Letter: Alderman Regrets Demise Of The Guildford Philharmonic Orchestra

Published on: 15 Nov, 2012
Updated on: 15 Nov, 2012

From Bernard Parke,

Hon. Alderman

It is with very great regret that I learn from The Guildford Dragon NEWS of the early demise of one of Guildford’s cherished culture facilities.

I refer of course to the Guildford Philharmonic Orchestra.

I need not remiss here on the pleasure that this orchestra has brought to generations of my fellow Guildfordians; giving many of them an introduction to all that is best in classical music.

In over seven decades of life in Guildford I have always understood that our borough provided facilities in which commercial companies would not find sufficient return on their investments.

In this respect I refer to such ventures as the lido, the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Spectrum and even the G Live building itself.

The latter replaced the old civic hall which was built primarily for Guildfordians’ use and served as our meeting place . It served the same purpose as does the village hall serves the people leaving in the outreaches of the borough.

Great play has been made of the subsidy paid to the orchestra but surely that pales into insignificant when compared to the considerable subsidy paid to an outside company to run G Live.

One is tempted to ask what is the next town service to meet a similar fate?

Is the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning?