BAND MUSIC

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19785, 8 March 1927, Page 8

BAND MUSIC

WANGANUI SUCCESSES GARRISON BAND’S HISTORY ADDRESS AT ROTARY CLUB “I wish to offer my hearty congratulations to your community.on its latest ; success, the winning of the band cham- ‘ 'pionship of New Zealand by the Queen •Alexandra Band.” In the .foregoing • remarks Captain W. S. King, of Christ- , church, prefaced an address at the Wanganui Rotary Club’s luncheon yester- ■ day. ! Captain King is well known in musi j cal circle. He was a member of the i winning band. Oamaru Garrison, at the first. Now Zealand contest, held in 1885. and subsequently was judge at several contests. Hence Rotarians yesterday listened with interest to his remarks on bands and band music. To his own knowledge, he said, Captain George Buckley, conductor of the Queen Alexandra Band, had been one of the best and hardest workers in the band sphere of this Dominion for very many years. He had climbed the mountain of success, and gained certain points of vantage, of which they all were well aware. For instance, as a citizen and bandsman of Wanganui years ago. when in active association with the old Garrison Band, under that indomitable worker and gifted band trainer and conductor, Mr James Crichton, Mr Buckley returned to his town bearing the laurels of champion soloist. The Road to Success. Later he reached a higher pinnacle when, as conductor of the present champion band, he led his men in victory in certain selection competitions, notably at the Wellington contest of four years ago and again at the Dunedin Exhibition contest of 1926 when, against all-comers, the Queen Alexandra Band won the special competition for ! the performance of an operatic selec- • tion, the number being Owen’s splendid I arrangement, from Wagner’s most roI mantie opera “Tristan and Isolde.” ; Now had come the greatest event in ; the life of Mr Buckley and in the his- ■ tory of Queen Alexandra Band, for in I gaining the New Zealand band cham- ! pionship, Mr Buckley and his bands-

; men had reached the pinnacle of success . I Their success would be mirrored and I reflected in the life of Wanganui of the future. It was really wonderful when one stopped to consider the high place in music occupied by Wanganui through the work of its bands. From what he could gather Wanganui had had one or more bands from the earliest days. The beginnings of the old Garrison Band were humble enough, but fortunately there were in the ranks young men who were to make history. Foremost among these was Mr James (’richton whose doughty deeds in the band contesting arena were well known to all. It would suffice to say that Mr Crichton was the band’s euphonium i player in 1885, when, under the direc- ! tion of Mr E. J. King, the old Garrison ; attended its first contest, that held in I connection with the Wellington Exhi- : bition of that year. The band was no + ; successful in those days, the | of the period being the old Oamaru , Garrison, under the late Hon. G. Jones, : and the Invercargill Garrison, then j conducted by Mr W. V. Siddall.

The Good Old Days. I Those were excellent bands, consider , ing the times and opportunities, and included in their ranks solo instrumentalists who had not since been surpassed in playing capacity. He himself was a member of the winning band, Oamaru Garrison, at the 1885 contest, but his contesting career had i commenced two years earlier, when at i the Easter Review held at Invercargill in 1883. Oamaru Garrison defeated Invercargill Garrison in what was the first properly arranged band competition held in New Zealand, the judge being Mr David Wishart, an English Army bandmaster, and Kneller Hall graduate, who had taken up his reside ence in Dunedin. ‘ ‘lt was in 1899 that I had the pleasure of first coming into touch with the Wanganui Garrison Band,” continued Captain King. “In that year I attended the New Zealand Rifle Association’s meeting, held on the Putiki rifle range, and was fortunate enough to win the championship. I remember that the prizes were presented in the Drill Hall, near Chavannes’ Hotel, where I stayed, and I still have many pleasant recollections of that fine old sporting host, Mr Chavannes. (Ap-i plause). , “The Garrison Band most generous-1 ]y attended, and played -tfhile the belt j was being placed across my shoulders, i in time-honoured manner. No doubt i the success of a fellow bandsman was i very pleasing to my old friends of the! Garrison. My first real connection with ■ the Wanganui Garrison, however, was; I in 1903, when, with Signor Squarise, I; I adjudicated on the playing at the band • i ccrntesl hold at Timaru, won by I your city’s band. From that time Wan- ; ; ganui has held a leading position at the annual band competitions, and from the ; high standard of merit that has always ! marked a Wanganui baud performance j : I trust the citizens will see to it, that . !by their kindly encouragement, that standard will never be lowered.” (Hear, Hear). Two Good Bands. “There is plenty of work in Wangantii for two good bands, and here let me say, though digressing to an evtent, that your town possesses another band of which it should, and no doubt is, proud; I refer to the Highland Pipe Band, as I heard it on the occasion of the visit of the Duke and Duchess of York last Thursday. Surely never in the history of Glamis Castle and tbe noble Bowes-Lyon family have pipers played more whole-heartedly, more loyally and with greater affection than did the pipers of Wanganui on Thursday, when young men of a younger i generation far away from the bonnje hills of Scotland marched in procession J with a princess of their homeland. (Applause). “The cost and upkeep of a band is fairly heavy and it is only by public support that a band can live. Brass band music is the people’s music, it is the most popular form of outside musiI cal entertainment. We cannot in this | still young country run the big mixed i reed and brass bands —commonly termed the military band—that is, of course, I the ideal in this way. Such organisaI tions are altogether too expensive to I run and membership difficult to main-’-ain. They are possible in the Home-

land by reason of their association with the military. The study of music in association with a brass band is the cheapest form of musical education, for the individual does not have to pay for his instrument and learning fees are not high. The return is to the public, the bandsman’s later musical work being practically all in connection with performances for public entertainment'. “On the administrative side, quite a number of Wanganui citizens have rendered good service to the band cause Mr James Trussell, for over forty years a bandsman, has been secretary of the Garrison Band for thirty years or more —a great record. There are, too, several who have done excellent service for the North Island Brass Bands Association. I caniiot recall, at the moment, the names of these, but I have a lively recollQction of the great part played by Mr Louis Cohen, of Wanganui, and of his brother, Mr Maurice Cohen, of Palmeruton' North (Applause). Not only have These gentlemen rendered splendid service administratively, but their excellent work in practical music is on record and is too well-known for me to refer to, except to express my appreciation for what they have done to advance the interests of music in New Zealand.”

Captain King concluded with a reference to the high standard attained by the Wanganui bands at Wellington, and said the Garrison’s work had been better than its placing would indicate. It had played tic Gounod selection really well, better than the Lortzing piece, and registered a performance worthy of its best days. Rotarian Louis Cohen thanked Captain King, on behalf of the Rotary Clnb, for his address, and mentioned that their guest had been no mean figure in the musical world of New Zealand. (Applause).