THE West Devon-based chairman of a society formed to take music to rural villages has welcomed a grant of more than £3,000 from the Foundation for Sport and the Arts.
Ian Kilpatrick, of Tavistock, is chairman of the Western Sinfonia Society, originally formed some 12 years ago.
But although he is pleased the grant application was approved, he said it was a 'drop in the ocean' when the costs of putting on a concert were taken into consideration.
'What people just don't realise is that even a strings-only concert now costs about £1,500 to put on — a full orchestra would be anything between £3,000 and £5,000 and that's only a very small orchestra.
'What I really need is a sugar daddy with £50,000!' said Mr Kilpatrick.
The society, which has around 50 members, has arranged some seven concerts this year, although unfortunately two had to be cancelled through lack of funds.
Conductor for the Western Sinfonia is American Scott Struman, who has recently been conducting the Devon Youth Orchestra.
Mr Kilpatrick said: 'The raison d'etre for the society is to promote music, particularly in the villages, but if we don't have the money, we can't do it.
'We held a concert at Lustleigh village hall, which is tiny, and it was packed to the doors, absolutely right out and the concert was fantastic.'
He said the repertoire of performances can include 'anything', from Mozart to jazz, which was played at a popular concert in the Octagon, Okehampton.
The money from the Foundation for Sport and the Arts will be put towards further concerts arranged by the Western Sinfonia Society.