Concert at Cromwell.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXX, Issue 51, 18 December 1902, Page 19

Concert at Cromwell.

The entertainment (writes a Cromwell correspondent) given on Thursday evening by the pupils of the DominioauConvent was by a general consensus of opinion the beet of its kind ever got up here. and reflected great credit on the Sisters and their pupils. The costumes of the performers who took part in the cantata, 'Christmas in Dairyland, were striking and tasteful, and the ohildren when grouped on the stage made a very pretty picture. The aptitude displayed by the younger pupils, some of them mere dots, in their recitations was ample proof of their thorough training and the patience and perseverance exercised by their teaohers. A recitation, 'The PuMled Boy,' by Master Cedrio Dawson, brought down the house. The same boy, who is only five years of age, further dislanguished himself m the second part of the programme, when as a blacksmith and appropriately costumed he delivered his reoitation wonderfully well Miss Bdie MoNulty, in her reoitation entitled Don t, earned well- merited applause. The same can be said of her younger sister, Miss Eileen, who, though only four years of ace, was letter-perfect and recited with the greatest confidence. The whole of the pupils, both pirls and bojs, displayed wonderful proficiency, which speaks volumes for the oareful training and education imparted by the nuns. The physical drill by the pupils was a revelation, and as a disinterested spectator I can safely assert that it may be equalled but not excelled. A piano daet by the Misses M. and T. Mitchell .entitled 'Ash Grove,' and another, 'Rippling Lake,' by the Misses K. Thomas and M. Mitchell, were rendered in a manner whioh amply proved that they had received superior musical training In the oar»tata Miss Ivy Barker, as King of the Fairies, delighted all by her splendid singing, and as this young lady is only entering her teen? she gives promise of attaining a high position in the musical world. In part two of the programme Mrs Costelloe sang l^eonora in a finished manner and was deservedly encored, and Miss Ethel McNalty's swtet rendering of • Vale of Avooa * was a treat, whioh met with a storm of applause, and in response to a vigorous eno >re Bang ' Btay in your own back yard.' A piano duet by the Miseea Frewen and Gibson was artistically rendered, and met with deserved commendation. The chorus 'All hail, Zealandia by the pupils, who were grouped with artistic efleot on the stage, brought the concert to a close. The Misses Polly and Maggie Cabill played the acoompanimenta in their ÜBual brilliant style. The concert was financially sucoeseful, the sum of £21 having been secured. During the interval Ray. Father Hunt asoended the stage and in a few well-ohoden sentences heartily thank c 1 the pupils, their parents, and all who had assisted to make the ooncert euoh an unqualified success. Not the least pleasing feature of the affair was the spontaneous assistance given by several non-Catholics of the diatriot who assisted in making the oonoert the best ever given in Cromwell