Mary Thomas' article "3 Rivers Fest should weigh visual art role" (Nov. 12) is similar to the one she wrote in 2007, when she indicated that former Three Rivers Arts Festival director Elizabeth Reiss said there might be more performing arts and possibly less visual arts in the festival.

As an artist, I participated yearly in Three Rivers Arts Festival during the '70s and '80s. The festival was a great source for me in marketing artwork and entering a juried art show. Then the festival changed. The artists were moved from prime locations to different areas scattered throughout the city in order to make room for the food vendors. Boston's festival had gone to a larger format and found that doing so was creating not only logistical problems but also financial problems. When will we learn that "bigger is not always better"?

The performing arts do draw in the visitors, but it should not replace the visual arts. The festival is one of the few large venues that the visual artists have in Pittsburgh by which to get public exposure for their talents.

As stated in the June 24, 2007 piece: "We can make it here. If we wisely invest in all the talents this city has to offer, we can make dreams come true right here in Pittsburgh." Pittsburgh artists are not a dying breed, but a hidden treasure waiting to be discovered.

Robert D. Huckestein
Bellevue

"Well put together" are not words that come to mind to describe what I witnessed at Heinz Hall Friday night. Rick Nowlin, in his Monday review of MCG's 40th anniversary celebration ("Ivan Lins, PSO, local jazz players celebrate MCG's 40th anniversary") obviously felt differently. Indeed, a wealth of talent did assemble for the event; too bad we didn't see or hear more from them.

Instead, the evening was dominated by Brazilian musician Ivan Lins, whose inability to conduct, introduce performers, engage the audience, follow the program, not to mention sing, seemed to be at the heart of various problems that Mr. Nowlin somehow missed. For that matter, it's unfortunate that he pinned the "only negatives" of the evening on the Children's Festival Chorus, the unwitting victims of Lins' poor leadership and a plethora of programming and technical snafus. I speak as a parent of one of these young singers and someone who sat in on the rehearsals. The group was missing neither talent nor preparation Friday night.

Mr. Nowlin pointed out that the chorus' volume was too soft. True, although this was after repeated pleas from the group's conductor during stage rehearsals to correct the situation. Somehow that didn't stick, and Mr. Nowlin's statement, for all its ambiguity, didn't give the group the benefit of the doubt; it reads as though they were at fault. And Mr. Nowlin should clarify which ensemble had difficulty "getting into the groove."

The closing number was a chaotic end to a chaotic evening. Unfortunately the children, large in number and uniform in appearance, may have been the most visible evidence of this. Calling them out specifically, again, if that's indeed what he was doing, was unfair. The Children's Festival Chorus is no stranger to Heinz Hall, and I can assure Mr. Nowlin and his readers that there were more negatives at work Friday night than what he placed with this talented group of young singers.

Brian Yordnoff
McCandless

This is in response to Andrew Druckenbrod's recent article on Andres Cardenes ("Pittsburgh Symphony Chamber Orchestra holds important place in music scene," Nov. 11) and Sam Newbury's letter ("Weekend Feedback," Nov. 13) about the need for more intimate performance venues to support our fine smaller performance groups:

We always need to use our resources wisely, but especially in these trying economic times. "Carnegie Carnegie Hall" (Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall) offers lovely historic character, a gracious reception hall, commodious new dressing rooms, new front of house amenities, a convenient location (one left turn off the Parkway exit minutes from the Fort Pitt Tunnel). Carnegie has a range of eateries (Ciao!, Cefalo's, Papa J's and The Pour House to name only the obvious) and free parking.

However, the most compelling reason for wonderful groups such as Chatham Baroque, the Pittsburgh Camerata and the Pittsburgh Symphony Chamber Orchestra -- and their audiences -- to come to Carnegie is for the music hall's superb acoustics.

As the magnificent Marianne Cornetti, the sorely missed Cuarteto Latinoamericano, pianist extraordinaire Patricia Prattis Jennings, jazz icon Joe Negri and Duquesne University's Opera Workshop all know: The acoustics are the thing!

Maggie Forbes
Executive director/campaign manager, Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall

I am writing to express my disappointment in all of our local TV stations for the lack of coverage of the Veterans Day Parade. It was a day of honoring our veterans, recognizing our history and uniting the young and old. It was a day when about 20 school districts shared their talented marching bands to proudly play the music that a parade is all about.

I find it appalling that not one station covered the parade for the parents, relatives and friends to watch. Not everyone can come to Downtown Pittsburgh. Some people are elderly, sick, work, in school or even hospitalized, not allowing them the chance to watch their kids marching with our veterans. Some have never seen the bands at all because they are unable to attend high school football games to see them. People could have recorded the parade and watched it when they were home. Stations cover all the big parades not happening in our own city, but when it comes to being there for the people in Pittsburgh, they obviously don't think that is important.

Kathy Morris
McMurray