Around The Nationals

New Zealand Listener, Volume 4, Issue 82, 17 January 1941, Page 24

Around The Nationals

DDLE NASH’S itinerary for the next few weeks has now been fixed, and listeners who enjoy his fine tenor voice are promised several more studio recitals. Mr. Nash joined the Noel Coward party on January 15, and will also appear at the special Coward concerts at 4YA, January 22, 3YA on January 25, and 2YA on January 30. In addition there will be studio recitals from 4YA on January 20, 3YA on January 24 and 2YA on February 2. This does not conclude his New Zealand tour, as he will be heard in Christchurch and Auckland again later in February. * * : LONG list of successes in competition festivals throughout New Zealand stands to the credit of Anita Ledsham, the Christchurch mezzo-contralto, who was heard from 3YA again last week. She has approximately 50 firsts, as well as many seconds and thirds; she won.a scholarship at the Wellington competitions and was runner-up three times at Christchurch; and she won the Ladies’ Aggregate at Ashburton. Mrs. Ledsham has been soloist for the Christchurch Male Voice Choir, the St. Cecilia Choir and the Liederkranzchen, and also sings regularly for the Scottish Society and St. Patrick’s concerts, a truly international record. She has been singing over the air since the first broadcast from the original Christchurch station at Robert Francis Ltd., High Street. a * EA ITH all this talk of heredity in musical families no one will be surprised to learn that the rich bass voice of T. D. Williams was trained by his father, the late Ewen Williams, a well-known basso and voice trainer inSouth Wales. To heredity was added environment, for T. D. Williams was brought up in Wales and had considerable success in Welsh Eisteddfodan, choral festival oratorio and _ opera. Later, as a young man, he was one of the outstanding pupils of the Guildhall School of Music, London. * * * "T HE final, definite, and irrevocable dates for Noel Coward’s itinerary appear in this issue-at least we hope they are. Final arrangements have been published before, and then followed up with a slight alteration or two. But at the time of writing this, we haven’t heard of any alterations: Now the only thing that can stop Mr. Coward is the weather and the war, and, of course, the ordinary dangers attaching to transport arrangements, health, and so on. So all told we think we can lie back and feel that we have done all a magazine can do in announcing "final" dates. Briefly the story is this: Mr. Coward arrives in Auckland on Monday, January 13, and leaves Auckland by the Pan-American Clipper on Saturday, February 1. Between those dates he will be pretty busy, as can be seen from his itinerary on page 4. ‘