orchestra, opera or ballet. Some of our guides know more about the history of the building and the city of Cincinnati. Some guides love special audiences such as school children or amateur musicians. Each guide lends his or her own point of view to the tour, but Music Hall is always beautiful, historic and fascinating!

We already have 15 tours scheduled between September 1, 2001 and April 1, 2002. Tours were suspended in August 2001 due to renovation schedules. Now we are back to the usual whirlwind. There is a new Tour Guide Coordinator, Theresa Abell. She is leaming the ropes and successfully keeps up with all of the enthusiastic tourists as well as the busy tour guides.

In July, a meeting of the tour guides was held at the home of SPMH's President, Marlene Johnson. Marlene introduced the new tour guide coordinator and discussed ideas for enhancing the tour guides' expertise as well as the audience's enjoyment. We have some terrific ideas that we plan to implement in the next few months.

If you are interested in the architecture, history or the music, or just the beauty of Music Hall, these tours are for you! The one-hour walking tours are free to non-profit groups. There is a nominal fee for profit-making organizations. If you belong to a group that would like to see the "real" Music Hall, please call (513) 744-3419 to obtain more information or schedule a tour.