OTAKI SINGER'S SUCCESS.

Otaki Mail, 8 October 1923, Page 3

OTAKI SINGER'S SUCCESS.

Miss Maud El dorton gained great success for herself and renown for the town at the recent Dunedin competitions. Against 75 competitors she has brought the Championship Challenge .Shield to Otaki. winning by twelve points, her score being 158 out of a possible 200. the nearest competitor scoring 140. This was against all voices, sopranos, contraltos, tenors, baritones and basses. In the last six weeks she has competed in the Wellington and Dunedin competitions, appearing in IS classes, and not once has she failed to be placed. Her record is 7 firsts, b seconds, and 5 thirds and highly commended. This has meant 42 public appearances in six weeks, a heavy task for a girl of ID, and probably a record performance for any competitor. In each ease there was heavy competition to meet the majority of the i classes attracting 25 to 35 competitors. I When she competed in Wellington she was not in her best form, having only ■just recovered from influenza, but in spite of this fact the judge, Mr. Roland, Foster, stated from the platform after each of her performances, that she was the most musically and refined singer in the competition with the best produced voice. Her failure to big vocal scholarships (Begg's 30 guinea prize) was only due J to the judge's fear that her voice* would develop a vibrato. When lu* heard afterwards of the attack of influenza that Miss Eklerton had just recovered from he realised that the slight shake iu her voice was due to the weakness following on such an attack, and at a supper given by him to some of the leading teachers he stated that if he had known of the fact before giving his decision. Miss Eldorton would have won the scholarship. In the Dunedin competitions Kblerton was only beaten three times, in 'each case by a professional singer, with many years’ t raining experience. The distinct ion of the winning of the i egg’s Challenge Shield is all the greater when it is realised that this shield, which has been open to competition for 22 years has only been gained bv other than Otago singers four times during that period. In each of these four cases the winners have been pupils of Madame Josephine Ottlee. A.R.A.M. The lift e’en different judges who haw adjudicated n't the competitions in which hei students have entered have recognised her work as sound, intellect mil and exceptionally inspiring which is not sur prising, considering her training and experience and the fact that an associnteship of the Eoval Academy of Music. London, is only granted for exceptional musical work in either composition or teaching. In the recent Wellington competitions out of forty entries by 8 pupils she gained 53 first, second, or third places. Many of these pupils had not received more than six months’ training, two only more than one year’s training.

The Challenge Shield will shortly 1; on view in one of the town's slio