MUSIC NOTES.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1597, 2 December 1920, Page 34

MUSIC NOTES.

(By

“G” String.)

The Verbrugghen Orchestra, which will henceforth make all its appearances under the direction of Messrs. J. and N. Tait, has arranged -foiT a comprehensive tour of New Zealand, commencing about the end of the year. This orchestra has already scored a brilliant success in the Dominion, and with the added attraction of the Verbrugghen Quartette, and several new soloists, the tour is sure to acquire as good results as the last one.

The possibility of school orchestras is being tested in New South Wales, and the same idea ought to be tried in New Zealand, where I think it would have good results. The Superior Public School at Newtown, Sydney, was selected for the experiment in the Mother State, only boys being allowed to join the violin classes, whilst other instruments were also taught. For the first two months all the pupils used ordinary violins; during the third month some of the boytf were' started with Manby H.S. violins, and at the request of Mr. Henri Verbrugghen all the classes were put on to the Jensen Rational

Method. The boys starting last within a month caught up to the boys who had been learning about three months, and. the success of the new system is iso complete that all the boys are asked to have their violins altered, and there seems no doubt that the Manby H.S. violin will be the instrument permanently adopted, whilst each school will be allowed to form its own string orchestra.