Sir, - It is very pleasing to see musical matters taken seriously enough yet again in The Irish Times, so as to warrant consideration in a leader (May 19th). A previous leader article concerned the lack of adequate music in schools which we are confident we can address, given sufficient funding. Perhaps we are returning to the times of the 1920s and 1930s when, I am told, the Feis Ceoil was reported in bold type on the front pages.
We truly welcome every comment the leader contained, particularly as our MAI forebears made this comment, in relation to a tour they had mounted some 50 years ago of the then New London String Quartet: "The interesting outcome of the tours by the Quartet was that what most would regard as a very `highbrow' form of music became immensely popular in most of the remote corners of the land". (Extract from the unpublished Memoirs of Brian Boydell entitled The Roaring Forties and After.)
What is not brought out in the leader is the very real encouragement that is needed to maintain and further inspire existing bands to ever-greater heights. They say travel broadens the mind; recording certainly concentrates it and makes the art form available to a wider public. Marketing and promotion of existing groups is woefully inadequate which does little to enhance the self-esteem of the players.
While we are nicely plagued by visits of foreign symphony orchestras, including the European Union Youth Orchestra, it would be very agreeable if everyone had the same "feel-good" factor about our own NSOI's "home and away fixtures". This equally applies to the other groups mentioned in or implied by your excellent leader. - Yours, etc.,
Rodney Senior, Chairman, Music Association of Ireland, South Great George's Street, Dublin 2.