THE BANDS

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 33, 2 November 1934, Page 8

THE BANDS

News From Far and Near NELSON CONTEST (Conducted by “Kneller Hall.’’) Nelson district band contest took place on Saturday, October 20, when seven entries were received, and there was a large attendance o£ the. public, dhe Mayor, Mr. W. J. Moffatt, specially thanked the' Marlborough Mounted Riffes Baud, under Conductor E. Rose, which., hud attended'in support of the contest, but not to compete. The officers of the ]2th Nelson Regiment acted as military judges of the quickstep, and tiie musical adjudicator was Mr. E, Franklin, conductor of; the Wellington Tramways Baud. Au exhibition quickstep by tiie Marlborough visitors. lent additional interest to the proceedings, and the Nelson Regimental Band, under Lieut. T. 11. Hughes, played selections. Air, C. R. JLluke officiated' ns- supervisor. The results were as follow Selection : Takaka Citizens (conductor, H. L, Bensemann), 80 points, 1; Nelson Citizens (G. C. Alocklbr), 87 points, 2; Wakefield Brass (R. Edeu), 80 points, 3; Alotueka Municipal (H, Smith). 78 points, 4. Quick-.. s(xp: Takaka, 1; Nelson, 2 ; Alotueka, 3 ; Wakefield 4. ■ . The two last-named tied for third place in the aggregate. Hymn: Takaka, 88 points; Nelson, 87; Wakefield. 8(1: Alotueka, 85. The association’s shield for most musical points scored during the day, and the Gahageu Cup, for the most military points in the quickstep, were presented to the conductor of- the Takaka Band, which had carried off the honours iij the .three sections. , Bandyooin Chat.

To-morrow will see the, third and last day of the band championship contest at Ballarat, though the solo competitions may last a little longer. The South Street fixture has been running for over three tyeeks, and. is an annual event of great importance, as a win in any of the major classes is generally recognised as a hailmark of outstanding ability. This year being the centenary year, the entries are unusually heavy in most sections. The band championship results should be known early in the week. 'The band of the First Battalion, 'Wellington Regiment (conductor, Mr. Harry Baker), has been busy with its usual activities. The attendance at rehearsals and practices has been satisfactory, the average being about 30 players each night. On Sunday, November 11 (Armistice Day), a church parade will be held, when the regiment will inarch from the Town Hall to St. ’ Raul’s proCathedral. The new dress uniforms are on. their way from England, and are expected to reach Wellington about November 20. On November 24 and 25 the band will go into camp with the regiment at Trentham, an event looked forward to with great pleasure. A solo competition is being arranged for, and also a novelty in the form of a sectional contest, when each department will do its utmost to make its section the best. Bandsman E. Smith has been transferred from the bass to the euphonium, and an opening here presents itself for a good bass player to fill the vacancy. Under the tuition of Sergeant K. Smith the Boys’ Band is making good progress, and there is still room for a few good boys who are keen on music. Altogether, the band is getting along tine, and the members are in good fettle and anxious to do' their best for the success of the First Battalion Band,

At the concert last Sunday given by the Wellington Artillery Band at the Botanical Gardens there was a large atte. dance of the public. This was the opening performance of the band’s summer season, and brilliant weather, combined with an attractive .programme, made the proceedings very enjoyable. The band was in splendid form and, under the baton of its new conductor, Mr. W. H. Bowman, did full justice to the items presented, which were as follow Contest march. “Odeon”; overture, “Vanessa”; euphonium solo, “Napoli.” Mr. R. Fenton; contest selection, “11 Flauto Magico”; processional march, “Silver Trumpets”; ballroom dance, “Amelia” ; march, “The Saracen.” A collection taken up in aid of the contest fund amounted to £2/5/3 —rather a. disappointing return for the labour involved in the preparation of the programme, and in view of the object aimed at the response of the audience was. not at all encouraging. Woolston Brass Band arrived at Ballarat (Vic.) on October 22 to compete in the centenary contest at South Street. Mr. R. J. Estall and his men were welcomed by the president of the . South Street Society (Mr. J. A. Wilkie) and wepe later played, to their hotel by the Returned Soldiers’ Bund. Greetings were here exchanged, after which the soldiers called for three cheers for the visitors, aud these were reciprocated with a New Zealand war-cry. It is reported that an effort is to be made by the bands of Wanganui to hold the 1936 contest at that city. In the meantime the bands of the river centre are ..concentrating on the championship Contest to be held at Timaru in February next, after which the other subject will be thoroughly gone into. / Members of Auckland Municipal Band have been in receipt of a partial restoration of their salary cuts since April last. ■ The good deed seems to have been confined to the northern city.

The Otago Artillery Banti (Dunedin) has commeurtd its series of summer concerts, and, under the coudiictorship of Lieut. H. F. Davie, gavrs the first of tiiepe last Sunday afternoon at St. Clair, presenting a capital programme, the result .of constant practice during the winter months. It is the intention to compete at the Timaru contest in February next, and should Kaikorai and St. Kilda bands also be after honours at that fixture the Scottish city will be well represented. _ The band contest held at Whangarei in connection with the A. and I’. Society’s show on October 20 was notable in that a similar fixture had not been held in that town since 1908. Mr. Wynne Smith, of Auckland, officiated as adjudicator, the supervisor being Mr. J. Crocker. Results were as, follow:-—Quickstep: Fonsouby Boys, 248 points, 1; Takapuna Citizens, 244 points, 2; Whangarei Municipal, 240 points, 3; Mount Eden Boys, 229 points. 4. Hymn: Whangarei Municipal, !>3 points, 1; Pousonbj Boys and Takapuna Citizens (equal), 92 points, 2: Mount Eden Boys, 87 points, 3. At the conclusion the massed bands played “Colonm Bogey,” under the conductorship of Mr. Wynne Smith, who in making the awards said that, generally speaking, the playing of the various bunds was very satisfactory. The contest was held under the rules of the Auckland Provincial Brass Bands’ Association.

In announcing the awards at. the conclusion of the Nelson district band contest the adjudicator, Mr. E. Franklin, remarked that the' playing of the hymns had been far beyond his expectations Only three points separated first from Inst. His advice was to keep on playing hymns and plenty of them, for they developed balance and tone. lie had been grentlv pleased nnd surprised with the playing in the selections, for he realised that he had been judging young bands which had never competed in open company. . . . The ideal in a band contest wns not so- much brilliancy and blast as an even performance. ... Tonal balance was all-important.