Board of Directors:

I'm writing to give my impressions of my recent performance at TCAN, and to voice my opinion about the recent dismissal of Michael Moran as the Executive Director. I hope this message will be communicated to the Board and to all relevant directors and employees.

I have enjoyed performing at TCAN, in venues large and small, as well as hearing shows there, for the entire length of its existence. I was the house pianist for an entire year at the Cabaret open mike, which got that enterprise off the ground, and I've played there with several artists, as well as under my own name (Friday night), a gig which Michael Moran bestowed upon me.

Though Michael and I have had our differences over the years, I can honestly say that his hard work has been good for the arts scene in New England, jazz, classical, folk, and otherwise, and for the town of Natick. His voting down by the board, his escorting out by police; these were clearly the wrong and publicly embarrassing ways to deal with the problems that inevitably arise during the growing pains of a new institution, an institution which the man founded.

I was doubly effected by Michael's dismissal, in that the timing of my show coincided with the coup, and dozens of fans and volunteers who would have definitely been at the show decided to boycott all TCAN events for its hasty decision. I have received confirmation of this in the form of several phone calls and emails, from people who have pledged to see me at other venues, but not at TCAN, until this donnybrook is settled.

I have almost no complaints about how we were treated by the other fine employees at TCAN... Marcia and interim director Dave Lavalley couldn't have been nicer; however I do have a complaint or two about the technical support... I know he was saddled with a huge burden, getting the sound happening with some missing gear, but it would be to TCAN's advantage to employ a more proficient sound engineer in the future; this was by no means a professional sound experience for us, and I am sure "bigger" acts would have had even more strigent sound requirements than we did. We showed up at 6:30-6:45 to check, and weren't making sounds thru the PA until 7:30 or so, and the entire relationship was characterized by anxiety, hostility, and constant misunderstanding, while we the artists were certainly being as gentle and un-diva-like as possible. You might try contacting Dave Nickerson at BayStateSound@aol.com or Mark Okun at marcokun1@hotmail.com as they are exemplary freelance sound engineers who have a passion for working with artistic music. Actually, when I played at TCAN with Miles Donahue in January, our soundman was a wonderful young man of about 17 who'd graduated from high school early and was a computer genius... I was hoping he'd be there again...

Anyway, I fear that some serious damage will be done to the TCAN fanbase and support if mediation efforts are not undertaken between the board and Michael Moran. You really must all be aware of the level of disenchantment felt my so many dedicated supporters and patrons, most of which were recruited by Michael's efforts. The place is his vision, and I am sure that an objective third party mediator could identify ways to solve the legitimate problems that each side has with the other. It is the only fair thing to do, and soon, before much more damage is done to the morale and spirit of TCAN.

Thank you for reading this. Please do what you can to restore peace to this artistic corner of the world, and begin talks to reinstate Michael Moran.

Mark Shilansky