BAND CONTEST

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LX, Issue 11092, 18 April 1933, Page 3

BAND CONTEST

Tauranga Third in ! Aggregate | FNEORTCXATE INCIDENT. | After an interval of 25 years, dnrj me which ~o at event has been 'held in Hamilton. the first competl- | Lion of the South Am kland Band j Contest Union was commenced at j Rugby Pari, on Saturday. Twelve | hands and hen bandsmen competed iin the vanot;■? events. In the afterj neon then was an attendance of the I public estimated to bo between 4000 j and 5004. Alt Dough conditions'were ! at times thrextei.iig the weather was | hue throughout. | I tilling the .•ifternonn. the H and 1 C grade 'p/: h-icp competitions were decided. At the conclusion of these events the massed hands played tlie well-known march, “Invrcargill.” In the‘evening the competitions for the test selections were decided. The competition for solos and quartettes was held in the Winter Show buildings yesterday!. Among the visitors to tlie contest were Mr 11. D. Bennett. president of the New Zealand namin' Association, the secretary and treasurer, Mr J. G. Osborne, and a member of the executive, Mr H. Palchett. At (lie conclusion of the afternoon's programme the judge, Mr G. Buckley, of Auckland, addressed the assembled hands and said that ho was sure that in the near future South Auckland would be capable of producing the best band in New Zealand. There had been uome excellent playing in the march competitions, which were very difficult for young players. At the end of his address he a.sked the bands to bow in tribute to the men prominent in tiie world of baud music who had died recently. The results of the events were as follows:

C. Grade Quickstep, Tost March, “Home Again” (Vincent Turner), maximum points, 200. Cambridge Municipal Band. 22!) 1 points, 1; Pukekohe, 225 J points. 2; Whakatane, 222 points, 2; Ngaruawahia, 1; Morrinsville, 5. B Grade Quickstep, Test- March, “Knight of the Road” (J. A. Greenwood), maximum points, 200.—Waikato Regimental and Hamilton Municipal Band, 255 points, 1; Te Aroha. 2; Te Awamutu, 2; Tauranga. 4; Rotorua, 5; Waihi, 0; Te Awamutu, 7. C Grade Selection, ‘•Convivial Songs’’ (Rimmer). — Cambridge, 12S points. 1; Whakatanc, 127 points, 2; Pukekohe, 13G points, 3. B Grade Selection, “A Souvenir of the Opera” (Rimmer) —Rotorua, 147 points, 1; Waikato Regimental, 144 points, 2; Tauranga., 143 points, 3. Aggregate of points for music.— B grade; Rotorua, 230 points, 1: Waikato Regimental, 22S points, 2; Waihi and Tauranga,- 224 points each, 3. C grade: Whakatanc, 217 points, 1; Cambridge, 215 points, 2; Ngaruawahia, 214 points, 3.

A singular incident occurred when the drum major of the Tauranga Municipal Band, Mr P. G. McIntosh, collapsed while his band was playing in the B grade quickstep competition. Three days ago Mr McIntosh, who is 55 years of age, accidentally received a. severe blow on the head. The effect of this injury was apparently accentuated by the fact that during the war he received concussion; When he fainted he was still suffering from the effects of the blow. Before he collapsed Mr Mclntosh had led his band twice past the spectators’ stand and round the field to ,a position adjoining the judge’s tent. He had just brought tlie band to a halt when he fell to the ground. Several members of the St.John Ambulance Brigade ran to his assistance, while the band continued to play. Owing to the fact that the rules of the competition did not allow the judge to be approached during the contest, the band was obliged to play to the end of the piece. The playing continued for about five minutes, while Mr Mclntosh lay on the ground with the ambulance men beside him. As the result of the fall of Mr McIntosh the Band was somewhat affected but did not break and it was remarkable the way in which the players continued and completed the test piece. When he regained consciousness Mr Mclntosh said that for several days he had been afraid that the strain of leading the band would bo too much for him, For the last hundred yards of the march everything had seemed black. After several hours Mr Mclntosh recovered and was able to make the return journey by train with the Band, the members of which arrived at Tauranga at 3.20 a.m. on Sunday.