HAWERA COMPETITIONS

Taranaki Daily News, 2 September 1929, Page 6

HAWERA COMPETITIONS

COMMENTS BY ADJUDICATORS. A difficult number, “The Enchanted Forest,” had been chosen by Miss M. Massey in the soprano or mezzo-soprano solo, said the musical judge, Mr. Eric R. Moss, in his remarks to competitors at the conclusion of the Hawera competitions on Friday night. Miss Massey had sung the song exceptionally well and showed promise of developing into a fine singer. Mrs. J. A Rankin secured second place with “The Erl King.” He considered the number was not suitable for a lady singer, but Mrs. Rankin had performed creditably. She had brilliantly worked up to a climax, but her intonation was insecure at times. “This section was much better than I expected,” said Mr. Moss when referring to the piano solo open class, won by Miss Mara Mackie with 86 marks. The test piece, “Liebestrauine” (Liszt), was a difficult number, and the winner had given a particularly good rendering. Mrs. A. M. Young was second with 81 marks.

In the vocal solo with accompaniment the winners, Mrs. A. Bonetti and Miss Gwen Chadwick, had given an interesting performance and secured 101 marks. Mrs. Bonetti had delivered her words very clearly and her intonation was good. The accompaniste had played well, but there were a few errors in notation. Miss M. Massey and Miss B. Masters secured second place with 100 marks.

“The winner of the girls’ song under 14, Eila Gundeson, has a very sweet voice,” Me. Moss said, “and she displayed confidence in attack but •••met with difficulties in intonation.” He had awarded her 78 marks. Doris Gilmore, with 77 marks, was second. She had been leading in the morning, he said, but her evening performance was spoilt by her weak top notes. Mr. J. Maloney, winner of the violin solo with 84 marks, had given a good rendering and attacked well, earning the highest marks in his class in the competitions. Mr. V. Martin, second with 77 marks, h«d played two hurriedly and lacked clarity. “I must say that the children performing in the recitation for boy or girl under ten years were excellent,” said Professor Maxwell Walker, “and 1 would have liked to have given each one a prize.” Norina Nixon, the winner, had <riven a very charming presentation, and he had awarded her 85 marks. Joan Litchwark he had placed second with 82 marks. Next in order came Norma Thomas (81) and Monica Quayle (79). He highly commended the work of Joyce Spratt, Joan Myers, Junne Goodwin, Hazel Johns and Pauline Murphy. The dancing adjudicator, Miss Gwen Gibbs, expressed pleasure at the quality of the competitors in the children’s character dance. Christine McLaren, as “Cupid,” showed every promise of developing into a very good dancer, and she expected her to go a long way in the dancing world. She had awarded her 78 marks. Junne Goodwin, with 73 marks, had danced well, but had not sustained the life of the character, “Golliwog.” Her exit had been excellent;

The sword dance, under 18 years, was not a good section. The winner, Jean McAsey, she had awarded 84 marks, and Doreen Nairn had secured 82 marks. The latter dancer had won the Highland reel, display in <r very good footwork, and she had placed Jean McAsey second. “Do not hold your arms straight and stiff and remember that you are not doing a series of steps but a dance,” said°Miss Gibbs when commenting on the skipping dance. She had placed Junne Goodwin first with 79 marks, but had Joan Thomas (78 marks) not tripped she would have won. Doreen Nairn, in winning the sailor’s hornpipe with 81 marks, had narrowly defeated Rose Reeve (SO). Deportment in both cases had been excellent. GENERAL ITEMS. The Hawera subscription lists for the earthquake relief fund have been closed, the total a,. ount raised being £1369 2s 3d. The Mayor (Mr. E. A. Pacey) has expressed his thanks to all who have assisted the fund, stating that Hawera’s contribution compares very favourably with those from other centres of similar size.

Extensive alterations and improvements have been made at the Meremere Dairy Company’s factory at Ohangai. The old curing and packing room has been replaced by a new concrete building, which provides ample space for the work to be done. An office for the manager is also included in the building, together with a useful set of cupboards.

Captain McGregor, of Hamilton Airways. Ltd., arrived at Hawera by air on Friday evening and will remain for a few days. The last but one of the meetings of ratepayers called by the South Taranaki Electric Power Board will be held at Manaia at 8 o’clock to-night and the last of the series at the Grand Theatre, Hawera, to-morrow night. The poll on the board’s loan proposal will be taken on Thursday.

The second plain and fancy dress ball to be given this season by the Hawera Amateur Athletic Club is arranged for Wednesday evening - . Valuable prizes are offered for fancy dresses, and it is expected that St. Joseph’s Hall will be well filled.

“I feel it my duty to let the public know that the entire responsibility of the Hawera competitions rested with a small committee,” said Mr. E. Dixon, president of the Hawera Male Choir, under whose auspices the annual festival is conducted, at the conclusion of the competitions on Friday night. He said that at the outset this committee was faced with an expenditure of £3OO, and the fact that the festival had been such a success was entirely due to the work of Mr. F. W. Horner and his committee, Messrs. J. W. Velvin, H. E. Cressey, A. E. Morris, J. C. Findlater and T. F. McKenzie (hon. secretary). “I would like each competitor to realise that the opinions I have expressed about dancing are not my own, but are laid down as the fundamental principles of the art,” said Miss Gwen Gibbs, the dancing adjudicator, at the conclusion of the” Hawera competitions on Friday night. She had not been engaged to tell performers what good dancers they were, bub to pick out faults, and thus endeavour to raise the standard of performance. If competitors wished to improve their art they should try to eliminate the faults she had pointed out. Spectacular exhibitions of “crazy” flying, including looping the loop, side rolling, and the pretty “falling leaf,” thrilled passengers and amazed large crowds at the Hawera aerodrome yesterday, when Captain MacGregor was aloft.