SOIREE AND CONCERT AT CAMBRIDGE.

Waikato Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 3501, 1 December 1894, Page 7

SOIREE AND CONCERT AT CAMBRIDGE.

A social gathering in connection with St, Andrew's, Church, was held in the Public Hall, at Cambridge, on Wednesday evening, and it proved one of the most enjoyable and successful that has ever been held in the town. The hall whs crammed, and during the concert there was not even standing room iu the building, and some had to be content with an "outside ticket.." It is well '.known that Mr E, Hewitt is a warrior when selling the tickets for a church performance, and this year he must have eclipsed himself,, for we think every 'family in the district must have been represented at the soiree or concert, and we learn the church funds will benefit to the extent of fully £4O Tea was served at 6.15 p.m., the ladies presiding at the tables:- Mesdames Willis, Popple, Wells, Boyce, J. R. S. Richardson, B. Garland; Misses Badham and Fisher. It is needless to say that the tables groaned beneath a load of splendid viands and beautiful flowers arranged in' a most artistic manner, and the rapid way in which the former disappeared was a sufficient guarantee as to thtir quality. After the recherche repast the hall was cleared and put in order for the conc.erfc, which commenced at 8 p.m., the foliowinp excellent programme being gone through:-Valse, ".Dream of May," .orchestra; song, "The Powder Monkey," I Mr Batger; song, " Whisper And I Shall Hear," Mrs Whitaker, encore, " Geraldine;" jubilee chorus, "The Lily of The Valley," Mr Garland's company, encore, -"We're Almost Home"; song, "The Star of Bethlehem," Mrs Bispham; duet, " When The Wind Blows In From The Sea," Mr and Mrs W. 0. Garland ; song, " The Holy City," Miss Gilchrist, encore; " The Song That Reached My Heart"; selection,"Moonlight In The Forrest," orchestra. There was then an interval of five minutes, after which the performance continued :-Gavotte, "Queen of Hearts," orchestra; song, "Love's Old -Sweet Song," Mr Barclay; . song, •" The Toilers," Mrs Whitaker; jubilee chorus," We'll Overtake The Army," Mr Garland's company; encore, " Good-bye Brothers; song, "Auld Robin Gray," Mrs Bispham; gavotte, "Sandringham," .orchestra; jubilee chorus, "My Lord What a. Mourning," Mr Garland's company. The sineing of the "National Anthem'' terminated the performancePrevious to the last item being given the Archdeacon moved a hearty vote of thanks to all those who had in any way assisted iu ranking the gathering such an unqualified Bucce«s, and it' was carried by acclamation in a mamierthat demonstrated thai; their efforts had been appreciated. Undoubtedly the star of the evening was Miss Gilchrist She has a strong, wellcultivated mezzo soprano voice, and her .enunciation is particularly good. She charmed the audience by her rendering of "The Holy City," and ajrain with her | encore song. Unfortunately this lady is only visiting Cambridge, so there will not be many more opportunities of hearing her. Should she again pay Cambridge a visit she will be deluged with invitations .to sing at concerts, etc. Mrs Whitaker, Mrs Bispham, and Mr and Mrs 0. Garland are all well-known Waihto favourites, and we might as, well attempt" to gild 4he rose" as to sing their praises, for we should be reiterating what has again and again appeared in our. columns; but strange to say, this was the first occasion on which Mr« Whitaker has sung in Cambridge. Her well-trained voice was greatly appreciated, and we doubt not but that she will soon be receiving as many invitations to sing from Cambridge as she .does from the other parts of Waikato, for it is a dangerous precedent to charm a .Cambridge audience, The two gentlemen performers acquitted themselves well, bat .one of them had to "take his turn" just as he had rushed into the hall and very .much out of breath. Perhaps nothing pleased the audience more than the jubilee .choruses given by Mr and Mrs Garland and their family, with the assistance of Mr James Taylor. It was a happy inspiration that induced Mr and Mrs Garland to teach their little ones the Fisk Jubilee songs, and the strict time and tune kept by the , children—two girls and two boys-proves they have had an excellent training. Mr , Jas. Taylor's powerful bass voice was all that was required to complete the choruses and he acquitted himself splen- , didly-esprcially in the last one Mr James Webber kindly lent his fine American organ to accompany these singers and it added greatly to the p°r--formances. For years Mr and Mrs W. 0. Garland have assisted at concerts throughout the Waikato, and now, just as the family are following in the footsteps of their talented parents, we learn there is a probability of the Wailnto losing both parents and children, for Mr Garland contemplates moving towards Tuakau. If they go their \m will be greatly felt, but the inhabitants of Tuakau will benefit by the advent of a tenor and contralto, such as is liiifly mo 1 ) with in husband and wife, and a family of born .singers with parents that can educate them in the art. We sincerely wish Mr and Mrs Garland every success in their new venture, We must not pass the orchestra without a word of praise, for they richly deserve it. It might fairly be .called a " ladies orchestra " for it was .composed as follows:-First violins, MrsPilcher and Miss E. Archer; seond violin, Miss Ruby Nixon ; violincello, Miss May Stuart; cornet, Miss M. Fisher; clarionet, Mr C. Stuart; piano, Mr Hartly, They were loudly applauded, and when we state that they only had four rehearsals we think they did remarkably well. We sincerely trust that while there is such material at hand, Cambridge will not be without an orchestral society.