STATE SCHOOL CONCERT.

Manawatu Herald, Volume II, Issue II, 19 November 1889, Page 2

STATE SCHOOL CONCERT.

The concert organised by Mr Woodham, the eachers and pupils, to provide funds for £rjzes and other requisites, took pi cc f n Friday night. There was a very large attendance f the general public, the pirents f the children attend ng the school, nndthe pupils ftieinselves forming the greater number. The pr gramme was commenced 'by a pianoforte duet performed by Miss Griesen and Mr Woodham senior, which was admirably played and the performers received, well merited: recognition. The school children then sang " won't you buy my pretty flowers " and so nicely as to receive an encm^y • The ndx* item brought out a lady new toTdxton, ~a teacher at the school, Miss Keeble, who sang the song " Vanished." " The lady is possessed of a powerful and clear treble voice, and her nmdeying of the song was most pleasing. At the conclusion the applause was terrific and she appeared and bow d her thanks. The" audience were not however to be disappointed of a repetition and to satisfy the demand she kindly repeated a few verses. This lady's singing was one of the features of the evening Mr Wood* ham fol.owed with a recitation of the " Curfew shall not ring to nighfc," a grand piece, but unfortunately the length of it prevented its being thoroughly remembered, and the rendering was marr d by st, ppages. As Mr Woodham had most of , the anxiety of the whole performance, a breakdown in his own part is to be excused. ThelittleMissesJ Whyte, K. Whyte, and M. Walls, sang the comic song of "Three little pigs," and received loud applause for their efforts. " Little Fairy "by all the childre > went well, but was not so ap reeiated as mo«t of the other items. The vocal duet " Aye Sanctissima" between Miss Keeble and Mr Woodham brought the first part to a close. This duet wa« much aj>pi eciated and duly applauded. Distribution ov Phizes. nest took place, Mr Thynne the Chairman of the School Committee attending on the stage for that pur- . pose. He made a few introductory remarks, the most important I eing his appeal to the parents and committee to lend their aid to the .encouragement of the teachers, and scholars, though they might "with' him, not hold . altogether to the system 'in iorce. The children's names were called and the recipients ascended the stage and the book earned was then presented to thetnj Most of the prize takers were warmly applauded by their fellow pupils. The list of prizetakers will be seen below. An interval of five minutes took place, after which the Tableau vhant " Beauty and valour " was presented. This made an excellent picture, beauty being represented by the girls adorned with a wealth of fknvfers protected by valour in the shape * f armel boys. The t bleaux was welcomed with loud applause. , The military drill of the boys showel a pleasing attention on their pnrt to the instruction received, and also proved the goo \ teaching given. All the evolutions were done without word f command. The lads on entering formed a double line, then fours deep and right about,, then two's dep and right about They marched and wheeled four abreast and two abreast, then marched to the front an ' presented arms. The wheeling was particularly erood and steady. Mi. ster . " tansell sang the comic i song "Qhi what a mug" so wel' as to have to return and sing an encore verse. This lad k has a soprano v>ic * which should receive caro and training when he would be a most pro ninent vocalist. The action song of the boys " The Drummer boy " went sp well t that an encore was insisted on, 1 the Vhole of the elder children being on the stage. The girls sang a que y, and the boys replied, during which they shouldered arm?, and waved the far famed tri- colour of France., 1 it'le Miss Woodhim's recitation. " The noble boy" was car .fully given, but was marred by some loud talking and laughter m the outer' porch of the hall The actfori so-^g by the little girls, they were indeed very little pit's, was pretty, a large number of the JittKmites .standing in a double row, each ' nnrsmfer" J a baby, singing and" swaying their bdcKes • to -the' 'tuno/ Those :»vfOT» the scholars 'more particularly unflir Miss Keeble's chavsre, and the happy look they had. and the perfect command iheir mistresß hadove- them, showed the pleasant relations ex'sting between them. The two last, items were part songs given by all the small performers, entitled " Good nighti" ' : > - . . ' We have no hesitation, in saying I that taking the concert through, it may be pronounced a great success, there were undoubtedly long waits, but, every allowance has to be made to , the very great dj^ieu.l'y there naturally is, in getting so many, and so young -pc formers' rea'ty When it i 3 known .that qnd Miss Keeble, had, under thei change on the stage sixty four chi dren, anil during the, whole of the no hitch occurred, r it is cvi lent that the ta chers had ill their work, and the children must hitftP btee*n t«iry good. A deal of time must have been given by the toaott •• f< t some time, and thti* dftir* to do «tU is

proved by the most of the training having t< be given "snd learnt ou f of school hour* The Hiking's at the door, considering the prices were . only one shilling for adults and sixpence for children, were vovy sati-? factory as £7 17s was th < sum re*ei cd. A balance sheet appears 'elsewhere. This performance having been so 3ati factory we hope the p.ireats will now keep their i tcrost in the school alive, and thus make it possible to have one or two more.