Editor:
Jan DeGrass and our Dear Editor devoted many column inches April 13 to the fact that some of the events in this year’s festival were held at the Arts Centre in Sechelt and that the walls were covered in nude drawings. Words like “dismayed, insensitive, inappropriate, unfortunate” were used. DeGrass reported that upset parents had written letters of complaint. I spoke to adults and also an adjudicator and asked how they thought the young musicians would react. They had no idea. One parent of five children said that small children are quite used to nudity and it’s only when they are around the age of 12 or at puberty that they become sensitive to their bodies.
Our wonderful little musicians must simply concentrate on their music making. These are intimidating conditions no matter how supportive and considerate the adjudicator may be, and we had some excellent ones. The children have no interest at all in endless pictures of old fogies with or without their clothes. How fortunate we all are to have this festival, to have such a pool of wonderful young musicians and the teachers, parents and others who support them. It requires real dedication and perseverance, and yes, a few tears, to achieve these standards. So Coast Reporter, concentrate on the three weeks of music and the funding needed to sustain this festival and forget some irrelevant distraction.
Paul Rhodes, West Sechelt
