Lawrence

New Zealand Tablet, 23 December 1915, Page 29

Lawrence

The annual concert given by the pupils of St. Patrick’s School, Lawrence, was held on Wednesday, December 15, in the schoolroom, which had been tastefully decorated for the occasion. The weather conditions were ideal, and the curtain rose on a crowded house. All present agreed that the high standard of previous entertainments was ably maintained in the present instance. The programme opened with a quaint operetta, ‘ The old woman who lived in a shoe,’ by the pupils, followed by the ‘ Gigue in G,’ on two pianos by Misses K. Leslie and E. Robins. The patriotic element was supplied by the chorus, ‘ Sons of New Zealand,’ sung by the entire school, A number of the senior boys were heard to advantage in the dialogue, ‘Brevity is the soul of wit.’ Misses S. Donohue, A. Paget, and M. McMullan created much amusement in Three old maids of Lee,’ which was encored.' The next item was an action song, ‘Ten little sunflowers,’ by ten of the school girls. Miss M. Leslie’s rendering of ‘ Come back to Erin ’ received a hearty encore, .and she responded with ‘ Lackaday.’ A much appreciated and artistically rendered number was ‘ Watchman, what of the night?’ for which Messrs. F. Kelleher and J. Tarleton -were obliged to re-appear. Mr. Walker was eminently successful in his comic song, and equally so in his encore number. The first portion of the programme concluded with an action song and dance, ‘ Shamrocks green,’ in which the white dresses of the children, ornamented with large shamrocks, looked most effective against the dark background of the stage. The opening item in the second part was a duet on two pianos by Misses M. and B. McMullan, D. Leslie, and M. Nieper. Miss E. Kelleher sang ‘ The lost chord ’ in admirable style, and gave as an encore ‘ She is far 'from the land.’ A very mirth-provoking contribution was ‘ Parliamentary questions,’ for which Miss K. Leslie and Miss M. Nieper received an emphatic recall. A beautiful interpretation of ‘ Oft in the stilly night ’ was given by Mr. J. Tarleton, who sang- as an encore, ‘ Requiem.’ Much dramatic power and feeling were displayed by Miss Florrie Hart in her recitation, ‘An incident of ’9B,’ her encore item being Philosophy.’ Miss Woods, who was in fine voice, sang the martial song, ‘ Angus Macdonald,’ and in response to an enthusiastic recall, gavje a magnificent rendering of- ‘ Home, sweet home.’ Mr. F. Kelleher scored a decided success in ‘ The west’s awake,’ responding to an encore with ‘ The harp that once.’ This was followed by the duet, ‘ Irish blossoms,’ on two pianos by Misses G. and K. Paul, F. Hart, and E. Higgins. The concert was brought to a close by an amusing farce, ‘ A screw loose,’ in which the characters were sustained as follows: —Mrs. Dash, Miss K. Leslie: Mr. Dash, Master G. Leslie: Mary, Miss Real; Jane, Miss Paget; Aunt (No. 1), Miss M. Nieper: Aunt (No.'2), Miss L. Higgins. Miss Woods and Miss D. Hart acted as accompanists during the evening. In returning thanks to all those who had contributed in any way towards the success of the entertainment, Very Rev. Mgr. O’Leary said he wished to -pay a. special tribute to Mr. F. Kelleher and Mr. J. Tarleton, both of whom had journeyed from Dunedin, at great personal inconvenience, expressly to assist at the concert. Miss F. Hart also deserved a word of commendation for her rendering of An incident. of ’9B.’ ’ <• -