Half-million dollar appeal for music trust

Press, 11 March 1987, Page 9

Half-million dollar appeal for music trust

A $500,000 dollar appeal for the Canterbury Music Trust began yesterday.

the money raised will provide a capital sum for investment, which will in turn provide income to pay the salary of a cello tutor at the University of Canterbury School of Music, and to fund advanced music tuition. The trust, the deed for which has yet to be signed, already has about $lOOO, a surplus from a retirement presentation to Professor John Ritchie, the former head of the school.

The present head, Mr David Sell, said yesterday

that the purpose of the trust was to encourage musical performance teaching, and promote the standards of musical performance. The School of Music had two full-time performance tutors. The trust hoped the response to the appeal would allow a fulltime cello tutor to be employed in 1988. Mr Sell said teaching musical performance required one-to-one tutoring. The present arrangement under which all woodwind and brass students had part-time tutors was not the best.

He hoped the trust

would get enough support to allow more instrumental tutors to be imployed at thee school. The main aim was to enable the school to make progress in teaching musical performance.

Income from the trust would be used to engage performers and teachers to help musicians in Christchurch. The Chancellor of the University, Mr Charles Caldwell, and the Mayor of Christchurch, Sir Hamish Hay, who spoke at the launching of the appeal, called on the people of Christchurch to support music in the community by giving to the trust.