SUNDAY CONCERTS.

Southland Times, Issue 18854, 21 June 1920, Page 4

SUNDAY CONCERTS.

It is to be hoped that- the Town Council will seriously consider the remarks made by a correspondent in the Southland Times this morning in reference to band concerts in the Municipal Theatre on Sunday. His criticism of the corporation in this matter is rather heated, but that should not blind councillors to the points that he raises. Having gone the length of letting the theatre for Sunday night concerts —an excellent decision to our way of thinking—the council in its anxiety to see that churchgoers are not penalised in the matter ol securing scats, have deprived the bands of a fair proportion of the revenue I hat experience leaches them to expect and the upshot seems to be the cancellation of concerts because they do not pay. It is a well known fact, as our correspondent reminds us, that in Timaru and Wanganui, not to mention the cities of the dominion, the local bauds arc able by means of Sunday night concerts to furnish the citizens with beneficial amusement and at the same time to augment their funds. The experience of the Wanganui bands suggests that the Invercargill hands are under a disadvantage. It seems to us that these concerts in the theatres must bo of immense advantage to bands that have to go to contests, where “inside” playing is the rule, in giving the bandsmen an opportunity of becoming used to playing indoors, but the greatest advantage of concerts on Sunday nights is the opportunity they afford the citizens of hearing and encouraging the playing of good music. The council has unwittingly put an obstacle in the way of the.-c concerts being held, because none of the Invercargill bands are rich enough lo be able to run concerts at a loss. It is suggested that the doors of the theatre might be opened at 7.45 p.m. for these concerts, and as most of the congregations are leaving the churches at that time we do not think that they would he at any serious disadvantage. At the present time the council is asking a Sunday night audience to engage in a rush for seats and to fill the theatre in fifteen minutes’ time. It is extremely doubtful if a thousand people could secure seats in that time without any confusion, and the spectacle of a stampede into the building is hardly edifying. The additional fifteen minutes would make all the difference, enabling the bands to take up a collection at the doors and permitting the audience to proceed with less discomfort. This additional fifteen minutes, we are assured, is a matter of great importance, because it represents the difference between Sunday nights with good music and without. We hope, therefore, that the Town Council will reconsider the question and rectify what seems to have been a mistake made with the very best of intentions.