HENRY WOOD PROMENADE CONCERTS

Promenade concerts are now popular in Petersburg. Very often you can hear them in Mariinski Theatre, but do you know what it is? Study the following text.

Amongst music-lovers in Britain - and, indeed, in very many other countries - the period between July and September 21 is a time of excitement, of anticipation, of great enthusiasm.

We are in the middle of the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts - the Proms.

London music-lovers are he concerts in person. particularly fortunate, for those who are able to obtain tickets can attend it. HENRY WOOD PROMENADE CONCERTS.d, the first work of the evening begins.

Only part of the audience actually has seats at the promenade concerts. The seats from the floor of the hall are taken out, so as to allow a very large number of people to hear the concerts standing in the "promenade" with a low charge for admission. But even if seats are not to be obtained, the important parts of the concerts can be heard - and are heard - by a very great number of people, because the BBC broadcasts certain principal works every night throughout the season. The audience reached by these means is estimated to total several millions in Britain alone, and that total is probably equaled by the number of listeners abroad.

The reason why such a great audience is attracted is that the Proms present every year a large repertoire of classical works under the best conductors and with the best artists. A season provides an anthology of masterpieces.

The Proms started in 1895 when Sir Henry Wood formed the Queen's Hall Orchestra with Mr. Robert Newman as its manager. The purpose of the venture was to provide classical music to as many people who cared to come at a price all could afford to pay, those of lesser means being charged comparatively little - one shilling - to enter the Promenade, where standing was the rule.

The coming of the last war ended two Proms Traditions. The first was that in 1939 it was no longer possible to perform to London audiences - the whole organizm was evacuated to Bristol. The second was that the Proms could not return to the Queen's Hall after the war was over - the Queen's Hall had become a casualty of the air-raids (in 1941), and was gutted.

Exercise

Correct the wrong statements:

1. All audience has seats at the promenade concerts.
2. The Proms started in 1899.
3. The purpose of the venture was to provide pop music to many people.
4. The coming of the last war started two Proms Traditions.

HOLDING MEETINGS

Read the text and find information about the types of meetings.

Much of any manager's time is taken up with meetings. There are meetings with colleagues to agree a course of action. There are meet­ings with superiors to report and to discuss future policies. There are meetings with subordinates. Many would say that there are far too many meetings: some would be even less polite. There can, however, be no doubt that meetings are part of every manager's life. He should therefore know how to cope with them. He should know the tech­niques of communication in meetings. He should know how to use these techniques to his own advantage.

It is sometimes suggested that when a manager can't think what to do, he holds a meeting. But meetings in themselves are not an end product, no matter what some may talk. They are merely one of many means of management communication. It may well be that a problem can be solved by a one-to-one discussion, face to face, or even by telephone. If the need can be met without a meeting, let it be so.

Let us therefore define a meeting, in the management sense, as the gathering together of a group of people for a controlled discus­sion, with a specific purpose. Each of those attending the meeting has a need to be there and both discussion and its results could not be so well achieved in any other way. It is often salutary to calculate the cost of a meeting. A simple meeting of a few people on middle-execu­tive salaries can soon run into three-figure costs for wages alone. Do not, therefore, have unnecessary people sitting in

at meetings and do ensure that all meetings are both efficient and effective.

Exercise

Find the correct ending:

1. There can be no doubt that meetings are

a) part of every manager's life;

b) absolutely unnecessary;

c) very interesting.

2. It is sometimes suggested that when a manager can't think what to do, he

a) turns to a doctor;

b) does nothing;

c) holds a meeting.

3. Let us therefore define a meeting as

a) a funny party;

b) the gathering together of a group of people for a controlled discus­sion, with a specific purpose.

c) a political rally

Date: 2015-12-24; view: 1536