THE COMPETITIONS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 22 August 1925, Page 6

THE COMPETITIONS.

CONCLUDED LAST NIGHT. At the final session of the competitions there was a large audience, and a very attractive programme had been arranged. The principal item was the brass quartette competition, which was won by Messrs R. Swan (cornet), ±l. Wills (cornet), E. H. Gould (tenor horn), and A. E. Wilson (euphonium), of the Hawera Municipal Band. the Hawera hand was successful in winning both first and second prizes against two quartettes from New 1 ijmouth. The class of music produced by all the quartettes was excellent, and the judge expressed himself very pleased to hear such fine interpretations. ' . - , During the programme the president (Mr E. Dixon) made a presentation ol the male quartette shield to Messrs J. C. Smith, W. G. Strange, A. E. Morris and G. H. Buckeridge. Commenting generally on the competitions, Mr Dixon said that the town was fortunate that public men should out in such a great deal of time foi the benefit of the competitions. He referred specially to Mr H. E. Cressey (the energetic secretary), Mr E. *V • Homer (chairman of the committee), Mr and Mrs J. W. Velvin. and Mr 1. Herbert. Mr Cresscy had been the right man in the right place, and it reflected greatly on his ability the splendid manner ip which the competitions had been conducted. With Mr Herbert Mr Dixon had a great deal ot sympathy, for Mr Herbert bad. canvassed the business men of the town for the trophies, and lie (Mr Dixon) knew the difficulty of such a task. To Mies D. Joll the committee was greatly indebted for the splendid way m which she bad assisted the competitors. Mr W. G. Strange said that the competitors felt that they had to show their appreciation for the work Miss Joll had done. She had spared no time to assist every competitor. He begged Miss Joll to "accept a slight token of their gratitude. Detailed results were as follows :

Boys’ song (under 14); own selection. -—S. Horsbrough 1, Ronald Hancock 2. The winner’s 60ng was excellently rendered. His pronunciation and phrasing were splendid, and he had to return and give an encore. Recitation in character (under 14 years); own selection. —Elsie Twaddle 1. This competitor was the only one whom the judge considered gave * a character recital. The other competitors merely told of a- character, but did riot assume it. Olga Laidlaw did not appear during the morning sessions, but the judge heard her item in the afternoon, and was so pleased with it that he asked her to give it as a demonstration.

Recitation, not humorous (under 18 years).—Joan Tonks 1, Patty Childs 2. vSoprano solo (under 19. years); own selection. —Miss B. Cooper 1, Miss K. Kennedy 2. Tenor sold, own selection.—J. D. McQuin 1, A. E. Morris 2. Story without words.—Miss N. McDonald 1. Mr Stanley Warwick was extremely pleased with. Miss McDonald’s acting, and in his remarks said that the production showed a great deal of observation.

Brass quartette, any combination; own selection.'—R. Swan. H. Wills, E. H. Gould, and A. E. Wilson.. “Dear is my little native vale” (Hollingworth), I, gold medals; C. Pearce, L. G. Gould. E. E. Lacey, and C. Martin, 2, silver medals. Brass solo, own selection. —C. Poarco (tenor trombone} 1, A. E. Wilson (euphonium) 2. In the class for impromptu speech a mistake was inndvertentlv made in the award for second place. It should have been Mr J. Ren wick, with Mr H. Taylor third. RECITATION IN CHARACTER. JIJDOES’ COMMENT'S. After the children’s recitations the judge (Mr Warwick) said he was sorry to say ho was not too pleased with the choice of selections, and he hoped everyone would realise that he did not wish to hurt the feelings of any of the competitors. Character recitation was not merely putting oil a costume, but must have in it a distinct character. In some cases the competitor had not a costume, but a property. Failure in this respect meant 20 points. Most of the selections were not character recitations at all. He criticised some of the selections, and said it was not fair to allow a child to do a recital full of slang. It was not good, and should not be allowed. He would not be doing his duty to competitors if ho passed this without a protest, and ho considered the practice should cease. H© drew the attention of teachers to this condition of affairs. He went through the various selected pieces, and showed clearly in what features they lacked and in wliat way they were not good for the children. He concluded by saying that children must not be forced by learning unsuitable selections. They must he kept natural. He drew attention again t-o the wrong inflections, which were numerous, and not too good. Vowel sounds, too, were often weak. In the case of one competitor, he said, there was refinement, and the child bad the quality of good expression and a pleasing naturalness. He felt he should l like to encourage her. Others were verv good, but their recitations were out of their class. Tn conclusion, he said that as a class it was weak and only one was recalledand be could award no second prize. He felt be had to set a definite standard, and he wanted everyone to help to see that it was maintained. It would be. he was sure, good for the cause of the competitions in the town. PIANO AND THE VOICE. TALKS BY MR RUNNICLES.

