TWO WANGANUI BANDS GOING TO CONTEST

Wanganui Chronicle, 15 January 1948, Page 4

TWO WANGANUI BANDS GOING TO CONTEST

THREE JUDGES THIS YEAR DIAGONAL MARCHING IN THE QUICKSTEP. This year, for the first time in the Dominion, the New Zealand Brass Band Contest, to open in Dunedin on Sunday, February 15, will have three judges. The experiment has been advocated for years by various conductors but opinion is divided as to the probable success of this move. It has been the vogue in Australia. The conductor of the Wanganui Garrison Band (Mr. L. R. Francis, L.R.S.M.) said yesterday that it was “just an experiment." Also an innovation is the diagonal marching in the quickstep, making the march more difficult, with more movement. However, the Garrison has used it at Palmerston North and here, and the band is confident that “North Star," by Rimmer, will gp well, ' The three judges selected are Mr. Thomas Gray, Wellington), Mr. D. Goffin, of Timaru (the son of Brigadier Goffin, and a Doctor of Music),

Dr. Vernon Griffiths, of Canterbury University College. Mr. Gray is a former conductor of the Wanganui Garrison Band. The test pieces chosen this year are: “Academic Festival" by Brahms, arrangement by Denis Wright, leading English Band Composer, and “Les Preludes,” by Liszt. These two will be played tonight at Castlecliff at the municipal concert by the Garrison Band. . Wanganui will send two bands to the contest, the Queen Alexandra’s Own in addition to the Garrison. Under its enthusiastic conductor (Mr. E. O. Schnack) the Queen’s Own Band has been practising assiduously of late. It wUI play the march “Cossack” in the quickstep. It will be remembered that last year, when tne contest was held in War.gar.-_n, on a memorable Saturday afternoon on Cook’s Gardens the Garrison came first in the quickstep and the Queen's Own second. In the test selections last year the Garrison was awarded 146 points in the first test and 139 in the second, which earned the band first place in the championship aggregate. The Queen’s Own was awarded 142 points in the first test and 141 in the second, the aggregate points placing the band in 4th. position. Mr. Schnack had only taken the Queen’s Own Band over a short time before' the contest s.nd Rv performance was thus all the more meritorious. The two Wanganui bands will leave Wanganui by train in time tc reach Dunedin on the Saturday. A nearby band to Wanganui, Hawera Municipal (Mr. ,H- A. Fox), will not be competing at this contest. Hawera won the B grade championship in 1946, and at last year’s contest in Wanganui competed in the A grade. This year it is conserving funds to purchase a new set of instruments and the cost involved in a trip to Dunedin has been regarded as too big a hurdle in view of financial commitments in contemplation. Mr. Fox was an ardent advocate of the system of having three judges instead of one. Great interest will centre in this contest in view of the fact that there are to be three judges.