MUSICAL AND DRAMATIC COMMITTEE

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 127, 31 May 1928, Page 19

MUSICAL AND DRAMATIC COMMITTEE

A meeting /of the Honorary Musical and Dramatic Committee -of 2YA was held at the studio on Monday evening. Mr. Harison _ Cook (National Repertory Society) presided, and there were present' representatives of the Orphans' Club, Charley's Aunt Club, Savage Club, Royal Wellington Choral Society, Hutt Valley.- Choral Society, and the Harmonic Society, and the ■company's official representatives. An hour was spent in a profitable discussion of ways and means whereby the committee could best further the intererests of the musical and dramatic arts, and also the aims and objects of the various organisations represented on the committee. Several valuable suggestions relative to broadcast programmes were put forward and discussed, and it was decided to formally recommend-, that a "literary evening" should be scheduled, say, once a month. In this connection a suggestion made by Mr. I. Levy met with unanimous approval—that while it was eminently desirable that time should be given to broadcasting excerpts from the works of the great masters of literature, it was also important that the essential feature of variety should be carefully . preserved. It was agreed that to this end a "literary evening" shounld mean not the allocation of an entire programme to, say, the works 'of Dickens or" Shakespeare, but at the most two quarter-hour sections (one in each half of the programme) for the literary features, the balance of the programme to be of a vocal and instrumental character. As the outcome of a suggestion made by Mr. G. L. Gieson, it was resolved that efforts should be made to secure the broadcasting, either from the studio, or on relay from their actual performances, of portions_ of the works of the various choral societies. Here, again, it was deemed inadvisable \to recommend that, an -.entire' evening 'should be devoted to any one particular class of music, and the representatives explained that it would be quite practicable to meet the wish of the committee by' relaying selected portions of a choral concert in conjunction with a studio programme. Members of the.committee were cordially invited to attend the studio concerts at their convenience. "The New Zealand Radio Listeners' .Guide, 1928-29," is now available. It is a compact little volume, containing information of a very varied description suit-. Ed to the needs of all types of radio enthusiast. To those who have not yet become active members of the radio fanv ily, but who are on the verge of doing, so, the "Guide" should be of interest; much of the matter, in fact, is of such an attractive nature that it should complete their conversion without further ado. Did it tell how license fees could be obtained readily from listeners without the necessity of continual reminder's, almost pathetic appeals, and threats of prosecution— or rather, if it convicted the consciences of defaulters of the grossness of their erring, .the "Guide*" would bo even more useful. The "Guide" contains articles surveying the history of wireless and explaining its general principles, and lias sections giving the best means of getting good results from crystal and valve sets, and how to deal with the little problems (and the large ones) that from time to time arise in one's career as a listener. Home constructors will find much of value in that part of the "Guide" devoted to their interests, while the short-wave "fans"—a growing body—are also well catered'for. The "Servicing of sets, and how to get the best out of valves and batteries, is dealt with in easily-understood language; , ...... . . .