N.Z. musician recalls youth bands

Press, 7 May 1987, Page 27

N.Z. musician recalls youth bands

PA New Plymouth A well known New Zealand bandsman, Ernie Ormrod, says his greatest pleasure has been passing on his love and knowledge of brass to young people. Mr Ormrod, who retired from Colliers Music Shop in New Plymouth recently after 45 years in the music business, recalls running five separate youth bands in Taranaki all at once and teaching all the instruments from scratch. He supervised bands at Highlands and Devon intermediate schools and Francis Douglas College in New Plymouth, a Stratford junior band, and had 120 pupils in the New Plymouth City Youth Band. Looking back, he wonders how he found time. Mr Ormrod is a life member of the New Plymouth City Band, with which he has served for 20 years, after arriving in New Plymouth from Wellington. Bands have been his

life and will continue to be. His father, Ernie Ormrod Sen., is also well known in music circles as he broadcast a band programme throughout New Zealand. Mr Ormrod Jun. also broadcast a similar programme on radio 2XP each Sunday morning. His proudest moment with the city band was seeing it go from C grade, when he arrived, to A grade status. The band is verging on A grade status again, but Mr Ormrod will not be with it at the championships in Auckland. He has accepted an invitation from the C grade Levin Municipal Band to play tenor horn in it. ’’They are a good little town band and they were a bit short,” he said. Mr Ormrod has been a member of five national bands and toured three times to the United States. He was the organiser and manager of five national youth bands and in 1979 took one to Australia.