SUNDAY CONCERTS

Stratford Evening Post, Issue 8, 1 August 1930, Page 4

SUNDAY CONCERTS

BAN IN CHRISTCHURCH HARDSHIP TO BANDS Organisers of bands in Christchurch declare that they will be very hard hit by the ban placed on Sunday concerts by the City Council, The money from concerts, they say, is one of their chief sources of income, and the prohibition will make a great difference to their receipts. “The council has taken up the attitude that the bands are out to exploit the public,” said Mr. R. J. Estall, conductor of the Woolston Band. “This Is not a fact, as there is no monetary gain as far as the individual player is concerned.” Heavy Expenses. Mr. Estall explained that it took a good deal of money to keep up a firstclass band, as there were expenses for new music, replacement of instruments, and many smaller incidental expenses which, in the course of a year, added up to a considerable total. Exclusive of the expense of attending a contest, the outgoings of a good band were somewhere in the region of £2OO. To go to a contest away from Christchurch, it cost a band anything up to £250. “The restrictions are very disheartening,” said Mr. Estall. “Bands are a semi-public institution, and are at the beck and call of the public for any charitable purpose. Last year we turned out forty-seven times for charity concerts, and in some instances we were not even thanked for our work. “It would be a sorry city without bands, but Christchurch puts more restrictions on bands than any town in New Zealand. Bandsmen have to give up a lot of time to their music, besides the two practices each week. It is an unselfish business from start to finish, and it is very disheartening when we get restrictions for no reason at all.”

Will Hit Us Hard.” “It will hit us hard,” said Air. R. Kean, secretary of the Alunicipal Band. “The money we get from' engagements, concerts, and the radio does not keep us,” Mr. Hcan said that the matter would have to be taken up by the bands, because Sunday concerts were looked to for revenue for a great many purposes. The men all gave their services free, and expenses were heavy, especially if a band attended a contest. “The money is well spent, because a band which wins at a contest brings honour to the city," said Mr. Hean. “People ought to be proud to give.” Air. C. F. Buxton, secretary of the New Brighton Band, expressed the opinion that neither the council nor the public realised the cost of running a band. The ban on Sunday concerts would hit all bands pretty hard, as most of them depended on income from this source for funds for new uniforms and the cost of attending contests.

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