FESTIVAL OF MUSIC

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28559, 12 April 1958, Page 2

FESTIVAL OF MUSIC

Week’s Varied Programme ! Led by the festival choir of 7®o ; voices and accompanied by the Woolston Brass Band, an audience of up to 3000 will take part in community singing as part of the people’s night of the Christchurch Civic Music Council’s festival in King Edward Barracks on Monday evening. “We feel that this is going to be one of the great nights.” said t Mr L. F. de Berry, the secretary I of the council last evening. Printed dxopies of the words of six songs, . including “Drink To Me Only” t and “Rule Britannia” will be distributed to the audience. The - singing will be preceded by a prot cession of bands, marshalled by d Mr J. Noble, from the Square to . the barracks, and a short festival _ opening service at which the chairman of the council (Mr J. L. v Hay) -will preside. On Wednesday evening an orchestral concert will be presented . which will mark the first appearlence in Christchurch of John » Hopkins, the newly-appointed con- £ ductor of the National Orchestra. ° The orchestra will present a pro- ” gramme of Beethoven music inII eluding a violin concerto with Ida D Haendel, the famous Polish violinist, as soloist. e Handel's “Messiah” will be perT formed on Thursday evening by a a chorus of 400 singers from five - city choral societies with the Nal tional Orchestra. The chorus will d have its first full rehearsal with e the orchestra on Tuesday. The soloists will be Dora Drake of t Dunedin (soprano), Mary Pratt, - of Dimedin (contralto), Ronald Dowd, of Australia (tenor), and Donald Mclntyre, of Auckland (bass). ' Children’s Night e Mr de Berry said that the child- _ ren’s night on’ Friday had atp tracted much attention for it would be the first time in the * history of the city primary school! children would be singing with' _ the National Orchestra. The group of 900 from 26 schools' in the city! r was chosen by the Christchurch Schools’ Bffusic Association towards the end of last year, rehearsals have been held over a ■ long period, and its training has been completed only during the last few weeks. John Hopkins will be conducting for the major part of the programme, but in one bracket, I Keith Newson, who has directed the training of the group, will s conduct.

On the same evening the National Orchestra will play extracts from the works of Bizet, Roger Quilter, Eric Coats, and Sir ', Edward Elgar. The programme' will end with a of 1 Elgar's “Pomp and Circumstance” and the massed singing of “Land !of Hope and Glory.” Mr de Berry said that the choir would be the biggest the orchestra had played with in the South Island and possibly New Zealand. It was estimated that 2000 singers would take part in the festival. Of these, 900 were from (the primary schools of Christj church. 700 from the post-primary schools, and 400 from the choral societies. In addition there would , be 200 bandsmen from six Christchurch bands, and 100 boys from the bands of Christchurch Boys' High School. Christ’s College. Papanui High School and Christchurch Technical College. The music festival will end on Saturday evening with a concert by Ida Haendel in the Civic Theatre.