MUNICIPAL ORCHESTRA

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 869, 15 July 1910, Page 4

MUNICIPAL ORCHESTRA

MR. J. MAUGHAN' BARNETT'S SCHEME. NEARLY i! 300 GUARANTEED BY CITIZENS. Mr. J. Maughan Barnett should feel very proud of the reception which has been'i accorded to his scheme for the establishment in Wellington of a municipal orchestra, as the public will assuredly feel grateful to the city organist for originating the' idea, in this port of the world at all events. . On Tuesday last, Mr. Barnetfs scheme was submitted to the Finance Committee of the City Council in the form of a letter to the Town Clerk, which read:— "Dear sir,—l beg to submit for the consideration of the City Council a scheme for the establishment of a municipal orchestra. Briefly 'stated, my reasons for doing so are as follow:—The opportunities afforded the Wellington public of hearing good orchestral musio played by an orchestra have for some years been decidedly few and far between, and I am of opinion that the. absence of' continuous activity in this branch of music must constitute a hindrance to the musical progress of the community. A number of towns in Eng-. land and a much greater number on the Continent have municipal orchestras,' uud believing a3 I do that a desire for orchestral music exists amongst a sufficient number of Wellington citizens, I feel certain that the City Council could adopt a similar method, and without fi- ' lvancial loss, provide an annual series of orchestral concerts with prices' for admission within the roach of all sections of the community. But whilst I personally am sanguine as to the financial results of such an undertaking, X take it for granted that the_ council would require sumo practical indication that adequate support would be accorded by the general public. I therefore propose, as an experiment, that an orchostra should be formed consisting of the best available professional ■ and arpateur players to join with me in a series of three tral and organ performances, the concorts to commence about tho end of August, and to be continued at intervals of three weeks or a month, these concerts to takp the- place of the organ recitals In the weeks in which they are given. "I estimate that the expense additional to that incurred at each of the present organ recitals would not exceed .£2s—it would probably, bo less. In order, that the council should not run any financial risk in 'connection with this additional cost, I have followed the plan adopted by Mr. A. H-. Stiles and others in connection with the visit of the Exhibition Orchestra to Wellington some time ago, and have obtained u number of guarantors who would be responsible for any deficiency. "Several gentlemen keenly interested in my -proposal assisted me in this matter, but no great effort was made. The result seoms to me most encouraging, the sum guaranteed reaching a total of .£255 Ss., or more: than three times the amount of the proposed extra expenditure. I enclose a list of guarantors. Should ..the proposed concerts this year prove a success, I would suggest tlial the scnemu for next year's municipal music should include a series of fortnightly orchestral concerts, to commence about May, and to •be continued during the succeeding five or six months. For these, I havu no doubt, an increased guarantee could be obtained should such be considered necessary. .. ) j. maughan; baiyNETT. THE GUARANTORS. The following are . the guarantors Di. Tyffe and the Wellington Choral Society, i'2l each; Mr. W. Bethune, ,£ls 155.; Messrs. A. H. Miles, E. Bell, J. W. Aitken, A. Turnbull, M. J. Brookes, A. E. Pcarce, G. W. Wilton, J. Embling, Mrs. Embling, and the Rev. Father llickson, .£lO 10b. each, Dr. Gißbs, Mrs. Prouse, Messrs. R. Parker, A. P. Webstei, J. W. Jack, J. H. B. Jack, D. Jones, A. A. Corrigan, E. H. Dean, A. L. Herdman, Clarke .Johnson, H. Beauchamp, 'James Macintosh, J. Maughan Barnett, and Dr. M'Gavin, £5 ss. each; Mrs. Rhodes, .£5; Messrs. L. 'Watkins, A. Smith, Horace Hunt, J.'R. Palmer, .£2 '.is.; L.W.L., 10s.; W. Fraser, M.P., .£5 55.; li. Tai.t, .£5 55.; S. Kirkcaldie, F.. Young, <£2 25.; H. Plimmer,:'\£2 25.; —, Harrison, ,£1; total, .£276 Bs. • SIR. BARNETT INTERVIEWED. Mr. Barnett, on being interviewed yesterday, stated that he had made one alteration ■in his proposed scheme sinco the above. letter had been considered by the Finance Committee. This was that instcaid of ' the three, concerts mentioned he how proposed to make it twelve concerts, extending over a year. In support' of this change, Mr. stated tha idea being new to New Zealand, the three concerts might not be enough to give the achome a fair run, whilst a dozen concerts spread over twelvo months would provide a satisfactory test. "I have had this scheme in my head foi years," said Mr. Barnett, "and I consider' it one of national importance. Wellington has so far led the_ way in certain respects In matters musical. Of the four chief centres, we had the first Town Hall, and after that came tho organ. Then Auckland decided to have a Town. Hall, and is getting an organ, and down south, Dunedin and Christchurch of talking of town halls. Now, in natural sequence follows the municipal orchestra, which, as far as I know, is a new idea in -Australasia. In England, of course, they have them, and on the Continent tho subsidising of music by the States and municipalities is general. The scheme, it is gratifying to know, has the sympathy of such men as Mr. Robert Parker, Dr. Fyffe, Mr. L. Watkins, ana others associated with musio in the ciiy. , "As the organ is of Continental pitch, not quite half a tone lower than the Philharmonic pitch, the orchestra could only combine with the organ as far as the strings were concerned, but later on, if the concerts succeed as I hope they will, there might be a chance ?f getting wood-winds and brass instruments the same pitch as the organ, when the desired combination would be consummated." Mr. Barnett wishes to explain that tho aboye guarantees ■are not the result of any special canvass. They were obtained .in his spare time without any special effort. In this respect assistance was kindly rendered by Dr. Fyffe and Mr. Walter Bethune. At its meeting last evening the council recorded its gratitude to Mr. Barnett for his enterprise and energy in furthering the municipal orchestra project, and al9o to those citizens who had so generously guaranteed financial support. Councillor ShirtclilTe asked whether tho formation of a municir.V orchestra would not detrimentally affec'. societies that now catered for the supply of music. Mr. Barnett explained that the scheme would benefit individual musicians, and had the support of musical societies. These had associated themselves' with the movement, and had guaranteed an amount of 20 guineas.