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apo.co.nz<br />
RB: The <strong>APO</strong> is a much bigger<br />
organisation today and does a lot<br />
more. Has funding kept up?<br />
BG: Income has grown substantially but<br />
so have costs. Just doing the same thing<br />
is costing more, but that is true for most<br />
arts and cultural organisations. Inflation<br />
has gone up 15.8% in the last three years<br />
but funding hasn’t, and we haven’t felt it’s<br />
right to increase ticket prices. So, either<br />
we find more income, we cut costs, or we<br />
reduce our operating scale, which we’d<br />
never want to do. Covid has made the<br />
last three years very challenging for the<br />
sector, too. And of course, maintaining<br />
our artistic integrity is our highest priority<br />
as an orchestra; we must stay true to our<br />
core purpose.<br />
RB: Auckland Council has signalled<br />
a possible change of direction<br />
regarding funding that could affect<br />
the <strong>APO</strong>’s viability. What’s your<br />
stance on that?<br />
BG: It’s important for Auckland and<br />
the country to look at the value of<br />
the investment and the value that an<br />
orchestra and other cultural organisations<br />
bring. When everything else is ragged<br />
and uninspiring, people love what culture<br />
and the arts give them. An orchestra is<br />
precious, and music can move us. Often<br />
I’ll sit in a concert and look around the<br />
audience: everyone is focused on what’s<br />
happening on that stage.<br />
They’re not worrying<br />
about what’s going<br />
on elsewhere, they’re<br />
present with like-minded<br />
people and feel a deep<br />
sense of beauty, meaning<br />
and connection in the<br />
moment. You take those<br />
kinds of things away from<br />
a community at your peril.<br />
RB: What are you<br />
proudest of?<br />
BG: I’m very proud of<br />
how far we have come<br />
since 2006. The quality and depth of our<br />
music-making, the professionalism and<br />
variety of our programming, and even our<br />
geographical location: Auckland Town<br />
Hall – in the heart of the city. I’m so proud<br />
of the Connecting programme and the<br />
reach and the diversity of it. The way that<br />
everyone pulled together through the<br />
pandemic was inspiring, and we have<br />
become a more resilient, resourceful<br />
and flexible organisation because of that<br />
amazing teamwork. The Beethoven cycle<br />
with Giordano.<br />
Establishing<br />
Sistema Aotearoa<br />
I’m so proud of the<br />
musicians, proud<br />
of the staff, proud<br />
of the community<br />
support, proud of<br />
the fantastic musical<br />
quality we achieve<br />
week after week.<br />
in 2011, the<br />
dance projects<br />
that we did, and<br />
the partnerships<br />
we’ve formed with<br />
organisations such<br />
as the Auckland<br />
Arts Festival,<br />
the University of<br />
Auckland, the<br />
Australian National<br />
Academy of<br />
Music and many<br />
others. We have<br />
a world-class<br />
Concertmaster in Andrew Beer, we’ve got<br />
fabulous leaders in the orchestra and on<br />
the staff. Everyone supports each other<br />
in what is a complex and multi-faceted<br />
organisation, which is still running on<br />
Lake Mapourika, Franz Josef
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