CORONATION MARCH COMPETITION

New Zealand Listener, Volume 28, Issue 716, 2 April 1953, Page 9

CORONATION MARCH COMPETITION

MUSICIAN who at seven or eight years of age was considered promising enough to interest the gréat Sousa might be expected to make his mark in the brass band movement. When he was a boy, Sydney Bernard, of Plim‘merton, told The Listener the other day, he played The Stars and Stripes Forever for Sousa in San Francisco, but young Bernard’s father had other ideas when Sousa wanted to take the boy along with the band. Mr. Bernard has never lost his interest in band music, but it’s only recently that he has turned his hand to composition. His Coronation March, for brass band, actually written while he was. beset by personal worries, was entered for the competition conducted by the NZBS, and won. Mr. Bernard’s was one of 22 entries. The judges were Michael Bowles, until recently conductor of the National Orchestra of the NZBS, and Harry Mortimer, supervisor of brass and military bands for the BBC, who was principal judge at the recent New Zealand brass bands contest. Commenting on the entries they said that the general standard was most commendable, and showed a sound knowledge of the material of the music, and of the special requirements of writing for brass: band. They found the winning entry outstanding. Mr. Bernard’s prize-winning march will be recorded by the National Band of N.Z. before it leaves for Britain, and will be broadcast later, particularly during Coronation week. When The Listener asked Mr. Bernard if writing the march had presented any special difficulties, he said that the fanfare came to him. very quickly. The rest was written in "bits and pieces." "T was bothered," he said, "by a retentive memory-the feeling, ‘I’ve heard something like that before.’ So I discarded a good deal of what I wrote, and if there’s anything like the march as it stands now it’s news to me." Had he. been -working.on any other compositions? Mr. Bernard was asked. He said he had. One of these was a song inspired by the painting by Goldie and Steele--now in the Auckland Art Gallery-of the arrival of the Maoris in New Zealand. Another, a song in which a tramper éulogised the beauties of New Zealand, would be published

shortly. Mr. Bernard claims no special credit for his ability as a composer. He believes it is. a gift. Even as a boy he jotted dewn chords which his later studies showed him were correct. The composer of the prize-winning Coronation March has been associated with music and ‘the theatrical business all his life. His visit to America as ay child was with a show which his father had taken from New Zealand. It toured there for six years. Later Sydney Bernard was to tour extensively in vaudeville in Australia as a performer and a musician. In his day he was considered an exceptionally good cornetist. He played the cornet as a professional with the St. Kilda Band when it was successful at a Dominion brass bands contest about 18 years ago-his last appearance with a band-though most of his work has been with orchestras: He was with the 2YA Orchestra’ under Leon de Mauny and with the Wellington Symphony Orchestra. Besides the cornet he’ plays the piano, slide trombone, trumpet, drums and timpani. As a timpanist with the Wellington Symphony Orchestra he was complimented by Dr. (now Sir) Malcolm Sargent, Mr. Bernard has also had experience as a conductor, and as an arranger he did much work for broadcasting in the 1930's.