receptions. On Severance Hall’s ground floor is Reinberger Chamber Hall, a separate 402-seat auditorium that is frequently used for more intimate performances and pre-concert lectures. On September 30, 2021, the Cleveland Orchestra and Musical Arts Association announced that the name of the venue was changing to Severance Music Center. Architecture Designed by Cleveland firm Walker & Weeks, Severance Hall is located at the intersection of Euclid Avenue and East Boulevard. The front entrance features a grand lobby in the form of a domed rotunda, with the main auditorium and various service spaces spread out in a conjoined fan. The building’s exterior was designed to complement the nearby Cleveland Museum of Art, featuring a neoclassical portico and an Art Deco relief by New York sculptor Henry Hering. The interior of Severance Hall features a variety of architectural styles, including Art Deco and elements of Egyptian Revival. The Grand Foyer is surrounded by marble columns and decorated with papyrus and lotus flower patterns that are used in a number of places. The main concert hall features a silvery aluminum leaf ceiling with designs based on 18th century English point lace. Acoustics Shortly after the opening of Severance Hall, several acoustic problems were noted. These were attributed to the use of velvet curtains in audience boxes, thick carpet across much of the hall, and a large, sound-absorbing fly space located above the stage. In addition, removable shells created for the Orchestra were constructed of materials that didn't reflect sound. Finally, the 6,025-pipe Ernest M. Skinner organ could be heard, but its positioning outside the auditorium itself was experimental and limited the options for addressing the auditorium's dry acoustics. In 1958, at the prompting of music director George Szell, an acoustical redesign of the hall was undertaken. To make the auditorium more resonant, the original proscenium and blue velvet curtains were removed and the use of carpet was reduced to a minimum. On the stage, a permanent acoustical shell was built — affectionately known as “The Szell Shell” — which consisted of thick wooden walls formed in a series of convex curves. To make the walls less absorbent and more reflective of sound, they were filled with sand. The result was a more vibrant-sounding space which complemented the Orchestra’s tone under Szell's direction. Visually, though, the new Modernist stage clashed with the elegant Art Deco design of the concert hall. In addition, the organ's