ANYONE who thinks that the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra is a good regional orchestra is mistaken! They are now a great, world class set-up.

This is thanks, in no small part, to the injection of new blood in recent times. Chief conductor Kirill Karabits, leader Amyn Merchant and other new musicians have all raised the bar. With dynamic management, the programmes and performers have become more and more exciting and diverse.

The BSO opened its Wednesday night season by staging a sensational production of Richard Strauss’s opera Salome. Without the distraction of scenery and props you’d have at Covent Garden or Glyndebourne, the performance was even more starkly powerful. With a strong cast of singers headed by Kim Begley, Birgit Remmat, James Rutherford and the number one Salome on the world stage, the beautiful and magnetic Lise Lindstrom, the audience sat spellbound. They could really act too.

It was a great privilege to be there. It was unforgettable and the evening ended with a standing ovation that was richly deserved. Stranger turned to stranger to say how lucky we were for what we had just seen and heard and to thank our lucky stars for the BSO.

With top class soloists, singers and conductors clamouring to perform with the BSO iIt was even more surprising that the Lighthouse auditorium on Wednesday night wasn’t full. Why was that? Was it because the BSO is in our back yard people can’t be bothered or they just want to hear the familiar pieces? If offered a cheap seat at Covent Garden I’m sure many would be delighted to make the effort.

In these constrained times the BSO needs our support more than ever ... which means bums on seats. Their concert prices are far less expensive than in London – and they’re cheaper still if one buys a certain number or opts for the season. Do people really have better things to do mid-week than come to the Lighthouse to be transported by great classical music performed by the best?

CHARLIE SANDERSON Ballard Estate, Swanage