Musk School Settles Down

Northern Advocate, 24 August 1948, Page 4

Musk School Settles Down

Members of the Northland Music School in Whangarei yesterday settled down to some solid, but pleasant and entertaining work. An informal air pervaded the entire proceedings, from rounds-sing-ing by the choristers and Haydn playing by the string sections to musical appreciation by the listeners’ group. There might not seem to be much hard work in listening to a gramophone playing a Schubert symphony, but trying to pick a cadence or a theme from a mass of musical phrases, sentences and paragraphs requires concentration on the part of the inexpert.

The same applies to trying to define the climax to a Mozart sonata, when the pupil had not thought much about the matter before.

Violin, viola and cello—players had a field day, many playing in what was perhaps their first orchestral group.

Patience is often said to be a virtue, and, if so, all the tutors are virtuous indeed. To correct a false note or a misplaced accent seemed to be almost a holiday for them. Their patience, combined with the high quality of their teaching generally, can be seen to be bearing fruit even in the short time the school has been in operation. FAMILIAR SIGHTS The green lapel-tickets of the school members are becoming a noticeable feature in Whangarei, particularly at times between classes when the pupils pass to or from one or other of the several scattered buildings used by the school. These include the Town Hall, the Friendly Societies’ Hall, the YWCA and Palmer’s Buildings. With members from Whangarei, Dargaville, Kaikohe, Pukekohe, Bay of Islands, Cambridge, and even as far afield as the United States, the school offers rare opportunities for such neglected individuals as cello-players to get together in the various groups. The school will conclude its activities on Thursday with a “Final Concert and Frolic,” following formal concluding addresses at 7 p.m.