The national pride in the accomplishment

of the Canadian musicians and the acknowledgment of the efforts of all

2,000 Olympic Band participants were very apparent. The Canadian production

managed to work in the advertisements without cutting into any performance

during the ceremonies.

The Australian coverage, while

more abbreviated than the Canadian production, was also very good. A stark

contrast to the U.S. coverage, which spent about 20 seconds on the band,

accompanied by brief and uninformed commentary.

When will the Canadians learn

the way the "big boys" do television? They are so naive. They

actually think television coverage should tell a complete, informed, and

unbiased story for the enlightenment and enjoyment of their viewers.

I am sure NBC producers and

other programming decision makers did not make these broadcast decisions

to intentionally and summarily dismiss the efforts of the student band

and the vast numbers of support staff and families involved, but that

was the ultimate result. Your poor coverage notwithstanding, the band

members still savor for a lifetime the experiences of being selected,

training, traveling, and performing at the opening ceremonies of the 2000

Olympic Games in Sydney.

The families and friends of

the band in the U.S., who had tremendous emotional and financial investments

in this historic endeavor, were unfortunately unable to enjoy the culmination

of tens of thousands of hours of practices and millions of dollars in

travel expenses. The American public was also deprived of the positive

experience of seeing our young musical ambassadors perform. By sponsoring

the games and purchasing advertising slots from NBC, major corporations

such as Home Depot, Coca-Cola, IBM, UPS, and Kodak share the shame of

denying television coverage to these dedicated student musicians.

Although the video feed of

the band's performance to the U.S. was interrupted during the broadcast

of the opening ceremonies, the opportunity for the 2000 Olympic band to

be seen by a national television audience as substantial contributors

to and bona fide performers in the Sydney 2000 Olympic opening ceremonies

is not completely lost.

Perhaps a 15-20 minute profile

during prime time Olympic coverage, similar to profiles done on individual

athletes and their countries, would be appropriate. I am not familiar

with the criteria upon which a network bases its programming decisions,

but it would seem that a human interest perspective of a band composed

of 2,000 international student musicians would appeal to a broad audience.

While in the Olympic park,

I had the good fortune to meet Dr. Bob Arnot, an NBC commentator. During

our conversation about the lack of television coverage for the band, Dr.

Arnot indicated he was a musician himself, having achieved the honor of

first trumpet for the New England Conservatory Orchestra. If no one else

at NBC realizes the sacrifices and dedication demanded of a musical performer,

Dr. Arnot can elaborate for them.

While I am not optimistic that

NBC will respond to this letter, I am hopeful that the network will consider

its content and perspective, and will realize the opportunity to rectify

the omission of the band in the opening ceremonies programming.

Philip N. Foster

Fayetteville