LONDON ORGANIST

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 25, 29 July 1939, Page 11

LONDON ORGANIST

FORMER WELLINGTONiAN

RETURN AFTER 25 YEARS

After an absence of a quarter of a century from New Zealand Mr. Norman Collie, Mus. Baa, F.R.C.0., L.R.A.M., A.R.C.M., a noted London organist and teacher of music and singing, has arrived* to spend a month's holiday in the Dominion. He is a native of Wellington and an old boy of Wellington College and he returned to his native city by the Rangitata this week. In an interview with "The Post" today Mr. Collie said he had not yet seen enough of New Zealand since his arrival to make a comparison with conditions when he was last here, but he had been simply amazed by the growth of Wellington in 25 years.

Mr. Collie is organist and music master at Stationers Company School, London, one of the,largest secondary schools in the United Kingdom, and is also, organist at the church of Stoke Newington, known to Londoners as, the "Cathedral of North London." Mr.

Collie said that at the school where he teaches he has singing classes containing as many of 300 pupils. There is also at the school a vei;y fine choir which he conducts. He said that when the boys' voices broke their musical education was continued by a series of lectures given by him on musical appreciation.

1 Asked about public interest in music at Home, Mr. Collie said that, although the efltect of radio broadcasting was still probably tending to keep down the number of young people taking up music, it appeared to be bringing about a much wider appreciation of good music and to be inducing many older people to make a practical acquaintance with the subject. For instance, he had found a number of men from 25 years of age upwards coming to him for lessons in pianoforte and organ. At present his oldest pupil was a man of 68 who was learning the organ.

Mr. Collie said that the church of Stoke Newington had just been equipped with a splendid instrument which was described in a musical publication as "a notable addition to London's larger organs." It was a fivemanual organ built by Rush worth and Dreaper. Mr. Collie said that Wellingtonians would probably be interested to know that Mr. Simon, the man who "voiced" the new organ; also "voiced" the Wellington Town Hall organ when it was installed. Mr. Collie added that the church of Stoke Newington is very large and can seat 1200 persons. , Mr. W. A. Collie, of Wellington, is a brother of the musician, and during Ihis stay he will visit other relatives and friends in various parts of the Dominion.