Five years after the first Ross Live! Festival, the Trustees have decided not to arrange a festival this year.

The Festival, which was started in 2005 following the collapse of the Ross International Festival in 2004 has staged a wide variety of entertainments in different venues in and around Ross since its inception. These have included opera, open-air theatre, chamber music, concertos, Early Music, jazz and three Come and Sing or Play days, when amateur and professional singers and players came together under Adrian Partington to perform great choral works.

Last year, comedian Pam Ayres was a sell-out at the Larruperz Centre, recalling the days of the International Festival when household names were the order of the day. Generally, ticket sales were disappointing for most of the other events, particularly so last year.

The sell-out for Pam Ayres tells us that the big names will generally attract good audiences. However, with so many rival attractions in the area at that time of year, the less well-known performers, no matter how good they may be, will lose out to the Cheltenham Festival, Three Choirs, Abbey Dore, Wyastone and The Courtyard. Wye Valley Music and its sibling the St Briavel's Music Society promote a dozen or so chamber music concerts around the area to a high standard with mostly young musicians.

People have a choice of favourite works performed by excellent musicians in comfortable concert halls, and we do not think that Ross, with no purpose-built venue and a limited budget, can compete. At the same time, there are some specialised festivals which are succeeding: the Linton Jazz Festival runs over a weekend and attracts capacity crowds, as does the admirable free Jamstand for pop groups at the riverside. The Country Music Festival has also found a niche later in the year.

At Ross Live! the trustees have decided they need to have a rethink. We, the Trustees, think the formula we have worked to so far is never going to succeed in attracting the consistently large numbers needed to build a sustainable future. That we have been able to produce the events we have done is down to the very generous sponsorship we have received from Labels Outlet Shopping, our principal sponsor, whose pledge of support from the word 'go' encouraged and enabled us to take the plunge and whose support has been unfailingly generous every year.

To their name we must add those of Ross Town Council, Rehau Ltd, PGL Travel, the Alan Cadbury Charitable Trust, Shawcross & Co, Ross Rotary and Ross Lions, and last year Sainsburys, to coincide with their opening in Ross. It should not be forgotten that we started off with a part-time manager funded jointly by Advantage West Midlands and the Arts Council for two years, as part of the Market Towns Initiative funding which came to Ross.

So what of the future? Our work with schools will continue, subject to our being able to devise music-based programmes which can be funded. Our 'It's Sound' programme, which taught the rudiments of music to pre-school children while adding to teachers' skills, came to an end in December 2009 and the Brampton Abbotts Suzuki Group has taught the violin and cello to two year groups for four years.

Sadly, this is probably going to come to an end this school year because funding has not been obtainable to see these children through to when they move on to secondary school as had been originally hoped. The County Music Service is unable to help. We shall continue to organise individual events in and around Ross, but on an occasional basis rather than in a festival format.

This year on Wednesday, July 14th, we are once again bringing Heartbreak Productions to The Secret Garden at The Royal Hotel with their production of Oscar Wilde's great comedy An Ideal Husband. Tickets will be on sale at The County Collection from 25th May.