ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY'S CONCERT.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXI, Issue 7933, 15 December 1909, Page 2

ORCHESTRAL SOCIETY'S CONCERT.

The Ashburton Orchestral Society gave its last concert for the season at I the Oddfellows' Hall last evening, when the attendance must have afforded the members of the orchestra the sat>staction of knowing that there are a very large number of. people in Ashburton who appreciate good music. The opening selection "La Sonnambula" (Fosse'y) proved a good introduction to the programme,- the whole orchestra putting in good work. The audience very fittingly marked its appreciation of the way in which the selection was rendered by hearty applause- Mt H. Gardner, whose name appeared ote the programme as soloist, sang ''Comfort Ye" and "Every Valley/ Shall be Exalted," from Handel's' "Messiah." Mr Gardner has the status of a professional singer, and the! powers of his fine tenor voice and his ability to use it were put to severe tests last evening; but his success was fully proved by the applause which continued until he returned and repeated ,'a verse of "Every # Valley." In "An Arcadian Festival" (Edmund Rickett) by the Orchestra the audience was treated to some bright music, and in this piece more brilliance was shown by the members than in their first effort. Mr Vere Buchanan, who handles the violin with remarkable skill, played "A Prison Song" and "Moto Perpetuo" (Bohm). So delighted were Mr Buchanan's listeners, that he had to play a third tune. The first part of the programme was brought to a close with two bracketed numbers— "Pizzacato Arabesque" (Fanchetti) and i "Fete dcs Papillons" (Wilki) by the Orchestra. . The second part opened with an overture, "Oberon" (Weber). After commencing the whole orchestra was thrown out by one of the cornet players who used the wrong shank. This, however, was soon remedied and a fresh start made, and it must be said that "Oberon" was more appreciated by many than any other item on thej orchestral portion of the programme. Miss Lottie Barker, in tho harp 'solo "Spring Song" (Mendelssohn), played entrancinply, and when, as an encore, she played,"Home Sweet Home," she pleased her hearers even more' than with her firsli number. After the Orchestra's next appearance in "Chanson D'Amore" (composed; by ,Mr" R. A. Home of Christchurch), lMr Gardner sang "Vision Entrancing," and for an encore "Come into the" Garden, Maud.", Th© last item was "The Grand Marche Triumphale," and so far as the orchestra was concerned, the best was reserved till the last. The concert concluded with "God Save the King." It remains to be said that Mr Alfred Bunz conducted as usual; and, the society having experienced some difficulty in finding a local, substitute for Mr L. S. McClurg as leader of the orchestra, the services of Mr Vere Buchanan, a well-known Christchurcty violinist, were obtained for the evening, with excellent results. Mrs A. O. Claridge presided at the organ.

In an interval, Mr F. Curtis (vicepresident of the society) made an appeal to those present for their assistance in the endeavour the Society was making to increase its honorary membership, and said that as soon as twenty new members w£re added chamber concerts would be held, and there would be no necessity to-throw the concerts open to the general public. He spoke of the able conductorship of Mr Bunz, who, he said, had many claims upon his time professionally in Christchurch and had been unable to devote as much attention' as he (Mr Bunz) would have liked to the Ashburton orchestra. Mr Curtis concluded by saying thai- next year even better concerts might be expected than those that had been given 'in the past. *