MALE CHOIR

Southland Times, Issue 21983, 5 April 1933, Page 6

MALE CHOIR

ANNUAL MEETING A SUCCESSFUL YEAR REPORTED CREDIT BALANCE The annual meeting of the Invercargill Male Voice Choir was held last evening and was attended by about 30 members. The president, Bro. R. S. Mclnnes, was chairman. The annual report of the committee was as follows:— “A very successful and eventful year has been completed and, consistent with reports of past seasons, it reflects further progress, excellent support of active members and high appreciation and interest by the general public of this city. For everyone connected with the choir, it was a very busy year indeed, and all must be unanimous that it was the most epochal, since the choir was formed in 1920. Such events as the visit of the Royal Dunedin Male Choir, and its association with the Invercargill choir, together with the Invercargill Orchestral Society, in the performance of the symphonic ode ‘The Desert’ will long be remembered by those fortunate to be present at the recital. The visits of Master Lex Macdonald (the boy soprano), Miss Mary Pratt (contralto), the artistry of the boy violinist, Master Oma Halbert, apart from other artists later mentioned, were of great interest and the appreciation of the choir’s enterprise and organization in offering such splendid musical programmes was clearly shown in the choir’s remarkable popularity with music lovers. “In Invercargill to build up a choir of large numbers and of good balance of tenors and basses is no easy matter, and the problem arises what should be the limit to membership of the various sections without destroying that balance. It can safely be said that during the past season the choir had the finest section of tenors it has enjoyed, and this was of considerable assistance towards the results achieved. After the choir’s performance in Dunedin, it was congratulated on having such a splendid body of basses, the quality of their singing being of a high standard. It will therefore be seen that the choir was strong in all sections in 1932. Tlie choir will require to use care in the admittance of future new members, selecting those with the most promise, but as there is no “waiting list.” new applications to join are still welcome, particularly tenors. Practices. “The attendances at weekly practices were, on the average, good, but there is still room for improvement, and, what an assistance it would be to the conductor! That the practices are interesting to members can be understood when one realizes the sacrifices some make to regularly attend. Three members come from Kennington, whilst several are living in the more distant suburbs, and this suggests that more young singers from the surrounding country districts might link up with the choir. “Two concerts were presented in the Civic Theatre. At the first concert the choir’s items included many fine part songs . and several spirited choruses and were well received. Assisting with the concert was Mr W. Halbert’s string orchestra, comprised mostly of young High School boys and their brilliant violin work drew much favourable comment. The soloists u. addition to Master Lex Macdonald, were the Rev. C. Olds, Dr S. Brown and Messrs C. E. Taylor, W. H. Farley, J. Hinton and F. H. Johnsen. All gave performances of a high concert standard. The second concert in October was easily the most noteworthy in the history of choral singing in Invercargill. Over 60 members of the Royal Dunedin Choir came down at Invercargill’s invitation to assist with the programme, making a total male choir of oyer 110 voices. The Invercargill Orchestral Society also kindly joined in resulting in a most impressive rendering of F. David’s symphonic ode ‘The Desert.’ Our honorary conductor deserves great credit for his able work at this performance and, as he stated afterwards, the tremendous volume of voice and instrument fairly rocked him on his stand. Mr Galloway’s conducting of the Soldiers’ Chorus, with combined choirs and orchestra, was also a masterly effort. The chairman of the Dunedin choir, who listened to this item from the circle, stated that it was the finest performance he had heard anywhere in the Dominion. The soloists at this concert were Miss Mary Pratt and Mr L. E. Dailey, whilst Mr L. S. Alsweiler recited the descriptive monologue. To mark the occasion a flashlight photograph was taken by Mr Hazeldine, and it was a splendid success. Social Activities. “One of the happiest features of the Invercargill Male Choir is the total absence of friction amongst either the office-bearers or members, and the really wonderful spirit of goodfellowship that has existed over a period of years. In our president we have a gentleman of ability and rare tact, and he is the man largely responsible for the smooth running of activities. The reception given to our Dunedin friends' whilst in Invercargill was a great success as was the entertainment provided for the Invercargill men when in Dunedin. Many friendships were formed and future interprovincial visits are keenly looked forward to. The country districts do not lose the choir’s attention and concerts are willingly given whenever possible. During the year the Borstal Institution was again visited and a programme provided. “Several additions have been made to the music library and several donations of choir music have been thankfully received. It is interesting to note that during the past six or seven years almost eighty different part songs or choruses have been included in programmes, dispelling the idea in some quarters that there is a lack of variety. “The choir has no liabilities and still has a credit balance at the bank. That briefly sums up the position. Assets during the past three years have been written down by over £9O, and the committee again recommends that they be written down by another £4O, leaving a balance of assets of £lOO. The choir expenditure for 1932 was heavy, accounts passed for payment amounting to some £243 17/4. This must have in some small way, helped the ‘depressed’ in business circles. However the expenditure during the coming season will be considerably less than last year. The choir’s donation of £lO to the Mayor’s Unemployment Fund, was gratefully received. Members will here realize the onerous duties of the honorary treasurer, and we express our thanks and appreciation to Mr E. E. Boyd. Conductor’s Good Work. “We cordially endorse the many remarks on our genial leader, Mr B. S. Galloway. The uniform success of the concerts must be very gratifying to him. The choir is kept hard at it at the practices throughout the year and Mr Galloway makes a point of attending the committee meetings and working with the committee in everything that makes for the progress of the society. When it is considered that he gives his splendid services entirely free

