AN APPRECIATION.

Inangahua Times, 29 March 1909, Page 2

AN APPRECIATION.

R. A. SUTHERLAND ESQ, CONDUCTOR, INANGAHUA BRASS B;ANP, " - Hv P- V•j i I r- 3[ L > V. viHall^ I,, 4 ,' There is a man in the land of Inangahua whose name is Sutherland, and that man is perfect f and upright and one that eschews i evil and is a musician."

It has been my good fortune as a Bandsman to hays been s6.ne* What timely associated With Mr" Sutherland : the intini.acy lias compelled such adrhiratidri df his character as. mV iWr fcoriirHdnd of wor.US fails to .eXrjrSss; tnefSfbrt 1., cdrjy, the" iriirnitaßle language of the . biqgraph'ev Job'. The bxt is.a % .w<J:-d-mihia|iire of t|ie niari. wrjJcii the . rtiemßers of ttie band will ijiirnediately rccogT nise, but tq those who do not know him, enlargement,ar\cl s protection, .of. detail is necessary and interesting:'; It has been fully realised that here is a man not less than a musical genius toiling away night after night, week after week, and month after month for years, against tremendous odds, (i.e. a moving papulation and the almost impossibility of getting the Whole band together at any ; oiie, lljme) preaching; thrqtigh a 13dntl Of men of at best tint medidcre capacity, the gospel of music; Very often even these are not available when he gladly, hails anyone • who will oromise to learn. I shall not forget finding him on one occasion teaching a dozen school boys to blow the bugle: I watched the lesson and after some two.hoim seemingly fruitless toil he joyfully called my attention to one lad who he thought would, with careful teaching, be ab'e to produce a good note in a few weeks time. I felt the of no: betraying sticli a Confidence. All this Without 'money and Without pricpj But the value of Such laboftts enthusiasm cannot be measured by currency : it is a public service deserving of the best recognition.

I have been connected wit'i barids in, Australia, Tasmania and Kew Zealand (more recently that of theChriStchurch Garrison) but it is in Reefton I find a Prince 1 of Conductors and one wonders to what heights such a one would attain had he command ofsucn material as we remember, in the h Besses 0' th* Barn." The issue of the test selection will hot be/forgotten by Reefion bandsmen iwe had not played such music before, and could hot Jjrasp iy.it sggmeda conglomeration of dissonant cli'ird; "We all know Bulwer Lvtton's story of RIENZI, but Mr Sutherland told it to us again and showed him to' us in a new light. Musical form was so blended w'th history that time and place wert, transported. Rienzi lived and moved amongst us, we felt the oppression of the Roman Nobles, the tryanny of it became unbearable. When the basses growled forth the suppressed muttering* of the people, the cornets caught th° spirit of prayer for. succour, the writings of the spirit within Rienzi urging him on, the woman's appeal, and his frenzied rush to desperate measures! The „ tenor horn tells of the subsequent honoring of Rienzi with music. Meanwhile the position is becoming more acute—there is an assembly, and the trombone peals forth the prophecy that the day will come when the oppression will be avenged, which is followed by the Church's call to arms. After the battle and triumph, the trombone heralds the approach of the messengers of peace, and the message is sweetly given in a cornet solo. After whicy Rienzi (euphonium) sings the victor's song, in which ihe trombones (senators) join, whilst the soprano and cornets are singing a glorious obligato The grand finale is the acclamation by the populace of Rienzi as their deliverer.

To-morrow, after 8 weeks' incessant labour, the Inangahua conductor Mr R. Sutherland will 1 return to the every-day of life not knowing that he has clone any- : thing unusual. This, my mite towards his enlightenment. It is impossible to write about Mr Sutherland without thinking of that energetic bandsman, Mr S. Austin, Bandmaster, who has

done yeoman service; of Messrs Julian, Payne, and W. McEwen who have travelled long distances to attend practice. And then too, how much the services of the late Mr Thos. Eddy have been missed only the results indicate. The contest is over, the numbers up, and we congratulate Westport.

I would like to add how much | the Band Contest Committee appreciate the fine spirit shown by tee Grey Citizens' Band. In such a weak state a less plucky an 1 less public spirited band would have withdrawn ;their "staying by the game" has assisted in no small measure to the success of the contest. Such action cann >

bespoken too hiahlyof; it does .nucii toward musical progress. P. V. S.

T IE PKR IjUFUUK TIMS, fq inivr cliscas-!. T> Midden's Nov Discovc-y fa'* Coughs, C>d und Oonsii:[ipui(>'i cure* iu R trine. Bmi d se. Ploisantto tace, Eve y b.>fc .■ 0 tain >b e at M. II Pa mors, Agent, R.ef.oiv.