RECORD ENTRIES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26693, 12 February 1948, Page 5

RECORD ENTRIES

BRASS BANDS’ CONTEST HYMN TEST ON SUNDAY The first parties of bandsmen from all over the Dominion will arrive in Dunedin to-morrow for the New Zealand Brass Band Association's Championship Contest, which will be commenced on Sunday, and will conclude the following Saturday night. The contest is likely to prove one of the outstanding attractions of the centenary celebrations, and Dunedin can expect a week of melody from some of the most talented combinations in the country, including last year’s A Grade champions, and winners of the quickstep, the Wanganui Garrison Band. The entries constitute a Dominion record, as there are well over 600 in the various solo sections, and although a few bands which entered will not be travelling owing to the infantile paralysis epidemic and other causes, all the three sections have fill'ed better than was expected. Hymn Test The festival will open at Carisbrook on Sunday at 1.30 p.m. when over 30 bands will be heard in the hymn test. There is little likelihood of many pieces being duplicated as some time ago the Executive Committee distributed the music of about 500 different hymns to bands that were considered possible contestants, and, the public should be provided with nearly three hours’ of music. On Monday, and each succeeding day until Friday, the various sessions will be conducted in three halls, the Town Hall, the Concert Chamber, and Jubilee Hall, View street. The A Grade first test selection will be commenced in the Town Hall at 7.30 p.m. on Tuesday, and the second test will be played on Thursday. The B Grade test selections are scheduled for Monday and Wednesday, and the C Grade for Friday evening. The quickstep contest for the three grades will take place at Carisbrook on February 21, and at night prizes will be presented, the championship cornet solo, and selections by the champion band as well as vocal solos. This will bring the festival to a close. The Adjudicators The adjudicators are Mr Thomas B. Gray, who had a considerable amount of experience in England before coming to New Zealand, where he is classical orchestrator and arranger to the New Zealand Broadcasting Service, Dr Vernon Griffiths, well known in Dunedin, and Dr John Dean Goffin, a bandmaster and composer of distinction. Many men who have given notable service on the administrative side will be in Dunedin for the festival, and the annual conference to take place on Friday, February 20, is likely to be thoroughly representative of the Dominion.