'Popular music' concerts, movies and sports games all seem to manage drink-holding audiences, and although I'm not trying to compare the symphony to a hockey game, I can definitely see the appeal. Social events have drinks. Going to a concert is a social event. It works. Even with the so-called "posh" stereotype given to classical music (which is totally not true), people don't mind more opportunities to have a glass of wine in a social environment.

The only issue I see with this idea is convincing the audience that it could work. I know that some people require total silence when they're listening to a concert and cringe if the person beside them so much as shifts in their chair. If we have problems with coughing and candy wrappers now, what will they say to clinking glasses?

The drinks in the theatre definitely worked at this week's concert, though. I think we should try it.

I think it would be okay for some concerts, but not all.  Fun, pops, "big music", experimental (intersections), and amplified music concerts would benefit from a more relaxed atmosphere.  (Maybe even take off those penguin suits.)  Concerts featuring specific virtuosic solo performances, smaller orchestras and/or lots of quiet passages, I wouldn't want the distraction.

I wonder if there are nice looking washable plastic wine/beer glasses.  I worry about glass breakage and clinking, but I loathe the waste of disposable.

Good discussion point!

Absolutely, I agree that it would be really great for intersections, pops and other concerts of that nature. I also see no problem in reminding attendees to clean up after themselves at intermission / end of the show.

While a little off topic, I wanted to add that I loved the venue last night. Being able to sit that close the orchestra gave the evening a very different, more relaxed vibe. You did a great job also of distributing the food and removing the spoons without any serious disruption to the music.

Great event all in all!

Ramy

It's an interesting topic -- though our traditional audiences might not be wild about it, it seems to be a thing that might appeal to some of the people who don't normally come and think of the Symphony as an uptight experience.  I wouldn't mind an experiment with this.  It can't be worse than the coughing and candy wrappers.  They're deadly.  Why not quietly suppress your cough w/ a glass of wine?  I'm sure in Mozart's time they did ...  This idea of sitting in rapt silence only happened in the late 19th /Early 20th Centuries!

I wasn't wildly enthusaiastic about this change at first because I was concerned about hearing the unwelcome ping of plastic cups as they careened around under the seats at  particularly inappropriate times,  but after several concerts at the Centre in the Square this hasn't appeared to be a real problem since  patrons are quite respectful and seem to holding onto those cups quite tightly.  At the Bon Appetit Intersections concert I was quite happy to enjoy a glass of wine during the performance along with several courses of food. So at this time I'm optimistic that we'll adapt to a relaxed but respectful atmosphere with the presence of beer and wine. Good wine and great music seem like natural companions afterall. I'm drawing the line though at poutine.

We allowed drinks at the Pops show this past weekend - I saw a few wine glasses with little plastic lids travelling about (Michelle wanted to poke a straw through hers). Did anyone hear how it went over?

I once went to a piano-vocal recital at a large Anglican church.  As you walked into the sanctuary (where the recital was), one could see a bar had been set up that offered beer and wine.  While there was a nominal price for those beverages, water, cheese and fruit were offered free.  Folks were buying a glass of wine (real glass!) and taking it to their seat/pew.  During the recital or at intermission, they were free to walk back to the bar and purchase more wine or beer.  There were probably only a few hundred people in the audience, but I think this helped to create an informal and intimate feeling for the concert.  Perhaps we can do something similar for concerts at CCPA?