Beauty teamwork

In a recent letter, Les and Carol Waldie complimented Judy Russell’s production of Beauty & The Beast.

We’re really glad they enjoyed the show. We also feel fortunate that the community supports and appreciates our efforts to the extent that they do. These shows are created by a mix of amateur and professional artists. Mostly for the love of doing it, but wherever possible the production tries to remunerate those that make their living at it.

The musicians in our orchestras are all professionals and primarily support themselves and their families playing music. We have always contracted the musicians and paid them accordingly.

In their letter, the Waldies made a reference to the Prince George Symphony Orchestra as being involved with the show. I simply wish to set the record straight. The PGSO was not in any way involved with the production of Beauty & The Beast. It’s true that some of the beauty orchestra are members of the PGSO and that Maestro Hall is the PGSO music director/ conductor, but their involvement in the show was not through the auspices of the PGSO.

Members of the orchestra are free to take work as freelancers, as are most artists. The quality of the sound of the orchestra and the singers has always been a big priority for us. We have made great investments in equipment and people to achieve the best quality possible. So, yes the musicians were fabulous, but you have to know they were well supported technically.

We have been producing large scale musicals such as this for many years. Each year we contract various artists and technical professionals to work on the shows. We are so incredibly fortunate that many of them live here. Thanks again to Les and Carol for their support of our show and their support of others in Prince George.

Bill Russell Prince George