Mechanics Hall is one of the world’s finest concert halls. Internationally regarded for its superb acoustics, the Hall boasts a celebrity list that includes Thoreau and Dickens, Caruso and Dvorak, Teddy Roosevelt and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Yo Yo Ma and Itzak Perlman, Mel Torme and Ella Fitzgerald. Mechanics Hall is home to the Worcester Music Festival, the oldest music festival in the nation, founded in 1859.