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Players and Keys

Oh yes, you’re bound to think that this is a rant about key signatures and accidentals. Or is it about tonality and atonality? No! This is about actual keys; the kind that lock doors and open doors. That is if the person who has the key turns up to open the said door.

I wonder how many times this has happened to you. You turn up for a rehearsal or a concert and the venue is locked. No one in the group is at fault; it is just that the person who is supposed to open up has not appeared. The person who took the booking might not have informed them or there may just have been a little mix up.

Whatever the cause the outcomes can be disastrous. Today I drove to Nottingham from Leeds to conduct a crucial three-hour rehearsal. When I arrived the car park was full of musicians; a bad sign, and it turned out that the group had been let down by the people who run the building. Two bands were robbed of their rehearsal and this was not the fault of the organisers.

I thought about other times during my years as a conductor when this has happened. One concert by the YWO was due to take place in the Square Chapel, Halifax. The setup and rehearsal were delayed due to a communication problem by the organisers.
When we tried to contact the key holder, they had been dead for 8 months; a decent excuse! When eventually we got into the hall there was only time for the setup and a sound check before the concert.

I have stood outside several venues awaiting a saviour with a key; Bretton Hall, Bradford College, and various bandrooms and it always makes the organisers look bad. It is seldom their fault although on one occasion a member of the orchestra administration team had forgotten a code for the door at Gateways School.

Perhaps it is just a reflection of the furtive way that our amateur music tradition; one of the best in the world, I would add, has to go about it’s business. Germany is full of nice modern concert halls in which a multitude of local groups rehearse, and here we beg borrow and hire church halls, schools, community centres and other multi-use establishments which are generally closed during the times that bands need to rehearse. If The National Lottery were really serious about supporting amateur music, they should aim to provide affordable, modern, reasonable sized venues around the country that will allow groups to hire them at very favourable; even subsidised rates. A legacy like this, kept out of the hands of local councils and money grabbing agents and promoters would ensure the longevity of a fine tradition of amateur music and theatre in Britain.