Camerata Isn’t Stealing an Audience

Your article about the Mozart Camerata (“Rival Offers Discount to Its Concert,” Oct. 2) is looking for the adulterant in a pot of gold. The executive committee of the Mozart Camerata classical orchestra had thought that Orange County Chamber Orchestra subscribers would be delighted to have a replacement for their canceled performances. We did not ask them to turn in their tickets to the still-scheduled performances. That, indeed, would be audience stealing, and we would never engage in that practice.

We hope that they will attend those OCCO performances still scheduled. We are telling them that if they buy subscription tickets to one Orange County group that needs to cancel performances, we would accommodate them at our performances, if we could, at a substantially reduced rate. That’s a sort of concert insurance, perhaps unusual, that we hope all groups would provide, if they can.

Immediately after deciding on our discount offer, we made contact with the OCCO to tell them what we were doing, but we felt, since time was of the essence, that there was no reason to wait for their response, since we were not doing anything to injure them.

We believe that we did the best that we could in the time available, with the best of intentions, and with a favorable offer that withstands analysis. On the other hand, although embedded in your article are the correct words of our offer, by a miracle of reportage and journalism, you have created a very negative impression.

HARVEY LISS

Board of directors

Mozart Camerata