Henderson daily dispatch., 1937-11-22
COMMUNITY PLAN
SOLVES CONCERTS
Finances Settled in Advance
by Program Being Work
ed Out Here

The following article is testimon-
providing high class musical enter
tainment, such as is now being work.
ed or+ in Henderson by the Hender-
son Community Concert Association.
The article is by H. H. Miller feature
writer on the Idaho Statesman, at
Boise, Idaho, and follows:
Once upon time hairy savage cut
a slab out of the middle of a tree
trunk, fitted it to one of the rude
sledges which his brother savages
were using to haul stone, and invent
ed the first wheel.
Thereupon his brother savages, in
stead of being properly grateful, sniff
fed and remarked:
"How simple that was. I'd have
thought of that myself if they'd just
given me time"
That's the way things went also
with the Community Concert Idea. 1t
really was absurdly simple, once you
thought of it. But it took 10 years of
heart breaking experiences with de.
ficits and guarantees, and a world
wide depression, to bring the idea to
light
For more than two decades Boise
literally starved for music. Every
once in a while some enthusiastic
women's club or musical organization
would get rash, and would hire hall,
engage an artist at guarantee, and
give a concert. The net result was us
ually that the audience was disap-
pointing, because amateur ticket sell
lers competed with the bazaar at the
church tomorrow evening or the high
school dramatics club offering; the
guarantors found themselves facing a
simply appalling deficit; and finally
the generous artist suggested that he'd
be willing to take carfare, hotel bills
and meals for his appearance so the
guarantors wouldn't lose. The net re-
suit was that nobody enjoyed the per-
| Torrance a great deal.
The experience wasn't peculiar to
! Boise. 1t was happening all over the
country. The entrepeneurs and the ar
| lists didn't know what to do about it,
so they decided the best solution was
10 stick pretty close to New York and
Chicago. If the hinterland didn't want
music, the concert artists weren't go
ing to force it down their threats.
Then the bottom dropped out OF
world. The stock market went into
that long, dizzy downward spiral
Bond brokers, utility magnates ano
vice presidents of banks; manufac
! turars and importers, and others who
made their habitations along. Park
avenue, and patronized musical per
formances from a stern sense OF So
cial duty, found the easiest place te
economize was on those concer'
tickets. After all, said the average
broker. life without Stravinsky is al
least tolerable, but life without Scotch
and soda is unthinkable.
But the concert entrepeneurs didn't
see it that way. Something had to he
done, and done rapidly, or there would
be some very hungry piano players
and tenors on the premises. Then the
bright idea, which someone should
have thought of 40 years before, dawn
ed on the executives of big booking
bureau.
The idea, briefly, was this: Sell
tickets for series of concerts for the
winter. Don't tell your customer:
what the concerts are going to be, fo1
the good and sufficient reason thai
you don't know yourself whom you'll
hear. After the tickets are all solo
count up the cash in the till, and de-
eide just what concerts you can puy
Then do away with single admissions
The idea was tentatively put TOT.
ward, and America went for It IN
big way. Today there are at least wv.
concert booking agencies using 'n !,
method, on a national scale, ana =
has been applied even to local aiio
regional circuits.
It combines all the cultural anu q,
tertainment features of the Zig Guy
most attractive concert selieS w."
the thrills of lottery = J..
All the seats are sold. NOBODY Is Z.
doubt &c +o whether or not he Will at
tend these concerts; he knows ne VI
The local fguarantors are happy, III
concerned about any financial prov
lens And the artists will come :
Roise sure of seeing an audience com
mens,lrate with their WORTH al.
serene in the knowledge that tney
ho Maid for their efforts.
1t really isn't at all bad arrange
ment-sIt's so simple Il could nav
bouoIt of it myself" but 4 dldnI-