If Brighton and Hove City Council wants to apply to become Capital of Culture, it should think a bit harder about how it treats its artists.

The long-awaited re-opening concert at the Dome, a return home for Brighton's very own orchestra, the Brighton Philharmonic, had to be cancelled last Sunday.

Hundreds of local supporters and music fans, the Brighton Festival Chorus (172 strong), the Brighton Philharmonic with its distinguished conductor, Barry Wordsworth, and eight soloists were left disappointed and frustrated when the building could not be used because vital work still needed to be carried out in order to conform to fire regulations. Why had the work not been completed?

The considerable expense of this cancellation is likely to be borne by the Brighton Philharmonic Society, which survives on mainly local subscriptions.

It had been hoped the special publicity attaching itself to the re-opening of the Dome would help bring the local orchestra and chorus to the attention of a different and much-needed younger audience.

But you won't attract new punters to classical music by blowing out the gig.

An excellent cultural opportunity has been lost and the financial loss will eat into putting on further programmes.

Who is responsible for this? Do the building contractors have a contract with the council that allows them to fail their task and thus all these people without penalty?

I subscribe to the orchestra because I want to hear the music, not to subsidise incompetence or a lack of accountability. I spent a rainy Sunday afternoon not listening to Prokofiev in Brighton's beloved Dome but hearing a different tune.

Attempting to recover the cost was mentioned in the same breath as Brighton Festival. That would be outrageous. Brighton Festival's funds should be used to promote culture, not poor management.

-Sue Baynton-Power, by email