Next Brass Bands' Contest May Be Held In Tauranga

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXXVII, Issue 14959, 23 April 1949, Page 2

Next Brass Bands' Contest May Be Held In Tauranga

Good Effort In Cambridge Competitions

Standard Of Playing High

Every endeavour is being mad* to have Tauranga as the venue £?. the next South Auckland %M bands contest, stated an official nf the Tauranga Municipal Band whn attended the 1949 contest held n? Cambridge during Easter. • Although the financial' resound had been strained, through expend .and through being committed tn purchase about £7OO worth of neiv instruments, the band was out tn improve and maintain a higher standard by fostering the junior class and playing more frequentlv continued the official. y '

Five B-grade and seven C-grade bands competed at the contest and the standard of playing was very high with Hamilton Citizens' Band in particularly good form, after their iecent success in .their section of the B-grade championships held at Auckland in February. The B-grade test selection, "Recollections of Beethoven" resulted Hamilton Citizens 1, Cambridge Municipal 2, Ngarawahia 3, with Tauranga last although only seven points behind the winner. The municipal adjudicator, Mr R. J, Estall, said that the Tauranga performance, on the whole, was' very commendable, but was, at times, marred by bad intonation.

The B-grade street march platings were: Hamilton 1, Tauranga 2, Cam-' bridge 3. The Tauranga band was complimented by the adjudicator in this particular event on its playing of a difficult march.

The hymn test (own choice) resulted: Hamilton 1, Cambridge 2, Tauranga 3. Tauranga played "Jerusalem the Golden." The adjudicator remarked that the first and second verses were good but the band had slipped in the last verse.

The Hamilton and Cambridge bands were setting a high standard of playing and looked to be very difficu t to beat in the last event, the Quickstep, which is considered the most spectacular in the competition. The placings were Tauranga 1, Cambridge 2, Ngaruawahia and Hamilton equal 3. Tauranga gained 24 out of 25 points for paces and the possible 25 points for time in the measured 100 yards and 9|- out of 10 points for the right wheel, which brought forward special mention from the military judge. The musical judge complimented the band on its rendering of the march "Postman's Parade."

The Tauranga band was presented with the Quickstep Shield and a set of silver medals, with a gold medal for the Drum Major. A large measure of credit goes to the Drum Major, Mr J. Crocker, ff the Tauranga Highland Pipe Band, who trained the band.