More than basketball

On the front page of the Sports section (BDN, Feb. 28-29), the Bangor Daily News ran a beautiful view of the Bangor Auditorium. I am addressing the excellent review of Ernie Clark, particularly where he stated, “The building would become a prime venue for concerts, conventions, trade shows, ice shows, the Anah Temple Shrine Circus, even a 1978 presidential town meeting with President Jimmy Carter, a diversity of activities that has brought all of Eastern Maine together. But, to many Mainers the Bangor Auditorium is synonymous with one thing: basketball.”

Alas, the symphony concerts never materialized. There is a profound need for a concert hall in Bangor. The fine Bangor Symphony Orchestra and its audiences deserve it, and the perfect spot is where the Bangor Auditorium now stands.

Currently, the Maine Center for the Arts in Orono houses the BSO.

However, it is on a college campus and bound by university activity and authority. Also, orchestra players – some with physical handicaps, some moving large instruments – have tried to park their cars near the stage entrance. Cars have been towed away, tickets issued for illegal parking and fines levied.

The MCA is a 20-mile round trip from Bangor, not so easy when the snow and ice accumulate and after nightfall. Athletic events on campus often conflict with symphony rehearsals and concerts when all vie for the use of the single-lane roads that lead from campus and Orono. I love what the symphony offers to the public – the exquisite joy of a symphony concert, live. First, though, you must have a fine hall, one that is convenient.

So friends, support a concert hall for the BSO in downtown Bangor. It is a long enduring endeavor; even your great grandchildren will enjoy it.

Robert K. Rohe

Hancock