Trust To Pull Out Of Band Competition

[brassneck]

A copy of this recent Dunfermline Press statement (02/09/04) was mailed to me yesterday......

"The Carnegie Dunfermline Trust has signalled its intention to make a phased withdrawal by 2008 from the annual Carnegie Invitation Brass Band Competition. The event, which is staged in Dunfermline's Carnegie Hall, was launched in the 1960s and is now part of banding's annual programme. To date, the trust has sponsored and run the entire event, investing £5400 annually in direct costs and staffing resource. But, as part of its move away from recurrent support of established events, the trust is in talks with the competition committee over the possible transfer of administration of the event and diminishing grant support over the next four years".

My enquiry is simple and direct. Can the Area or Scottish Band association afford to sustain and develop this competition on its own? Or will it just stop as soon as the Carnegie Trust ties are severed?

p.s., is this type of situation becoming more common in your banding area?

 

[johnmartin]

I may be wrong but is it not the case that the Carnegie Trust own the contest through the value of their sponsorship and that it is organised and run by the Fife Band Association on the behalf of the trust. Given that the Fife association also run their own contest in the same venue later in the year, also supported in some part by grant award from the Carnegie Trust, I cannot see how both contests could survive the phasing out of this funding. Although alternative sources of grant funding are available e.g. Awards for All, Coalfields Regeneration and local authority, I doubt if the Fife association could go to the well twice to request support for ostensibly the same thing. Speaking as a band member who has played in the Carnegie contest many times it would sadden me to see the contest go. However from a strictly artistic point of view it would not sadden me to see the demise of the Carnegie Hall as a venue. There are at present four theatre venues in Fife namely Glenrothes (Rothes Halls), Kirkcaldy (Adam Smith theatre), Lochgelly (Lochgelly Centre) and the aforementioned Dunfermline venue. Of these four venues the Carnegie Hall is, in my opinion, the least band friendly. If as a result of being forced to source other grant funding it meant that we could have a better contest in a better venue then I would not see that as a bad move.