CHARITY CONCERT

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXIX, Issue 20132, 12 June 1935, Page 6

CHARITY CONCERT

ST. VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY FINE entertainment 1 ' vere two factors which con- ‘ th to the larse attendance in " Theatre Royal last night at the : th?' c |[ t „? lven under the auspices of • i f* l6 st - Vincent de Paul Society. Firstly , i there was assembled some of the | finest musical talent Timaru is able to I oner, this bouquet of performers bemg made the more attractive bv the s | presence of Mr Denis Dowling, who achieved distinction at the Melbourne 1 Centenary ana contest. The second e factor which contributed in no small 1 measure to the splendid support ac- : corded the function was that it had r been arranged to raise funds for 5 charitable purposes. It may not be 3 generally known that the St. Vincent - de Paul Society is an international as- : relation of Catholic laymen whose 1 S r l mary function is the systematic relief of the poor. The make-up of the _ Society is most democratic, and no distinction is made. For very manv 1 years the Society has been carrying on . unostentatiously in Timaru, accomplishing much good work, and in its activities it has had the generous support of a large section of the , public. In order to pursue its policy of j helping the needy, the Society has from time to time raised funds through I fhe medium of various forms of enter- ; tainment, and the concert held last , night should enable much further . good work to be done. . From the point of view of musical achievement, the several performances last night would be hard to excel. In the individual and collective items the performers gave outstanding presentations, and it was a thoroughly satisi fled audience which left the theatre after an entertainment lasting two and , a-half hours. The programme opened E with glees by the South Canterbury 5 Women’s Glee Club, the members of t which were making their first public . appearance. There were 15 voices 5 under the baton of Mrs N. D. Mangos, - and they gave two numbers, “Fly, - Singing Bird Fly” (Elgar) and “The r Snow” (Elgar) in delightful fashion. ■ They had the assistance of Miss i Marion Hay (piano), Mrs Percy El- ! worthy (violin) and Mrs F. H. Drewitt (’cello) in the opening number, the 1 combination proving most effective. • An instrumental trio comprising Mesdames Mangos, Elworthy and Drewitt 1 then presented Wagner's ‘‘Walther’s • Priestied” in a finished manner. As S! an encore they gave “Gavotte” ' i (Bridge). Later in the evening the ■ trio presented “Miniatures” by Bridge, “Romance" and “Intermezzo” (Sal- ■ tarello), their performance being thoroughly enjoyed. Mr Dowling was given a warm reception, and his singing was a delight, j He displayed taste in the selection of 1 his numbers, all of which afforded ' him ample opportunity to display his ' ability. The number which appealed most was “King Charles” (White), which Mr 'owling sang on his second appearance. The composition was accorded artistic treatment, and it was not difficult to understand how the singer achieved success in Australia. Other songs sung by Mr Dowling were “Eri tu” from the Masked Ball (Verdi), which was gi-.-en at the Melbourne aria contest, “Now Your Days of Philandering Are Over" (Mozart), “Shepherd See Thy Horse’s Foaming Mane” (Korbay) and “List to Me Rosebud” (Korbay). As an encore Mr Dowling sang “The Garden Where the Praties Grow,” “When the Ser-geant-Major’s On Parade” and "On the Road to Mandalay.” Mrs Elworthy’s violin solos were mast acceptable, and as on previous occasions, she displayed distinct artistry. Her firs number was “Molly On the Shore” (Granger) and as an encore she played “Serenade” (Arensky). Miss Bernadette Mangos presented two pianoforte solos as only an accomplished musician can, her contributions being Liszt’s "Rhapsody” No. 14, and “Etude in F Sharp Major” (Arensky). Apart from the intricacies of the first composition, the memorising of it was in itself a feat, and the artiste fully merited the applause that was accorded her. Mrs W. I. Tait also proved exceedingly popular with the large audience. She was in splendid voice, and could not help but win favour by the treatment she accorded "October Ends” (Farley) and “The Winds in the Chimney” (Sanderson), j As an encore Mrs Tait sang “The Last Song” (Rodgers). Two numbers were given by Mr G. H. Andrews, “Maire My Girl” (Aitkes) and "Mickey’s Advice,” both being sung in attractive style. The second portion of the programme was taken up by the presentation of the one-act play, “The KoeaKoea Calls,” which was written by Mrs E. G. Goulter. of Fairlie, and which was awarded first prize in the South Canterbury Drama League’s one-act play writing competition last year. The story, which has a New Zealand flavour, was well presented by a cast including Mrs Colin Ballantyne, “ and Misses Lilias Lane. Effie Gibb, Peggy J Bowie and Isobel Duncan. The play was produced by Mrs G. Webster.