CRYSTAL PALACE FESTIVAL.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume LVIII, Issue 8941, 16 December 1907, Page 5

CRYSTAL PALACE FESTIVAL.

A MASTERTON RESIDENT HON-

OURED

The following paragrah, obtained by the musical writer for the Canterbury Times from au Euglish paper, will be of local interest :—

It is the custom at the Crystal Palace September Festivals for the winner of the championship in the previous year's contest to play a selection at the eveuiug coucert. This year the honour fell to Wingates Temperance, which baud played a fine arrangement of Schubert's works. Mr Rimmer beiug indisposed, the duty of conducting was undertaken by Mr Adamson, the bandmaster, who secured a magnificent rendering of the piece. At its conclusion the huge audience roared its delight, and the band responded with the march from "William Tell," at the conclusion of which the cheering was terrific. People clamoured for more, aud were not silenced when Mr Cope commenced to conduct the massed bands through the well-known chorus from Haydn's "Creation," "The Heavens are Telling," which in turn gave immense delight to the thousands present. Mr lies next conducted the massed bauds through Mr F. W. G. McLeod's (Masterton Band, N.Z., and of the N.Z. Band) new march, "lugleby," which was followed by a grand descriptive piece, "A Sailor's Life," and conducted by Mr Cope. These were vociferously applauded, after which Mr lies presented the prizes.

Commenting on the above, "Trombone" (in the Canterbury Times) says:—Mr McLeod, the Masterton band conductor, may consider it a very great honour for his "lugleby" march to be played by the leading English bands at the Crystal Palace Festival held during the time of the great Band Contest. I believe that the march was dedicated to some Home relatious of Mr McLeod, who live at lugleby, a village in Yorkshire. When the march, then not named, was being written, Mr McLeod played it to me on the piauo. The embellishments were missing, but I was struck with the character of the composition, and told Mr McLeod at the time that, for a first attempt, the work was full of merit.