Last summer, RTE's director general, Bob Collins, was very anxious to set about the appointment of a new director of music, writes Michael Dervan. Ultimately the new director would become the chief executive of a yet-to-be-established subsidiary company, into which RTE proposes to place all its performing groups. High on Collins's summertime agenda was consultation with RTE's musicians about the job description for the new post. The fly in the ointment here was the attitude of the National Symphony Orchestra, whose players feel that their interests as a national institution would best be served by independence from RTE's other performing groups and who, for that reason, are opposed to the current developments that RTE is pushing. In the event, it took until October for the new post to be advertised.
The closing date for applications for the new job was November 7th, since when the airwaves and grapevine have been silent. When contacted by this column, RTE confirmed that everything was still on course, that there had been delays in putting together an interview board and that interviews were expected to take place at the end of this month or early in February. Pointing out that, after all, the station had a head of music in situ, spokesman Kevin Healy seemed to be perplexed that anyone might feel things were moving slowly.
An inquiry to the office of the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, Sile de Valera, yielded the information that she has already met representatives of the NSO and is briefed on their position. Her formal consent and that of the Minister for Finance will be required before RTE is allowed to establish its new subsidiary.
"Under existing legislation," the Minister pointed out, "it is a matter for the RTE Authority in the first place to determine the organisational arrangements relating to the NSO. Any change in the position would require fresh legislation. The desire of the NSO will be considered in the context of the legislative policy proposals currently being developed."
On the wider issue of the PIANO report, the Minister says that its recommendations will be considered in the context of policy proposals she is developing "for consideration by Government, relating to new broadcasting structures generally". This, it seems, is to be interpreted as a general lack of enthusiasm, given that another of the PIANO report's recommendations (and one which does not fall "within the exclusive responsibility of the Minister") is singled out for commendation: the idea of an Irish Academy for the Performing Arts has already got the Minister engaged in discussions with the Minister for Education and Science "about how best to develop this proposal". It seems that some of the most far-reaching of musical developments recommended by PIANO are once again on the political long finger.
