WESTMINSTER GLEE SINGERS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 762, 7 September 1929, Page 15

WESTMINSTER GLEE SINGERS

FROM ENGLISH CATHEDRALS Auckland will shortly have an opportunity of hearing one of the finest musical novelties that has ever left England on a tour of the Empire—the Westminster Glee Singers, who are well known over tho English-speaking j world. After a most successful tour of Canada, which extended over 13 months, this organisation will give a series of concerts in New Zealand under the direction of Henry Hayward by arrangement with Edward Branscombe. Ten concerts wil be given in Auckland at His Majesty’s Theatre, beginning with a matinee on September 14. The .Westminster Glee Singers are j drawn from such famous places as : ' Westminster Abbey, Worcester Cathedral, St. Paul’s, St. George's, and Windsor, but it must not be supposed that they confine themselves to sacred j music. Their repertoire of over 150, pieces of part music embraces all j styles and many of the delightful an- j thems, folk songs, madrigals, carols, j national airs, vocal dances, sailor sea chanteys, plantation melodies, humorous quartets and song scenas, in addition to solos by the boy sopranos | and adult members of the company. I There are six boy sopranos and ; seven adult artists, Messrs. Edward ! Branscombe, for ten years tenor solo- ; ist at Westminster Abbey; Donald j • Reid, alto, from St. Paul's; William | j Lowry, also from St. Pauls’; Charles ! O’Connor, the eminent Irish tenor and ! gifted harpist; Ernest t McKinlay, j tenor, who hails from New Zealand J and who joined tho company in i Canada: Albert J. Greene, from the j • principal London concerts; James Barber, the celebrated Scottish basso, and Charles Draper, a basso well known in English operatic circles. The boys, all from the leading London choirs, are Masters Douglas Bartrip, Vincent Petley, Harry Fearn, Norman Clarke, Alan Goodered, Sidney Walls; some of the finest boy soloists who have ever been permitted to leave England. The very extensive repertoire allows of a complete change of programme to be made nightly. The box plans for the season of seven nights and three matinees open at Lewis Eadv, Ltd., next Thursday morning. The attention of headmasters and principals of schools and colleges is drawn to the concessions

offered to parties of pupils. I Harry Green is playing the leading i role in a new Paramount all-talking j picture, “Kibitzer,” which is now in j production at the Hollywood studios.