University of Virginia Library

John Herring's Artists

The Minnesota Orchestra's performance,
while it may not have delighted all critics,
delighted some of us dilettantes and indicated
to us once again that what culture does
manage to find its way to town is truly
appreciated by the audiences. The Artists
Series, which has featured in past years
outstanding performances from the Vienna
Symphony to Swan Lake, has wet the
whistles of many hungry music lovers like
ourselves and has even pleased the palates of
many of the real connoisseurs in the
community.

This program does not just happen, and it
will not just continue to happen. It is a
product of time, effort and money, as are
most worthwhile public programs. The time
and effort is the job of John Herring, Director
of Newcomb Hall. The money (when things
are going well) comes from those who buy
the tickets. The Artist Series would not be
able to make it if any one of those factors
disappeared.

Last night Mr. Herring announced that
the Series is in the black for the second time
in 13 years. At $5 per ticket ($11 for a
season) there is no reason why it should have
any difficulty staying solvent in a university
of this size... except the indifference of the
community.

Why should there ever be such
indifference? Occasionally someone
disparages the quality of performers which
come here. There are differences in quality, of
course, but it is easy to make too much of
that fact, and overlook the generally excellent
record of the Series.

Others disdain the auditorium. It is no
concert hall, to be sure, but Mr. Herring has
said that even the performers do not find it all
that bad.

(It is ugly, cold, too well-lighted, and not
built for optimum acoustics, but the
performers have done very well, we think, in
overcoming these factors and giving the
audiences their money's worth. Nonetheless,
it would be nice to attend a concert here as an
alumnus when we could enjoy the atmosphere
of a real auditorium.)

Others think the price is too high. That is
because the operating expense is high. We
would hope that with an ever-improving
Series, more people will be happy to pay the
price (which is not high at all, by concert
standards).

It is very valuable to this University to
have the visiting artists which it has enjoyed
through the Artists Series. Mr. Herring did not
solicit this endorsement, (he may be
displeased that we assumed he even wanted
ticket-buyers, for all we know) but so many
people in the community have enjoyed these
concerts, ballets, soloists, etc., that we think
he deserves a large measure of appreciation.

If anything, the University and the
Charlottesville community deserve more of
the superb performances which we are treated
to in the Artists Series (or, for that matter,
the Tuesday Evening Concert Series). Those
who are skeptical whether the performers, the
facilities, or the price are worth the effort it
takes to attend should simply try it sometime.
You will probably learn to hate University
Hall, but you will no doubt enjoy the
concerts in spite of it.