In an interview with the British online magazine Sinfini Music, Gerard McBurney, the CSO’s artistic programming adviser, talks about the evolution of audience development efforts, including the CSO’s Beyond the Score series (for which he serves as creative director).

He also answers the ultimate “what if” question for artistic administrators: Given an unlimited budget, what would you do to change the way we experience classical music? “I would completely rebuild the spaces in which classical music takes place. I would make them much more porous, adaptable, beautiful to be in, accessible, able to accommodate any collection of musicians under any circumstances, and above all, I would insist that the design of these spaces be not only incredibly alluring so that everyone wants to go there, but that they would bring everyone in the hall really close to the musicians. Because I think we have to get away from the bourgeois culture pattern of the 19th century. Everything to me is about bringing people close.”

To read the full interview, click here: