COMPETITIONS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1904, 12 November 1913, Page 5

COMPETITIONS.

.dUSICi ELOCUTION, DANCING;

INTERESTING CONTESTS. ■ There was an attractive variety of contests at the Ne " Zealand Competition Society's Festival yesterday, and the attendance was most satisfactory. There was an 'abundant variety of it-em a to listen to; some excellent, others passable, and others, fortunately in the minority, much worse than passable. In the afternoon tho Concert Chamber was crowded for tho dramatic dialoguo test. Quito enjoyable was tho portrayal of the meeting of Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty. Mr. Goorge Cooper played tlie part of the great detective of -fiction. Mr. Sydney Tingey did his best to make the Professor as disagreeablo and vindictive aspossible. Miss Ethel Lissack and Mr. Norman Aitken quite acceptably played * Nancy and 1 Bill Sykes from "Oliver Twist." Bill Sykes, by the way, was attired in a coat immaculately cut in tho latest fashion. Mrs. Millar and Mr C. Bentley Russel endeavoured a la George Marlowe to give an intensely dramatic dialogue "Dies Irae." They unconsciously produced a most amusing burlesque of melodrama. "Pygmaleon and Galatea" was very passably given by Miss Lilian Prichard and Mr. E. F. Luks. After this contest the most interesting, perhaps, was tho humorous character sketcn. The delineations however, were, with a few exceptions, , poor and unconvincing. The best were Miss Lilian Prichard, who gayo the initial visit of a jiewljMved bride to tlie butchers, Miss Mario Fix as Mrs. Nickleby, Mr. Norman Aitkcn (Dick Fennell's drink scene from "Sweet Lavender"), and Miss Maude Ritcher ("Tho Landlady"). The test-for tho. violin-solo drew only two conipotitors-r Messrs. A. V.- West'heid • and • E. I. Meier. ; For violinists under, 21 years; of age.-the 4est : piece" (Beethoven's "Romance" .in G) was-a,'rather difficult one. Both competitors, stumbled ratfier, badly over-the doublo Stopping passages. ' Mr. Westhead. easily annexed tho first prize. The- remaining tests vocal and elocutionary, were interesting, and with two exceptions ' largely' competed for. ■ The following were' the results.of yes- "- ■ terday's .'competitions:—..." ; ' HUMOROUS CHARACTER SKETCH.' Character Skeich, : Humorous .(in cos-. <umo and with make-up). Character, /nay bo chosen''fr6m : standard'authors. Tiuse limit; B'minutes.,- Selection to_ baj submitted-at-time of, entry.First prize,, i' 3; second,.,£l. •. • > .•' /" ,; ■". • Entrants —Miss Lydia J. Macdonald, Wellington ("Miss Hazy"),; Miss Marie Fix, Wellington ("Mrs. Nickleby"); Miss Maude Pitcher, Dunedin ("The Landlady'-); Mr. D. P. M.' Bennett, Wellington ("A Prehistoric Sermon'-') ; Sir. Ernst F. Luks, Wellington ("Mrs. Caudle"); Mr. Norman Aitken, Wellington ("Rev. Robt. Spalding"); Miss Lilian Prichard, Melbourne ("The Bride's First Call on iho Butcher ').

' Recalls—Misses Pitcher and Prichard and Mr Aitken.

The winner, remarked Mr. Baeyertz, gave good gestures, her by-play was clever, and she had fine facial expression. • ■ ' Result—l, Miss Prichard, 117 marks; 2, Mr. Norman Aitken; 3, Miss Pitcher. ' DIALOGUE. Dialogue, Pathetic or Dramatic. Own selection, in character. Timo limit, 20 minutes. Costumes • and 'accessories permitted. • First prize, £4; .second, £2. Entrants —Mr. George Cooper and-Mi. Sydney. Tingey, (Wellington .(TTPbe ing of Sherlock. Holmes and Professor, Moriarty"); Miss Ethel Lissack and Mr. . Norman Aitken, ' Wellington (•'Nancy and Bill Sykes"); Mrs. Millar and Mr. C. Bentley Russell, Wellington ("Dies ,Irac"); Miss Lilian Prichard and Mr. Ernst F. Luks, Wellington ("Pygmaleon and Galatea"). Recalls—Mr. Cooper and Mr. Sydney Tiiigey, in "Tho Meeting of Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty"; Miss Lilian Prichard Ernst Luks, in •'pygmaleon and Galatea." This was a very disappointing section said Mr. Baeyertz. Miss Prichard had been responsible for placink herself and her partner in the first position. Mr. Cooper, in his dialogue, too, had been better than his partner, but not strong enough to pull his partner lip to first position.

