LATE F. J. LILLICRAP

Southland Times, Issue 19522, 23 May 1922, Page 5

LATE F. J. LILLICRAP

A TRIBUTE. (By Mr Charles Gray). I suppose it was in the nineties that I first became acquainted with Mr Frank TJllicrap, when as one of a deputation from the old Orchestral Society he waited, upon me with the request to take over the concluctorahip. They were very keen in those days and though I hesitated at first, I was induced by the enthusiasm of the deputation to accede to their request. From then onwards for over twenty-five years I met Mr Frank Lillicrap weekly and I think I may say that for that whole- period, in all our ups and downs, he played at every concert I conducted. He was the first secretary, and I have the keenest recollection of what a good man he was in that capacity. He seemed to anticipate every detail and I found invariably that if I had a suggestion to make he had thought it out beforehand and forestalled me. And what a tower of strength he was in the orchestra. Fluteless and oboe-less as we often were I had to give him three parte to play in addition to his own. However difficult and out of range they would be, his clarinet never failed us. In the “Creation” and other oratorios he would play the various obbligati faultlessly and blend artistically with the soloist. I wonder how many of the audience realised the skill this required. Regular at practices and on all occasions reliable to a degree he often carried us through difficulties which otherwise would have floored us, short of wood wind as we often were.

Mr Frank Lillicrap was a man of few words and of a shy and retiring disposition but of all the staunch members it has been my pleasure to work with, in and out of the orchestra, 1 never met one on whom I could more fearlessly rely. His true love and enthusiasm for music helped us to weather many a musical storm and he was an object lesson to nervous performers for 1 have reason to know that it was only by indomitable will power and perseverance he mastered his nerve and grew into a most reliable soloist. His place will be hard to fill; it takes years of experience to attain his skill and it would be a reflection on his friends and those in musical circles who knew his Stirling worth to let his great services on behalf of the Divine Art, go unrecorded.