The first concert in Thamesmead, with the Trout Quintet, was about half-full and we all felt the weariness of the knowledge that it would be uphill work to fill the dome by the end of the week. this process, of starting with nothing and building up to a loving and numerous audience five days later, was one that we were very familiar with, and we didn't always have the energy to plunge willingly into the week's crescendo when once again we experienced the coldness of the first night. I wanted to find some way of asking the audience how many of them listen to classical music on a regular basis, but we couldn't really think of a way of asking them without implying that something was amiss if they didn't. One idea that emerged was that of setting it up so that the audience knew they would be asked what they felt about classical music and would have the first half of the concert to consider their response, after which we could take our interval with them, not away from them, and chat to them about their reactions. Some were in favour of trying this out; others felt that it would ruin their own concentration on the second half. << less