Sir, - Having read Victoria White's interview with the singer Karan Casey (The Irish Times, February 3rd) and Helen Toal's letter in response (February 10th), I feel it necessary to defend the socalled "old regime" of UCD's music department.Students of this school were given a comprehensive and thorough education in music from the early Renaissance period through to the present day. They had the opportunity to develop their compositional skills by writing in the style of composers such as Palestrina, Bach, Haydn and Wagner. They were also exposed to the compositional techniques of 20thcentury composers.While creativity and originality must be encouraged, even the great composers and artists assimilated the work of their predecessors and built on this to develop their own unique style. - Yours, etc.,Anne Boland, BA,B. mus., LTCLCastleview,Artane,Dublin 5.