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Where are our audiences?

Trying to turn the subject away from Football and back to the serious topic
of Brass Bands. I am a member of the Whitburn Band, the current Scottish
Champions. The band prides itself in trying to be innovative and trying out
new avenues to promote bands.

However, with the events of the past few weeks I wonder if it is worth the
bands efforts trying to go out and get an audience for brass bands. Maybe,
this is a peculiar thing to Scotland - although I doubt it having played in
England for a good few years.

The band has tried to present a season of concerts at the Queens Hall in
Edinburgh and Henry Wood Hall in Glasgow, both halls are good acoustically
and are close to the City Centres. The concerts would feature the band
joined by a guest soloist, sometimes from Brass Bands and sometimes from
other artistic areas and always features a good mix of repertoire.

The first of the season took place in Edinburgh to a quarter filled hall in
February. This is despite a brochure being issued to thousands of customers
of the Queen's Hall advertising the concert. The most recent concerts were
to take place this Saturday and Sunday, however with tickets sales in double
figures for the Edinburgh concert and a grand total of nil for the Glasgow
concert we have had to cancel both engagements. This is despite having the
present Young Musician of the Year, Adrian Spillet as our guest.

We are still scheduled to go ahead with a further concert in Edinburgh
during the Festival featuring the Halle Brass - I hope that the brass band
public of scotland can be more bothered this time to get out of their chairs
and listen to one of their countries top bands!

I wonder if any other bands have had similar problems and can suggest ways
to break the lack of motivation for the concert going public.

Incidentally we played Acid Brass this weekend at the BBC Music Live
Festival and I was told by an old patron that this c**p was not the sort of
stuff people wanted to listen to - this is despite a 200 hundred strong
crowd dancing and clapping in the streets. Where was this old man when the
tickets went on sale for the Glasgow concert?

P.S. These are my own personal views and do not necessarily represent those
of the Whitburn Band.

Richard Dyson
Percussionist
Whitburn Band


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