Musicians Dismissed

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31857, 9 December 1968, Page 16

Musicians Dismissed

Eight of the nine full-time professional members of the Christchurch Civic Orchestra have been given notice from December 31, according to the chairman of the Christchurch Civic Orchestra (Mr G. R. Lascelles).

The players, whom he regarded as the core of the orchestra, had been given notice because there was no guaranteed income to pay the professional members, said Mr Lascelles.

The only exception to the dismissals would be the orchestra’s leader (Mr L. Yffer) whose contract did not expire until next year. Mr Lascelles said that the foundation had received a letter from the eminent English pianist, John Ogdon, who wished the orchestra success and said that Christchurch deserved to have an orchestra as part of its permanent cultural environment.

The Mayor of Tauranga (Mr R. A. Owens) who is the managing-director of Stars Travel, Ltd, sponsors of six concerts, spoke to the capacity audience at the orchestra’s final “Music *6B” concert yesterday. He said that if the people of Christchurch decided they did not want the Civic Orchestra he was prepared, “at the wrath of his councillors,” to take it to Tauranga. He had found that the sponsorship, as well as being financially profitable, had been of tremendous satisfaction to him.

The quality of the performance bore out his original feelings that the sponsorship

would be well worth while—it had proved “a winner.” Mr Owens said that Dobbs Franks, the orchestra’s conductor, had been invited to go to Tauranga in an advisory capacity for the recentlyformed Festival and Arts Society.