Letter to the Editor: Music, arts need your support

Dear Editor,

What’s there not to like about good music? The vast majority of the citizens of Cheyenne County missed hearing an exceptional musical event at the Sidney High School auditorium recently.

The Dallas Brass was the headliner at a concert that included the Offutt AFB brass ensemble and all members of the Sidney school bands. Because the Offutt brass ensemble was having a travel day between concerts in two area towns, they were excited to be a part of the concert and perform with the Dallas Brass and our own students. This was a coincidence we were privileged to witness and enjoy. I was a brass player in my younger days and I can only imagine the thrill when these students were combined with the Dallas Brass and the Offutt brass ensemble into a concert band on stage.

I have heard many comments since the concert that have been nothing but positive, however, many attendees continue to wonder why the people of Cheyenne County do not attend these shows sponsored by the High Plains Arts Council.

In spite of an informative article in the Sidney Sun-Telegraph a few days before the concert, the auditorium was perhaps 50 percent occupied including the members of the school bands. For a HPAC event, it was one of the largest crowds gathered but deserved to be a full house. I could go on about what our citizens are missing by their absences at one of the finest concerts I have ever attended, including many in Omaha and Lincoln.

You don’t have to travel elsewhere and pay much more for tickets when very talented artists are brought to your front door for $50 or less for the four-plus concert series. HPAC is only able to do this if we support it financially and by our attendance. My wife and I have probably attended 75 or more of these shows and have never been disappointed by the talent and performance of these professionals.

The High Plains Arts Council needs your support, and they need it NOW.

Tom Millman

Sidney