BAND CONTEST.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 47, 25 February 1927, Page 10

BAND CONTEST.

B GRADE AGGREGATE PRIZE. WON BY OAMARTJ MOUNTEDS. JfEW PLYMOUTH CLOSE l"P. i"37 T<r>?T3Th.—o-ST3 ; WELLINGTON, thi? day. J'r, r - principal event yesterday at the. I -.lini'in band championship contests ■.:".- the second to«t f-r tl.e B grade b'.rd = . ! Tra Diavolo.' , a bright little f-'-Jection. i? slight in calibre and does no-, present any j.aitir-ular difficulties. There are several parts where the in-, lunation was tested, but the responsibility was mostly upon the soloists— ; cn.-.t. trombone, and euphonium. There was a fairly wide range of treatment, touches of individuals being present in every performance. There wa? ,i!~. a wide range in tonal volume, some 1 lands being very heavy, and others T! -;-ica!. The most refined interpretation wa; that of the Ist Mounted Rifles fO-smaru'i. Dannevirke was again musical, and consistently good. | How They Played. j Following are the comments on the | playing of the B grade bands to-night.' The bands appeared in the following order: — Hamilton Municipal (conductor, Mr.! T. Mara): A good solid tone was pro-i duced by this band, but the intonation was at fault at times and the balance and blend were hardly up to standard. '■ Hawera Municipal (conductor, Mr. Fox ' : A good firm unison opening, with ' well-balanced chords all nicely -in tune. ' Cornet and Euphonium solos excellent.) A musical rendering, interpretation ex , -! cellent. Stratford Citizens (conductor, Mr. Kear): Another tuneful and pleasing opening, with subsequent good all-round work. A smart and bright little band, with an excellent solo cornet. Minor weaknesses were in evidence occasion- i aily: nevertheless, a most creditable performance. I New Plymouth Citizens (conductor,! Mr. K. L. Lowe) : Unison opening solid' and good. The band went off a little in the piano portions, the intonation in the harmony parts not being in quite ' good accord; solo cornet artistic A ; good standard performance. { Hastings Citizens (conductor. Mr. C. ! Bryant j : A full, warm-toned unison opening, with intonation commendably good. The band showed consistently I good work. The soloists excelled, and ' frtood to their work near the end. A very fine piece of band work; a very good j performance. Petone Central Mission (conductor, Mr. L. P'rance) : This band started well, but the general rendering subsequently became uneven and the tuning wanted improvement, but there were pleasing effects, and the band did well in the heavy ensembles. Lower Hutt Municipal (conductor. Mr. A. Kay) : Opened well, the attacK and its treatment were very pleasing. An excellent cornet soloist, with a smart,' well subdued accompaniment. Soprano I good and other soloists also. Perform- j ance bright and promising. • j Miramar (conductor, Mr. Sutherland) : i Another good standard type of opening, and care in evidence in general . rendering. Cornet solo work refined : Quite a good effort for a young con- ! testing band; very promising material. \ Central Mission, Wellington (eonduc- | tor, Mr. H. Baker) : This band gave an ! excellent performance for a new aspirant to contest honours. Its tone was good and its general workmanship was of the careful order. A chaste-toned cornet j was heard in solo work. The intonation | suffered at times in more intricate part?, but the playing was all pleasing. Dannevirke Municipal (conductor, J. Harris): A superior opening tone, solid and compact, tuning close. Cornet solo, very pretty, with perfect unanimity between the soloist and soprano in the I doubling part and obligato by the soprano. This band disclosed the beauties of the selection with full effect. ! Trombone and euphonium good, and staccato movement near the end excellent. No doubt about this being a convincing performance. Invercargill Civic (conductor. Mr. R. Wills): Unison opening by this band was in good style, and the subsequent cornet solo was artistic. Good workmanship was observable all through the selection. Here and there there were momentary lapses from the»general standard of efficiency, but on the whole the performance was pleasing. Ist Mounted Regiment, Oamaru (conductor, Mr. G. Whale): A performance of refined order. Even in full band movements this band's accompanying was delightful, being subordinated* to the soloist most judiciously and with fine effect. The intonation was always ! good, and the sotto voce work exceedingly good. A performance of much merit. Cornet soloist an artist. J Oamaru Muncipal (conductor, Mr. H. ■ Pheloung): A good, strong-toned band, j whose playing, however, was somewhat 1 uneven. The soprano was a little unfortunate in his obligato parts. Solo comet excellent. On the whole a performance of generally good B trade pfandard. Taranaki Regimental (conductor, Mr. i Taranaki Regimental (conductor. Mr. j unison opening, with a dainty render- | ing of the subsequent cornet s'olo. Good I workmanship all through the selection, I ind good standard of playing maintained to the end. Dunedin Tramways (conductor Mr ! Gould): A solid opening in the piano ' portions of the solo. The intonation ! was not quite level, and the soprano i was not always in bon accord in his I " 'hgato episodes, cornet soloist an artist. Euphonium was excellent '< Wellington Ist Battalion (conductor j Li"Ut. Shardlow): Another n, )O ,\ stand- I ;• I performance, with pleading tonal i quality and soloists. A promising con- ! testing band. ■ Auckland Waterside Workers (con- | (liictor, Mr. Carley): A light-toned band,: expressive generally, but playing inclined to be uneven. Cornet soloist very fine. Detail work of the band neat, and soprano very effective in i obligato parts. Basses* good and trom- j bone and euphonium solos well done j JJan:!"* plnying gives a decided indica- ' lion nf uracil better things in the fiit-.nv. Solo Competitions. 'I i" individual solo competitions were ( '" ; " :: '' ' '■ i!:iv. and to-morrow the only ■•μ-iii •:■!•,•. n besides the. A grade •ill: , ! ;'i !i ■' ,i- tin- (piartet coinpeti- ,),;,, I '■■■■'■' i' -re arc 4(1 entries. It w, 'l " session?, morning and ;. i Tliei ■ ■.'..!■■ the E flat ba>t- 111 l ... ~,, ; :ti ~,, In the form i. " h ||~; ; ...• | i, ." would like u» hmuiU a tnize lu about

