Sir,- During March of this year in the City Hall, Cork, history was made when the Band of the Southern Command joined forces with the Cork School of Music Concert Band to present a full-length concert in celebration of the CSM Concert Band's 10th Birthday. Never before has an army band and a civilian band combined in this way, and the result was inspirational.
Listening to 85 musicians playing their hearts out to a packed hall filled me with joy and pride, but alarm bells rang when I counted the number of musicians now in the Band of the Southern Command. Some research has revealed a sorry situation for music in the Armed Forces and urgent action is needed before irreparable damage is done to one of the country's most valued resources.
The facts are simple. To sustain the four existing bands (The Army No. 1 Band based in Dublin, and the ones in the Curragh, Cork and Athlone) there is a need for 170 personnel (150 performers and a support element of 20 - including trainees). The current strength has already been allowed to dwindle to 145 with disastrous consequences. All the bands are missing critical instruments and, as a consequence, standards have fallen below anything which these ensembles have always produced in the past.
The proposed future strength for the entire music service is 136 (with only 123 in the four bands instead of the necessary 150). In addition, the post of Director of Music is to be down-graded from Colonel to Lt Colonel.
So, what is this country facing? Is it to have four bands, none of which will be able to perform in a professional manner because its instrumentation will be ludicrously incomplete? Or is it to be three bands, and, if so, which band is to be scrapped? Neither of these scenarios should be acceptable to the nation, and I call upon the musicians of the country to unite to prevent the former arising, and the politicians of Dublin, Cork, Athlone and Kildare to prevent the latter scenario. - Yours etc., Dr Geoffrey Spratt,
Director, Cork School of Music.
Chairman, Council of the Heads of Music in Higher Education, Union Quay, Cork.