BAND CONTEST.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11500, 5 February 1903, Page 3

BAND CONTEST.

SUCCESS OF A WOOLSTON PLAYER. (SrECIAL TO "THE rRISS."') MASTJdRTON, February 4. The first- prize for B flat b«ss solos toilay went to C. Gallop, of Woolslon, who by hi-s fine, bombardon tone and neat arti- . dilation so pleased the judge that the latter ; awarded him ninety marks c-ut of a posj sible hundred. Gallop bent tho other ; players out of s:::ht, for tlvs second man, I Holben, of Pα! me r>! on North, was 32 ; points behind him. j The ■winner, C. Gallop, ia a young iellow ;of twenty-three, a native of Woobcon, • Canterbury. Hia first band was the Woo!----i ston, which he joined live yea l .* ago, and lof which he is still a member. This was i his .second ;ippearanc<! as a .soloist. His first was at the Chrhtc.hurch Jubilee Xx- ; hibJtion conUsit, held under the auspices of tho Soi;:li Island Bands' .Association. On that occasion also he appeared amongst ithe B j flat bass soloists, but finished about fifth. 'Mr Old Hume, in his notes to-day regarding the winner, praised him highly for his fine bombardon tone, and advised the other j competitors to copy his style in this re- ! spect. There was some excellent play in the : fl-ugel horn competition, J. Pea, of Kaikorai Band, the winner, falling only six short of the maximum number of marks, by reason of a too liberal use of the vibrato in the slow movements*. Fea played with capital expression, and) but fw a tendency to employ the tremolo too much in the ' slow movements would have scored the ; maxinruni number of marks. He gave the : theme with true 'feeling, and! in the variation played brilliantly, according to iiie judge, and with faui'-iess intonation. Mr I Ord Hume complimented the winner upon I his performance. This was Fea's first ati tempt as a soloist at thesa contests, and his achievement in winning the first prize •with the excellent score of 94 out of a possible 100 is highly creditable. Morei over, Fea took up the flugel horn only this ' year, tint instrument previously was the cornet, and as a cornet iplayer lie appeared as a member of a quartetUi team at New Plymouth. Fea, who was born ia Oamara, ; lias been ,a member of the Kaikorai Band for four years. He says that a large share of the credCt for has win is due to Bandi master G. B. La.idiaw, of the Kaikorai j Band, -who trained him for the contest. ■ The cornet solo competition this after- ' noon was a great treat to those who heard it The winner, Archibald Schrraek, of the • Kaikorai Band, gave a 'oeautiful exhibi- ! tion of comet playing 1 , hi* expression and ■ phrasing and , his full sonorous lone mark- ! ing him as a performer oi: front rank. J. ', McGrath, of the Southland Battalion ; Band, was beaten by iSolinack for first place by only one point- though, in the opinion of some judges in the audience , there were at least five point? difference I between the men. Still, MoGrath's was a thoroughly sound and t afe performance. Mr Ord Hume wne sunprised at the excel- ■ lence oi the cornet solos, und said that the j total ntunber of marks awarded Iby him i for ithis competition, was higher than any ;he had ever given. All the men who 1 played , , lie said, iiltbough all dia ! not get prizes, are worthy of be- ; ing reispected members of any band. This high praise from the judge was cordially approved by all who heard the competition. Mr Ord Hume described McGrath as <i confident plnyi'r nnd an artist. All the movemente of his »010 were adanir- ! ably playetl, except that tome grace notes i were missed in the variation. The judge's , verdict wus "A splendid performance, and a« j safe as ti rock from beginning to <?nd."' J. IxlcAra, of North-Eiist Valley, who finished third, gave what the judge described as capital performance. He admired his method, although the player was a shade nervous, and in the variation McAra was not always sune of his- note-s. The judga passed over thesa one or two flaws in favour of hia good, ligat, and brilliant style of playing. A. Scbjiack, the winner of the first prize, is a weii known performer in, tha South Island. He lias won a number of prizes i fer the soprano coroet solo, including first at the Christ-church Jubilee Exhibition, first at the Bluff in ISOI, and (second at Oamaru I in 1896. Hβ has also boen a winner in seventY quartettes at virions contests. Though born in.Dunedin iw was brought up in Oanmru, and was for some, years a membsr of the Oamaru Garrison. Band. It was in the ranks of this organisation that he received his training. He became a member of tli.3 Kaikorai Band at the time of the New Plymouth contest lart year. Scbnack conducted the Port Chalmers Band at the Mosgiei ccnt£.*t in October last, wb?n the band won first prizeTha first of the. two tert selections for the Bands vas the event for to-night, and with it. the thief interest hi the contest begins. Th« following are ilie fifteen competing bands in the order in which they played : —Hawera, North-Eart Valley, Wellington Garrison, Woolston, Gisboiw, Taranaki Garii?on ( Wanganui Garrison, Ruaiiitie Battalion (Woodville), Mastcaton Municipal, Hauraki, Pnlmerston North, Southland Batialir»n, "Waihi, Denniston, and Kaikorai. Tha test .piece, Swift's "Le Domino Xoir," occupies about .sixteen mimites in performance. It is probably thoit it will be about Vhen the band performances are concluded. Of these bands which have played up to the present Wellington G;urison, Wanganui Garrison, and Norfch-East VaPey are regarded as dangerous, but the Kaikorai Band, the last to play to-night, and tlu Dennrston Band, which will immediately precede it, are regarded by many who have heard the prac-Jcrs of the last few days as likely upset calculations when the final result comes to f«s announced.

The Quickstep Competition is to be taken to-morrow afternoon. Toe fifteen bands completed. the programme by ten minutes past eleren, and the judge's notes and marks" awarded were then handed to the supervisor, by whom they will be kept under lock and key until Friday night, when tho second test pieco has been concluded, and the aggregate counted. Until then the judge will express no opinion about ti-night's playing.