I had heard the orchestra several times during their free 4th July concert on public square, but my first trip to Severance was just 3 Christmas seasons ago. Since going to that holiday show 3 years ago I decided to make it a Xmas tradition and in that light returned to Severance this year on 23 December. The building is beautiful at any time I'm sure, but Christmas is extra special. It looks rather royal all traditionally decked. It can be a bit confusing getting to your seat on your first visit I suppose but there are ushers all around to tell if you that stair or this elevator will take you to the right place or not. As for parking (for the Xmas shows at least) you can either prebuy a garage pass with your ticket ($14) or get there really early (about an hour) hoping there will be garage spots still available ($10). However after so many cars w/o passes are allowed in the garage they restrict the garage to pass holders only. If you don't make it in the garage you can park on the street or the lot across the street from Severance - it's not a far walk. Being in the garage is nice though because you can leave your coats in your car (a good idea because the seats are close together - take note tall people).
As for the content of the Christmas show - the orchestra was great. They played familiar songs so if you are not a huge orchestra / classical fan this would be a painlessly wonderful introduction to the CLE Orchestra. They even do a cool sing-along thing with "The 12 days of Xmas" and a couple other songs which adds a bit of fun to the show. The time goes fast and the conductor is rather personable and chatty. Book your tickets early - shows, like tonights, sell out!