Result—l, Miss Prichard and Mr. Idiks, 104 marks; 2, Messrs. Cooper end Tingey, 100 marks. SHAKESPEAREAN RECITAL. Shakespearean Recital (gentlomen). Test piece: "On Adversity" (Duke, Senior, in "As You Like It"). First prize, £1; second, 10s. , Entrants—Mr. Alfred Spencer, Wo!lirgton; Mr. Jas. H. Forrester, Island Bay; Mr. Clifford B. Holmes, Palmereton North; A. J. Mason, Petone; Dr. Norman St. Clair Hales, Wellington j Mr. H. C. Cottrell, Wellington; Francis R. Picot, Wellington; Mr. Frank M. Jenkins, Wellington; Mr. W. M..Evans, Wellington; Mr.- Holland Andrews, Wellington; Mr. John Joseph Casey, Wellington ; Mr. Thomas Auton, Wollingtt n; Mr. A. G. Lather, Wellington'.^ Recalls—Messrs., Spencer, I'icot, Casey, and DrS Hales. 'J'he winner had gained first prize somewhat oasily, remarked Mr. Baeyertz, in declaring the results. He had given a very good performance , though some false emphasis had been made and his .gestures had not been graceful. Tile gentlemen whom he had placed third had a better jdea of the music of blank verse than any of his opponents . Result.—l, Dr. Hales, 113 marks; 2, Messrs. Spencer and Picot, 103 marks etch; 3 Mr. Casey, 95 marks. GIRLS' RECITATION. ' Recitation (girls urfder 16). Own selection. Not humorous. First pr izo, silver medal;' second, bronzo medal. ' Erttrants—Miss- L. P. Snow, Wellington ("The Private of the Buffs"); Miss Zita H. Chapman, Lower Hutt ("The Chambered Nautilus"); Miss Zita Casey, Rosoneath ("The Homes of England"); Miss Ngaire Lemon, ■ Wellington .(Adventures of Little Miss Duck"); Miss Inez Mitchell, Palmcrston North ("Before Sedan"); Miss N Ntes, Wellington C'Tlm King »f Denmark's Ride"): Miss Peggy Reeves, Wellington ("Little Boy Blue"); Miss Hazel .Teffcry, Wellington ('.'To a Skylark"); Miss P. M. Adams, Wellington ' 'Little Bell and the Captain"); Miss Irene Cain, Wellington . ("Entertaining Her Sister's Beau"); Miss Ethel Jones. Otaki ("Sh-Sli!"). . 'flip judge, Mr. Baeyertz, gave honourable mention to Misses Casey, Mitchell; Adams, and Jones. The latter, said Mr. Baeyertz, .was a very clever little girl, while the sanio could-be said of little Miss Lemmon, who was untold onough yet, but would do very well some day. In announcing the result Mr. Baeyertz stated that Mr. F. J. Pinne.v, who had heeii present at the morning's recital, had been so pleased with the work of two of the little competitors, Misses Lemmon and Jones, that he had promised to give each of them a silver bangle. Result.—l, Miss Reeves,' 106 marks; 2 Miss Jeffery, 104 marks; 3 Miss Chapv.an, 100 marks,. VIOLIN SOLO. Violin Solo (under. 21). Test piece: "Romance in G" (Beethoven). First prize, second, £1.

Entrants—Mr. E. I. Meier, Wellington ; Mr. Albert V. Westhead, Dunedin.

