WESTMINSTER GLEE SINGERS

Waihi Daily Telegraph, Volume XXVI, Issue 7908, 28 September 1929, Page 2

WESTMINSTER GLEE SINGERS

, SELECTED SINGERS FROM ENGLISH CATHEDRALS * s The public of Waihi and surroundi ing districts will shortly have an op--3 portunity of hearing one of the fin-

est musical novelties that has ever left England or a tour of the Empire —the Westminster Glee Singers, who are known so well over the Englishspeaking world. After a most successful tour of Canada which extended over eighteen months, this organ-

isation will give a series of concerts in New Zealand under the direction of Henry Hayward' by arrangement with Edward Branscombe. One concert will be given in the AcademyTheatre at Waihi on Friday, 4th October. The Westminster Glee Singers are drawn from such famous places as Westminster Abbey, Worcester Cathedral, St. Paul’s, St. George's, and Windsor, but it must not be supposed that they coniine themselves to sacred music. Their repertoire of over 150 pieces of part music embraces al styles and many of the delightful anthems, folk songs, madrigals, carols, national airs, vocal dances, sailor sea shanteys, plantation melodies, humorous quartets and song scenas in addition to solos by the boy sopranos and adult members of the company. There are six; I hoy sopranos and seven adult artists* | Messrs Edward Branscombe, for ten years tenor soloist at Westminster Abbey, Donald Reid, alto from St. Paul’s, William Lowry, also from St. Paul’s, Charles O’Connor, the eminent Irish tenor and gifted harpist, Ernest McKinlay, tenor, who hails from New Zealand and who joined

the company in Canada: James Bar-

ber, the celebrated Scottish, basso-, and Charles Draper, a basso wellknown ip, English operatic circles, and Albert T. Greene, from the London Opera flouse. The boys, all from the leading London choirs, are Mas-

ters Douglas Bartrip, Vincent Petley, ; Harry Fearn, Norman Clarke,. Alan ;Goodered and Sidney Walls—-some o£ i the finest boy soloists, who have ever I been permitted to leave England. To these gifted performers the usual conventialities of the customary concert platform are anathema. They have discarded them all and present their delightful* music in fitting stage ' surroundings and appropriate light- , ing with a charm and intimacy that ‘are beyond praise. The box plan is at Shandley’s. *