The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center

This is a concert hall that demands you listen. The Baker-Baum stage sits like a polished instrument, warm wood and subtle lighting tuned so the piano sings without apology and a Mariachi trumpet rattles every rib in the room. It is compact, about 450 seats, so nothing is lost; even an unamplified singer reaches the back of the balcony. The auditorium feels newly built but lived-in, the plaza outside offering a place to smoke a cigarette or trade program notes over a weak concession wine. Valet appears on busy nights and a parking garage sits a block away. Programming ranges from chamber music to international piano recitals, and some nights the crowd is serious, late-middle-aged and very quiet. Leave the phone in your pocket; one ringtone will travel from the stalls to the rafters and everyone will know who it is.