NEWS FROM THE ZB STATIONS

New Zealand Listener, Volume 3, Issue 70, 25 October 1940, Page 47

NEWS FROM THE ZB STATIONS

NNOUNCERS at 2ZB will have to A look to their laurels. In the near future 2ZB is going to broadcast a special presentation by non-broad-casting members of the staff. Some surprising talent has been unearthed among those members of the staff, whom listeners never hear, and good entertainment is promised. Convent Pupils’ Debut A presentation of considerable merit was heard in a recent issue of the "Young New Zealand Radio Journal" from 2ZB, when pupils of the Karori Convent School made their debut at the microphone. © These children have been trained in unaccompanied part-singing and the result is delightful. Their programme comprised solos, duets, part-songs, and vyerse-speaking, the items chosen being of a high standard. It is indeed refreshing to hear such sweet melodies as Purcell’s "*Nymphs and Shepherds," "Where the Bee Sucks," by Arne, and Brahms’s "Little Sandman." An unusual item for a Children’s Session was a sacred motet for two voices, and another was the rarely heard "Shining Cuckoo," by the New Zealand poetess, Eileen Duggan. "Lady Gay" was so delighted with the successful initial appearance of these gifted young people that she has arranged with their teachers for further broadcasts. Billy Thorburn’s Music "Love Serenade" is the title of Drigo’s well-known melody, which has, of course, been popular for many years. Recently it received a new lease of life, thanks to the song arrangement featured by Nelson Eddy in his picture, "Song of the Plains." It would appear that this number has progressed from an instrumental and orchestral item, via its vocal arrangement, to a modern waltz. It is now recorded by Billy Thorburn and His Music. Thorburn is a well-known English dance band leader and pianist, and he is one of the most experienced men in the modern dance band world. Although not achieving the heights of fame of Jack Hylton, Harry Roy and Ambrose, at the same time he is always busy in the dance band world, and may be compared with the featured character actor in films, as against the stars of the film firmament. This is one of listeners’ favourite recordings heard over the ZB network. The True Bing Crosby A section of the population which delights in writing letters to the newspapers seems to regard crooners as overdressed young " ninnies" who mince their way toward the

microphone in order to mouth incredibly mawkish lyrics. Yet so far as Bing Crosby is concerned nothing could be further from the truth. Here, anyhow, is no hot-house plant. Bing hits a golf ball farther than any man in Hollywood, finishes his round in the early seventies, owns twelve racehorses, a beautiful home in Hollywood, and an equally lovely ramch home at Del Mar, and is a devoted husband and father. Bing is a man you will only entice away from his family circle by suggesting a visit to the boxing matches, football, racing or polo. Otherwise he invites old friends to his home where he can be away from the normal "ballyhoo" of show business. One of the highest paid artists in the world, he would much rather stand talking to an old friend of former days, smoking his pipe, than smoking cigars with the people who matter. Some years ago, had we lived in Spokane, in the State of Washington, Harry Crosby,

junr., might have delivered mail to our house; or arrived in a broken-down Ford to deliver our groceries, or acted as janitor and cleaner at our: local club. Had we visited a nearby farm we might have seen him tending cattle and endeavouring to milk them at the accepted hours, for these are some of the things Harry Crosby, junr., did to work his way through college. He was destined to become a lawyer. But Harry Crosby, junr., known to the world as Bing, was born with an irrepressibly mischievous disposition and a curiously formed larynx. He still has the same larynx, and his happy-go-lucky disposition doesn’t seem to have deserted him, either. March On, Musical Army Lady Gay recently read a very quaint and original story from the pen of "Bebe," a listener in Wanganui, who has provided

the 2ZB Children’s Session with much useful and interesting material. The story, with its colourful background of New Zealand flora and fauna, concerned a man who fell asleep among friendly ferns and trees on a drowsy Spring afternoon to dream of a fairy orchestra, their strings woven from _ silver spiders’ threads. Some carried flutes and pipes made from the hollow stems of tall grasses, and as the Rata fairy raised her silver baton a flood of sweet melody rose up and flowed round the dropping branches of the Kowhai Queen. She who had pined and drooped because her favourite Tui had left her, bearing no blossoms that year, now awoke to renewed youth and vigour to put forth. glowing golden buds. So the golden treasure was saved for ever for the bush, and the man who lay beneath the pohutukawa rose and went away with music in his soul and a dream in his eyes. "Some day," he said to himself "we will teach little children to play like that; children who love music and are perhaps not always able to learn individually. We will have a whole army of children . . . a musical army! Yes, that shall be their name-the Musical Army! It would be a means of bringing happiness to many homes, and, yes, one day the Musical Army will be a reality." "Thus," concludes " Bebe," "‘an, idea was born and so it is that every day the number of soldiers in the Musical Army increases throughout this land, and more and more listeners are made happy by the music played by the little hands of its members, their sweet melodies finding an echo in thousands of hearts." " Spelling Jackpots" Based on the popular " Radio Spelling Bee" idea, a new "Spelling Jackpot" is broad cast from 2ZB at 8.45 p.m. on Mondays. The sum of 30/- will be allocated nightly as prize money. Should, any competitor fail in the’ test of spelling 2 word the prize money is " Jackpotted" to the next night. It has been known for a Jackpot to mount up to the sum of £7 or £8. It behoves all listeners to 2ZB to brush up their spelling and so make some pocket money. Tins for the Troops One day recently in her Home Service Session, Mary Anne of 2ZB, at the request of the Wellington East Branch of the Metropolitan Patriotic Committee, made an appeal for 1lb. tins for the purpose of packing cakes to the soldiers. Tins poured in to 2ZB, with the result that the Committee was able to send 224 parcels to soldiers,