Tlie judge, Mr. Gregson, placed Mr. Westhead first. Mr. Meier, he said, ivh: not tho winner's equal in technique, nevertheless, ho showed promise, and should develop into a good player. GENTLEMEN'S SONG, Song (gentlemen). Own selection, net humorous. Open only to competitors who have been resident in Wellington province for the preceding 18 months. First prize, £1 10s.; second, lCs. Entrants —Mr. George H. Bacon, Wellington ("Till Dawn"); Mr. Frank Tunley, Wellington ("The Trumpeter"); Mr.' Lance Jones, Wellington ("Son of Mine"); Mr. T. H. Heketa, lvilbirnie ("The Lute Player"); Mr. Walter H. Harvey, Petone ("The Lute Player"); Mr. Porcival Martin, Wellington ("My Queen"); Mr. Percival H. Davie, Masterton ("The Lute Player"); Mr. C. Soillane, Wanganui ("Awake, Beloved").' Honourable mention was given to Messrs. Spillano and Heketa. Recalls —Messrs. Jones, Harvey, and Martin. All tho. competitors in this section, stated the judge, had made a good choice of songs, but the singing of many of them had been quite disappointing. The winner had sung rather throatily, while, though the runner-up had a voice 01 nice quality, his phrasing was very weak. Competitors should try to memorise their songs, and not be gazing into tlieir music during its delivery. Result.—l,- Mr. Jones, 116 marks; 2 Mr. Martin, 114 marks; 3 Mr. Harvey, 113 marks. CONTRALTO SOLO. Contralto Solo—Test piece: "Der Doppelganger," Schubert. (Although in this song ii man is speaking, it is sung by Schumann-Heinck and other great contraltos.) First prize, £2; second, £1. Entrants.—Annie Wood, Timaru; Doris Mabel Signal, Foxton; Ethel V. Carter, Auckland; Mrs. Ivo Symes, Wanganui. ; Recalls.—Misses Signal and Carter, arid Mrs. Symes.; • Tho'test soiig in this section, said Mr. Baeyertz, was one of- the. great , songs of the world, and was saturated with an atmosphere of the tragic., The winner had.givien the, best reading of the song, her rendering being moro atmospheric. Result.—l Mrs. Symes, 119 marks; 2: Miss Carter, 113 marks; 3, Miss Signal; 108 marks. ." MEZZO-SOPRANO SOLO. Mezzo-Soprano Solo—Test piece: "Down in tho Forest," key C, Landon Ronald. First prize, £1; second, 10s. Entrants.—Miss Myfaiiwy Owen, Wa'destown; Miss Margaret E. Wilson, Wellington;. Miss Dorothy Jones, 'Wellington. •Recalls.—Misses Wilson and Jones. .Tho -winner had .a fair perception of ,pong, remarked the.judge,.Mr. Gregson, and the voice was worth training., Result —lj" Miss Wilson, 111 marks.; Miss Jones, 105 marks. DRAWING-ROOM ENTERTAINMENTS. The following is the result of the drawing-room entertainments for which the public voted as follows: — 1. Mr. Ernst -F. Luks and party, 630 votes. • 2. Miss Ethel Lissack, Mr. Norman Aitken, and party, 228 votes. ' 3. Mr. Mark Bonnet and party, 61 votes. ■ ;

THE EVENING, PERFORMANCE. Tho programme in tho evening was excellently varied, and ranged from classic Shakespeare to Sherlock Holmes of Cohan Doyle, and from Schubert and Beethoven to latter-day composers of music. VoMlly,,;ih(>i):ey.er, the concert was not a Strong one; : :T\vo lady mezzosoprano- singers -gave 'Down in tho Forest" (London ' ltinald), but both sang rather.: out,,- '.of-- tune.. Tho malo singers, Messrs; L., Jones, \Y.-H. Harvey, and *P. Martin; revealed three vory modest'voices, while llio rendering of Schubert's tragic song 'Dor Doppelgangcr," by three lady contraltos— Mrs. I. Symes and Misse? E. V. Carter and D. M. Signal—was rather disappointing. Mr. A. Westhead, winner <f the violin solo, played tho test pio;o Beethoven's "Romance" in G. Although in no way a finished performance, Mr. Wesfcad played sympathetically, and with a nice tone. A quartet of talented little damsels gave in turn selected recitations. They were Misses Zita Chapman, N. Necs, Peggy Reeves and Hazel Jcffry. Messrs. A. Spencer, F. R. Picot, J. J. Casey, aud Dr. Norman Hales recited tho test piece for the Shakespearean recital "On Adversity" (from 1 'As You Like It"). Their work was interesting, and. the style different- in each case. Messrs. George Cooper and Sydney Tingey gavo "The meeting of .Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty," while Miss L. Prichard and Mr. E. F Luks gave and Galatea." Easily tho best performance in tho two dialogues was given by Miss Prichard. In the final for tho humorous character sketch Miss Prichard ("The Bride's First Call"), Miss Maude Pitcher "The Landlady"), and Mr. N. Aitken ("Dick Fenr.eli's Drink Scene"), performed acceptably. ; TO-DAY'S PROGRAMME. •'To-day's programme at the Competitions will commence at 1.30 p.m. m the Concert Chamber with the children s original recitation or sketch. Th© Shakespearean recital for gentlemen

follows. For this there are eighteen entrants. The .humorous recital for girls -under sixteen should also bo interesting. In the largo hall an attractive programme will include the piano solo contest and various' vocal tests. The great attraction m the evening will be the grand church choir contest for the silver challenge shield presented by Messrs. Charles Begg and Co. Two choirs have entered/the Feilding Wesley Choir and the Grafton Road Methodist Choir, Auckland.; The vocal and elocutionary judge, Mi. C. N. Baeyertz, stated yesterday, that ho would be pleased to meet any of the juvenile competitors who so desired at 9.30 to-day in the small Town Hall and he would then go through their work with them. To-morrow' ho would similarly meet any adults for the same purpose. •