University of Virginia Library

Concerts And Societies

There are two problems concerning concerts
at the University to which the newly-elected
officers of the University Union
and the dance societies will do well to address
themselves. Successful consideration
of these matters would insure the organizations
and the University as a whole of a
better coordinated and better attended
schedule of concerts.

The first problem is that the University,
unlike almost every other institution of
comparable size, has no central office or
authority to coordinate and organize concerts
of all types in a given school year. As a
result, we have seen, for example, the Student
Aid Foundation schedule events crucially
close to Artist Series events, thereby
cutting attendance at both; and we have
seen a social fraternity schedule a concert
the same weekend as a Union concert, as
a result of the muddled dealings of which
the University will not hear the Four Tops
at Openings next year and there will be two
concerts the weekend of May 11, each of
which will probably harm attendance at the
other.

Had there been a central office responsible
for coordinating such event, these problems
would not have occurred. Independent sponsors
would not have been allowed to schedule
concerts which jeopardize the success
of one whose sponsors primarily serve the
University, (which would have been better
for the independent sponsors as well), and
mix ups such as the one which cost us the
Four Tops could have been avoided.

A central office, preferably directed by
one man, would serve the University and
all its organizations well in this capacity.
The director could handle contracts with the
proper agents, could assign the locations
of such events in a less haphazard fashion
than that which is now used and could see
to it that concerts were scheduled such
that they did not interfere with each other's
success. With such an arrangement there
would never be two University organizations
negotiating with the same artists, as happened
in the case of the Four Tops; any
organizations which wanted to sponsor concerts
would be assured that their concerts
would be scheduled at the best time for
the purposes of the whole University and
thus for the organization itself; and organizations
whose purpose in presenting
concerts is to raise money for the University
would not be compromised by ones
whose purpose is to raise money for themselves.
We hope the new offices, along
with the Committee on Calendar and
Scheduling, will consider this matter
seriously and come up with a solution which
is more workable for all.

Our second suggestion has been voiced
more than once before now. Because there
has been discontent expressed over the
lack of diversity in popular entertainers
provided by the University Union and the
dance societies, the organizations should take
a poll of the whole student body to determine
just what the students do want so
that the officers could use the results in
scheduling concerts. It is true that the concerts
this year have more than filled the
part of University Hall which can be used
for them, but five thousand people (at most),
when nearly half are dates, does not by
any means represent a majority of the student
body. Such a poll could be conducted
with little effort, perhaps through a cut-out
ad in The Cavalier Daily, which could be
filled out and placed in ballot boxes left
about for the purpose.

These two ideas, if effected, could be
very helpful in smoothing out what few
difficulties remain in the process of selecting
and scheduling concerts at the University.