! six players, but Horner (St. Kildaj hh'l just won. with a grand performance. Pollock (Woolston) put up a splendid rendering, and last year's winner. Coughlan iKaikorai'. was also r:eht on the heels of the medal winners. The soprano solo resulted in a lie between Webb 'Q-ieen Alexandra's Own' and Kin? i Wellington Tramway-., M r . Herd again remarked on *•".- c -' f 'i the competitors.and said :>:• had had to go into fractions ! to separate the performers. In the trombone trio«. Mr. Halliwell said i;e was disappointed. It was evident j that the trombone players of New Zealand did not cro in for trombone trio work as in the Old Country. He advised them to get together and play more frequently. A trombone tri", eonld be made a thing of much beauty. He described the sight reading side arid ■ the bass drum test as the most extraordinary contest he had ever judged. . and did not favour this class of competition. ; Summary of Results. Following are the results of the day's . events: — E Flat Bass ("Buy a Broom' , ).—A. | Homer ( St. Kilda Municipal). OC\ point*?. I 1; L. C. Pollock (Woolston Bandi. 06. 2.! Soprano Cornet ('"Silver Threads > Among the Gold" 1 ). —E. Webb (Queen i Alexandra's Own), and J. King (Wei-1 . lington Tramway*t. equal, f>s points. 1; j |L. Coughlan 'Kaikorai.i, P3i. 2. ] j Trombone Trio (-Three Jolly Sailjors").—Dannevirke Municipal. 49* points. j1; Wellington Tramways. 43. 2. ; Drum Competition.—C. E. Bell and W. Carmichael (Palmerston North), 1: ii. ! E. Robinson. Hawera 'side-drum), 2; J. j Osborne. Masterton (base drum), 3. ! B Grade, second test. —First Mounted Rifies (Oamaru). ST points, 1, £20 prize; ( Central Mission (Wellington). S6 points. J2, £10: New Plymouth Citizens', S4 ! points, 3. £5: Miramar Band. 83 nointe. ;4, £3. I Aggregate for the Two Pieces, B Grade ! Tests. Firet Mounted Rifles 'Oamaru). first test 80 points, 1, £HQ. Second test. 87, teet SO points, second test 87, total 167' 1, £90. New Plymouth Citizens', 81. 84, 165 2 . £50. i Central Mission (Wellington), "6, 86, 162, and Dannevirke, 82, 80, 162, 3, I divide £45. [ Taranaki Regiment. 77, 81, 158, 4, £10. I Invercargill Civic. 79, 78, 157. Stratford Citizens' 77, 79, 156: Hawera, 76, 78, 154; Hastings, 76, 78, 154; Miramar, 171, 83, 154; Dunedin Tramways, 78, 7.")| :153: Oamaru Municipal, 74," 77, 151; j Lower Hutt, 74, 76. 150; Auckland . Watersiders, 75, 73, 148: Wellington 'First Regiment, 73, 74, 147: Hamilton Municipal, 75, 69, 144: Petone Central. ! 72. 67, 139. 1 The four prizes for the second test, £20. £10, £5 and £3. were won by I First Oamaru Mountede, Central Mission (Wellington), New Plymouth Citizens' and Miramar.