MASTERTON BAND

Wairarapa Daily Times, 5 March 1934, Page 6

MASTERTON BAND

TEST MUSIC CONCERT. At its concert in the Opera House last evening, when it played the whole of the music of the recent Dominion contest, the Masterton Municipal Band gave an excellent performance. There was a large attendance which applauded the high playing by the band. The programme items were: March, ‘'The Bomerang”; hymn, “Nearer My God to Thee”; euphonium solo, “My Pretty Jane,” Bandsman 11. Guthrie; Test selection, “Martha”; quartette, “Veteran’s Story”; trombone solo, ‘ ‘ The Firefly, ’ ’ Bandsman Allan Pearson; Test selection, “Mock Doctor”; march, “Newcastle.” Miss Eileen Hutchinson, L.T.C.L., was accompanist. The solo items were beautifully rendered and the band as a whole did the greatest possible justice to its items.

At an interval, the -Mayor (Mr T. Jordan) thanked the band for complying with his request and giving the public and himself an opportunity of hearing the band play at the top of its form. He congratulated the. band and its conductor (Mr R. J. Young) oil its very fine playing and on the honourable position it had taken at the recent Dominion Contest. Mr Jordan also congratulated the soloists and the quartette party. He said lie hoped the day was coming and was not far distant when the Masterton Band would be an A grade band and an A grade band at the top of the tree. He saw no reason why it should not be so. (Applause). Mr Jordan mentioned having been in Wellington when the contest was in progress and seeing many of the men. Their bearing and behaviour were excellent and they were all of them well and smartly turned out. “I would not wish to have anybody saying better about me,” said Mr Jordan. (Applause). Replying on behalf of the band, Mr Young thanked the Mayor and the public for turning out to hear the band play the test music. Mr Young went on "to state that when he was induced to take up the conductorship of the band, he had two things in front of him. One was to raise the standard of the playing and also the morale of the band. The other was to gain the esteem and support of the citizens. He thought that the success, it was gaining at contests, together with the public support it was getting, showed that the band was making good headway toward its objectives. Members of the band appreciated the Mayor’s remarks about an A grade band. It was the aim of the band to gain this standing. First of all, however, it had to win a B grade championship and they had had a narrow escape from doing that this time. It was very interesting and noteworthy, said Mr Young, that he had drawn seven boys from the Junior Band to make the contest band. The lads had acquitted themselves well and this went to sho\v that the work that was being done by Bandsman G. Hutchinson in training them was bearing excellent fruit. .The boys were being brought along on right lines. The band was fully confident, Mr Young continued, of being able to attend the next Dominion Contest, which would be in the South Island. While the band intended to do its duty to the people of Masterton, it meant also to keep attendance at the contest steadily in view. The necessary money must be raised with to train the bqnd so that it would be fit ■when the time came to take its place in the contest. ’ Mr Young heartily thanked the public who had subscribed so generously towards the band’s expenses and expressed his gratitude to two officers Sergeant L. Askew had been responsible for collecting a large amount of money and also was the manager of the band in the Wellington Contest and Corporal R, Sayer had rendered an immense amount of useful and helpful service as custodian to the band. Mr Young expressed his acknowledgments also to Miss Hutchinson, the accompanist of the evening. A retiring collection was asked for bv the Mayor to defray the cost of advertising the concert arid paying theatre rent and a generous response was made.