SWIMMING BATHS.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLII, Issue 149, 25 June 1908, Page 5

SWIMMING BATHS.

_—; +. '-.. CONCERT IN AID

The Town Hall was fairly filled last night, when the concert in aidof the swimming bath fund was held. The committee and their secretary (Mr L. Bartlett), are -to be congratulated upon the amount of success attending their efforts,' for a fairly large sum should agcrue from last.evening's entertainment-. A torch-light process sion was held prior to the concert, in which the^ Garrison Band, the Hibernian Band, and the Fire Brigade and Oddfellows took part. ; ■ Mr R.^lcArtney was marshal, and, in the unavoidable absence' of the Mayor in the North Island, presided at the concert. In his opening re-' marks Mr MeArtiiey said that he was sure that those present would be in accord ,wlth him when he said they were happjr to be able to do something to forward such a Avorthy object, as the erection of swimming baths in the town. In the past organisations had been formed to carry out the object, but hitherto they had met with failure. This time they were- not going to fail. Funds were coming to hand,, and there «vas no doubt that the £170 now lying idle to the credit of the Mayor's Patriotic Fund would soon be available to augment what 'had already been collected. They had a very energetic committee, and he hoped and trusted that before long the swimming baths would be an accomplished fact. The Garrison Band opened proceedings by playing a selection, under the baton of Mr Rose, and Mr Wells appeared and sang Gounod's all too little knoTjn song "She alone Charriieth my. Sadness." Mr Wells was in good voice, and later on appeared and sang "The two Grenadiers." Both items were well sung, and to the music-loving portion of.the audience proved a_ decided treat. Miss ScottSmith is the possessor of a pure, true soprano voice, and Pelissier's song "Awake" was sung very nicely. Her upper register is hampered by nervousness, but she gives hearers the impression that she hjas a reserve forte which will later on develop considerable power, when the drawback has been overcome. Her repeat number was a sweet little trifle entitled "My Little Violets." Mr McDonald, the flautist from the Empire City, appeared on three occasions, and was flatteringly received.' His solos were to some extent spoiled by the wretched acoustic properties)of the hall, and from a programme comprising ■ 'Graceful' Dance" (Leminone.),; "Nuschuld" (Vandersell), a scherzo by Beethoven, "Springtide" (Forman) and "JHungarian Dance" (Yapp), the two latter may be picked as the gems of a fine performance. The duet "Snowdrops," by Liza Lehmann, was one of the features of the concert, and Miss Dee and Mr Wells responded to an emphatic encore by repeating the concluding portion*. Many present would hwve liked to have heard Miss Dee in solo. Possibly that will be a .treat in store on some future occasion.. The wellknown trio from Maritana "Turn on, Old Time," in which Miss Dee appeared witH Messrs Rose and Wells, was another item which was much appreciated. Miss Dee played a pianoforte solo (Liszt's Rhapsodic No. 6), [ and the compliment was paid her—a ' rare thing in a'mixed audience—of absolute quietness during ■ her performance, and on its conclusion the audi- ■ ence demanded eagerly > an encore, and she appeared again, in a bracketted number ("To a Lily" and "The Shadow Dance"). Miss B. Draper is always welcome, and for a rendering full of merit of "My Am Folk," was recalled. . Her encore number was , "Roses by Summer Forsaken." ■- Mrs W. Penny Was down, for "A Song. >of May,", and received the compliment oi stn encotd (^1 wish I were a tiny bird"). Tn'e comedy element was supplied; hy' iy[r" Bowman, whose Scottish, character impersonations earned him several refealls.

The accompaniments throughout the evening were capably played by Mrs Allen, Misses Rose and Dee, and Mr Wells.