Schools music festival ends

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32425, 12 October 1970, Page 14

Schools music festival ends

The Christchurch Primary Schools’ Music Festival ended its series of concerts in the Civic Theatre on Saturday evening. There has been good organisation, and the concerts have been smoothly presented. Some efficient and graceful dancing has added something different, and the little play about Beethoven gave continuity of design to some of the musical items. It should be remembered, however, that this is a music festival and additions should not interfere with that, nor should they be allowed to increase the length of a programme unduly.

Congratulations are given to the management committee on the reward their painstaking work has earned, and to all teachers and others in the schools taking part for their slogging in preparing the children week by week for their chance of , achievement.

School choirs taking part in the massed choir were Cheviot, St Albans, Spreydon, Star of the Sea, Sumner, Manning Intermediate and St Mark’s. Their teachers were: Mrs Lovell-Smith, Mr Gregory, Mrs Simpson, Sister Mary Peter Chanel, Mr Trent and Mr Dunlop, Miss Rathgen and Mrs Page and Mr Willett respectively. Mr Gordon Mathieson, the musical director of the festival, conducted most of the massed choir items and gave musical shape, expressive shadings, and rhythmic stability to the performances. His confidence was reflected in the children’s secure competence in all that they performed. He was assisted at this concert by Miss Helen Rathgen, the assistant director, by Mr Lennox Willett, j and by Mr Paul Gregory who I conducted his interestingly

effective composition, “Song of Sacrifice.” Among the massed choir items, “A Hundred Golden Pounds,” Carl Orff’s “Sleep Baby” with its pleasant percussion accompaniment, “The Green Linnet” and “Ho La Hi” and the excellent “Metroqome Song” by Beethoven were all obvious favourites.

Individual choirs gave very good account of their training. They were Manning Intermediate Form I choir, conducted by Miss H. M. Page and accompanied by Miss Helen Rathgen; Sumner senior choir, conducted by Mr K. R. Dunlop and accompanied by Mrs M, Westman; Spreydon junior choir, directed by Mrs J. Simpson; St Albans junior, conducted by Mr Paul Gregory with guitar accompaniment provided by Mark Gregory; St Mark’s day school senior choir, conducted by Mr Lennox Willett and accompanied by Mr S. Beech; and Manning Intermediate Form II choir, conducted by Miss Rathgen and accompanied by Miss Page. Instrumental groups were: Manning Intermediate violin group, trained by Mr A. L. Scott, and directed by Mrs A. F. Crashaw; the Sumner orchestras A and B, conducted by Mr K. R. Dunlop; and the Cheviot District High School instrumental group conducted by Mrs B. M. Sloss. Standards of performance varied, but most of the work showed promise. Good ! intonation and good tone must ever be sought. Harold Kean, Anthony Wyld, Anna Marsh, and Jennifer Bathurst performed the little play with confidence and clarity; and the dancers • from Manning Intermediate: 1 Julie Hood, Linda Martin, Ashley Smith and Lee Wes- - ton, performed with precision 1 and animation.