School music in Town Hall

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33037, 3 October 1972, Page 10

School music in Town Hall

Rehearsals are being held at schools around Christchurch this week for perhaps the biggest school musical event held in the city—the primary and intermediate schools music festival, which will open in the Town Hall next Monday night, and continue on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Because of the unexpected demand for tickets the festival programme is likely to be repeated towards the end of the month. Some 3500 children will take part in the fesival, including pupils from some country schools and private schools.

Each night of the festival there will be a massed choir of about 1100 children. In addition, five special groups will perform items. These are a recorder ensemble, a junior representative choir of 100 voices, a senior choir of 100, a contemporary percussion group of 30, and a primary and intermediate schools’ orchestra of 100.

Members of these special groups were selected by audition, and they attended a special training course during the August school holidays. Since then they have continued their training at week-ends. The musical director of the festival is Mr G. R. Mathieson, principal of the Linwood Avenue School, and the assistant musical director

is Mr L. B. Willett. The five special groups are conducted by Helen Rathgen (junior choir), Margaret Daly (senior choir). Kit Powell (percussion group), Les Brown (recorder ensemble), and Peter Rowe (orchestra). Charles Martin will accompany the junior choir and David Crooks the senior choir, and the accompanists for the massed singing are Jennifer Simpson (piano) and Russell Kent (organ).