of reward, we realize how fortunate the Invercargill choir is. To mark the occasion of his 25th concert the choir presented him with a handsome lounge chair of special design, together with a framed photograph of the ‘Desert’ performance. “The choir is also fortunate in having two such capable pianists as Mr Gordon Lindsay, L.T.C.L., and Mr R. G. Henry, F.T.C.L, L.A.B. Alike, at the practices and concerts, their worth is always of the first order. We appreciate their worth. “In Bro. F. Petrie the choir has the right man in the right place. His onerous duties are carried out with great thoroughness, and too much appreciation cannot be accorded to his work. The treasurer has already been mentioned, but the excellent worth of the other office-bearers, particularly that of the librarians, Messrs A. Mahoney and J. McNaughton, must be recorded. Their work frequently goes unnoticed, bit it is nevertheless arduous and important. The auditor, Mr H. Morgan, must also be mentioned; his is an important duty. Then there is the test committee and last but not least the general committee.

“We record our indebtedness to all artists who have stood by us, the donors of music, the Bristol Piano Company and Charles Begg and Company for pianos and box office, and to the Southland Times and News for their excellent reports of concerts and the choir activities. Few city papers give such generous space for these purposes. In conclusion the committee desires to urge all members to stand by the choir in the coming season. The need of cultured music is even more necessary today than ever before, and the Invercargill Male Voice Choir serves a very commendable purpose in this city.” The president said that the season had been very strenuous and very successful. The interchange of visits of the Royal Dunedin Male Choir had been the chief event of the year. The performance of “The Desert” had been very fine and would live long in the memory of members. Bro. E. E. Boyd moved the adoption of the report and said that the honorary secretary (Bro. Petrie) deserved the thanks of the members for the great amount of time and energy he had devoted to the work of the choir. His painstaking efforts had contributed very materially to the sdccess of the year. The report was adopted without further discussion. The balance-sheet presented by the honorary terasurer, Bro. E. E. Boyd, showed a credit balance of £9 11/1 and was adopted. Election Of Officers. Office-bearers for the ensuing year were elected as follows:—President, Bro. R. S. Mclnnes; vice-presidents, Bros. J. McCrostie and M. F. Stephens; committee, Bros. W. H. Farley, D. J. Miller, A. Adam, P. A. Pearce; librarians, Bros. A. Mahoney and J. McNaughton; auditor, Bro. H. Morgan; pianists, Bros. R. Henry and G. Lindsay; treasurer, Bro. H. Lee; secretary, Bro. F. Petrie; conductor, Bro. B. C. Galloway; test committeb, Bros. B. C. Galloway, J. McCrostie and F. K. Tucker; deputy conductor, Bro. W. H. Farley. It was decided to record a motion of appreciation of the services of Bro. Boyd as treasurer and express regret that he had found it desirable to retire from the position. Several members paid a glowing tribute to the work of the conductor and spoke warmly in appreciation of his services. The re-election of Bro. Galloway as conductor was carried unanimously. A vote of appreciation was passed to Miss Dorothy Paterson and Bros. P. A. Pearce and M. F. Stephens for donations of music. It was decided to instruct the incoming committee to bring down rules and constitution for the choir to be submitted to a later meeting. Three new members were nominated and elected. It was agreed'to commence rehearsals on April 18.