As ;i corollary to the competitions. Mr Runnicles, the musical judge, met on separate occasions first the teachers and students interested specially in the piano and then those with a special bent towards vocal music. He had a short talk with each gathering, and all present were extremelv delighted and interested in what he hat! to say, and felt they had gained much useful knowledge. Mr Runnicles, who is an wholehearted enthusiast, especially in the subject of the development of the young mind and in making it bring out all its latent powers, gave some of the teachers and punils a most interesting talk on several aspects of the work of piano tuition. He first referred to the earliest days in the evolution of music modes, traced the growth through the spinet and virginal lo the piano of modern times, giving many excellent hints and suggestions on the construction of the fugue and the sonata. He devoted some time also to the use o.f the pedal, emphasising its varied uses to secure different effects. Tn tackling anv new work. Mr Rnnni'fies «nid, students should take the composition they had in mind to learn and spend a considerable time in studying it, endeavour to make a mental picture and to try to get behind the

notes and see the mind of the composer. In this way they would he helped in gaining a correct interpretation of the work, and this should be tbeir continual aim. A short talk was also given by Mr Runnicles on the voice and its use. In opening lie pub forward his that in singing every part of the body took a part in the production, or perfect tone. He stressed the. value of relaxation, and showed liow important it was in every phase of vocal work. He explained the formation of the voice box and bow it was the medium of expression of tone. In order, he said, to get good tone it was necessary that the whole bodv should be perfectly relaxed, and lie ga"ve a practical demonstration of how important this was and how the tightening of throat muscles made the tone thin, and a point he made was the necessity for avoiding the forcing of the voice, for good results were quite impossible unless this was observed. In reply to a question, Mr Runnicles gave some valuable suggestions on .the way to place the tongue for various vowel sounds and bow great a part the tongue played in production of sounds. His° hints "should 'be most instructive and valuable to students, and helpful to them in their work. Special mention was made by Mr Runnicles of the playing of Miss Leah Haughton. He was immensely struck with her performances, and said he considered she had distinctly a very promising future. She gained first m piano solo under 18 and under 21. BRASS INSTRUMENTS. Mr Runnicles was very much impressed with the number and variety of brass instruments on the programme. It was, he added, most unusual, if not unique for competitions, and more than would) usually he heard even at a band contest. JUDGES’ COMMENTS. At the conclusion of the programme, Mr Stanley Warwick repeated his previous remarks concerning character recitals, and hoped that the misapprehension which appeared to exist at present would be cleared up. Mr Warwick offered advice to the competitors who had not won, and instructed them to keep on trying. A great deal of good came out of the attempts. He pointed out to teachers there was a distinct danger in some work. He referred to Sir James Parr', who said that teachers must “strive to keep the pure word of English undefiled.” He said that if he could impress upon teachers the necessity of choosing work in which the language was not mutilated his visit would not have been in vain. Some of the items he had heard could he termed nothing better than vaudeville, and they were not educative. The competitions were primarily for education, not entertainment. He had enjoyed his stay in Hawera. and expressed his thanks'to the committee. He said that the competitors had need to be very grateful to Miss Joll, for she had covered up a great many defects, and the tributes paid to her were well deserved. Mr Warwick then gave a short recital, and showed competitors what was not a character recitation.

Mr j. Holmes Runnicles said he had had a hard but interesting day. Possibly Hawera people did not know, but they bad had a most delightful treat from the quartettes. They did excellent work, and had been the best part of the competitions. Speaking of the choice of music, Mr Runnicles said that from his experience teachers or parents chose the piece of music with the most attractive cover, with _no thought for the child’s range of voice, and the result, was that the child’s voice gave out. He said that any songs set to the key of G or in the treble stave were good for the children. The brass solo had been interesting., and the competitors must have worked hard. Ho expressed his gratitude for the warm reception he had received in Hawera, and also paid a tribute to Miss Joll. J UDGES ENTERTAINED.

At the conclusion of the final session the president and committee entertained the judges at supper in the Islington Rooms. The toast of “The King” was first honoured. In proposing the health of the judges, the president (Mr E. Dixon) expressed the pleasure all felt at having had Messrs Runnicles and Warwick in Hawera, and said that the educational value of the competitions was very great and would, he hoped, be always stressed, so that the result might be a steady raising of the standard of work. He emphasised, too, that only one could win the first prize, but that if it had been an examination probably a large percentage would pass. Air Runnicles congratulated . Hawera on the success of the competitions and on the musical talent the town possessed. as shown by the results. He referred to the trials of a judge in the course of liis work, and assured the committee that the competitions were an institution of which all might justly be proud. He urged the committee to pay special attention to the work of the children, and not to unduly force them and so commercialise the competitions. He urged them, too. to maintain a high standard. He wished them even greater development in the future.

• Air Warwick also stressed the hope that the competitions would continue to grow and that the standard of work would be raised each year. He thanked the committee and hon. secretary for much kindly and courteous assistance, and said it had been a real pleasure to come to Hawera. The health of the committee and lion, secretary was proposed bv Air Page, who said that Messrs Horner. Velvin and Cressey had made, an ideal combination, and l were entitled to very great credit on the result of their efforts. He paid a special tribute to the work of Air Cressey. and said that the society were very fortunate in having one who carried out the work with such efficiency and thoroughness.

In responding Mr Horner, chairman of the committee, acknowledged the many points they had learnt from the good work of the judges, which would he of inestimable value to them in future years. He said that this was only the fourth year, and that last year when they resumed th© competitions the committee was up against a big liability and had to take every sten to ensure a financial success. He added that he was at one with the judges in the desire for raising the standard, and that he felt sure, next year they would he able to carry -out many useful suggestions made when once the society was in a strong financial position. He thanked the judges most heartily for the help they had given the committee. After the singing of “Auld Lang Syne” a pleasant little gathering terminated.