Open Microphone

New Zealand Listener, Volume 29, Issue 740, 18 September 1953, Page 24

Open Microphone

-,, | NEWS OF BROADCASTERS, ON AND OFF THE RECORD,

By

Swarf

| FORMER Canterbury and Wellington representative cricketer, and at one time captain of the V.U.C. XI, Gilbert Stringer was naturally anxious, while in England. recently on an Imperial "Relations Trust

bursary, to see something of the Tésts. All he saw when~he got .to Charing Cross tube station was a sign, "Ground Full"-a piece of hard luck later softened by a good view of some of the games on a television screen at the Royal Empire Society’s rooms. But he was able to take part in two games for the London-New Zealand Cricket Club, and attend one of the club’s smoke concerts where he met some famous cricketers. During his six and a half months overseas, Gilbert Stringer spent 10 weeks with the BBC taking courses in sound broadcasting and television, and he also studied the latest methods uséd in other parts of England, in Canada and in many European centres. He discussed with the authorities the broadcast coverage of. the Queen’s tour of Canada in 1951, and her visit to Scotland this year. Gilbert Stringer is Administrative Assistant to the Director of the NZBS.

With W. L. Harrison, Chief Engineer, in charge of the technical side, and J. H. Hall, Supervisor of Talks, who was responsible for editing and preparing the summaries, he had charge of the broadcasting liaison arrangements. for the most extensive radio. assignment attempted by the NZBS-coverage of the ‘Empire Games in 1950. p+ A

SHOW MUST GQ ON

P. 5 b OY NICHOLS told an Australian interviewer the other day that her place in the BBC’s Take It From Here would probably be taken by someone else. The show was so popular with listeners that

it would have to carry on, A great deal of the success of TIFH was due to the © script

writers Frank Muir and Denis Norden, who took a full week to write the halfhour show. Both had the happy knack -of absorbing humour from life and applying it to their own work. Television is Joy Nichol’s next interest. She and her husband, Wally Peterson, will sail for San Francisco next January to try their luck in American television. oe

EVERYBODY SINGS

BELIEVING that opportunity and wise guidance are all that are needed to open the door of music to the ordin-ary-boy and. girl, Professor Vernon ‘Griffiths several years ago conducted a successful experiment at the King Edward Technical College, Dunedin, when he introduced music into the schoo] cur-

riculum, and included it in the school timetable as a regular study

7 for every pupil. The Griffiths plan has also been applied with advantage at the Otago Boys’ High School,’ where Richard Whittington is the present music director. Mr. Whittington tells us that he took over from Roy Spackman (who had been music master for 14 years) in 1948 and organised the schoo] after the Griffiths pattern. There are about 500 on the school roll, and of these, 60 first-

year boys are able to sing treble parts, The whole school now sings and takes part in annual concerts, he says. All the voices except the trebles are divided into three baritone parts, and a combined practice of 30 minutes is held once a week. The senior choir is open to the fifth form and above, and is a purely volun-

tary body of about 50 members. Any boy who wants to join is welcome, irrespective of his voice, and no voices are tested. Treble voices form a separate choir and the seniors and trebles jolt to form a four-part special choir, There is an orchestra of about 19 players, and this year two part-time tutors in strings have begun instruction. The school brass band, started in 1949, has 27 members, and this combination, with choirs, has entertained at many institutions for the sick in Dunedin. All choir, band and orchestra] work is ‘done during the lunch hour, and concerts have been given in the Town. Hall ,since 1950. Richard Whittington is ‘pot concerned solely with the school’s musical development. He says that besides music classes he has 23 periods in the week devoted to classes in English, geography and social studies. * "

DEATH OF A VETERAN

a cir Sei THIBAUD, the French concert violinist, who was killed when a French airliner crashed in the French Alps on September 1, would have reached the age of 73 on September 2%. Thibaud was a pupil of his father until he was 13. His talent was discovered ty

Edouard Colonne, and®&® 1898 he appeared 54 times as soloist with the , Colonne Orchestra, es-

tablishing the basis of his reputation, which grew rapidly. He often appeared in notable trio concerts with Cortot and Casals. Writing in the Radio Times of his’ 1949 recitals for the BBC, Harold Rutlaid -said: "Jacques Thibaud is a veteran violinist whom it is always a pleasure to hear. Unforgettable was his reappearance here after the liberation of France, when he broadcast a performance of César Franck’s Violin Sonata that I have never heard equalled for beauty of tone and phrasing and mature * musicianship." Another famous violinist, Ginette Neveu, was kill

when a French airliner crashed on a mountain peak in the Azores on October * 28, 1949. She was on her way to give a series of concerts in the United States. Two years. before, according to one critic) she stepped "practically unknown"

upon the stage at Carnegie Hall, "and left as one of the top rank violinists of our time." Recordings .by both artists are heard now and then in NZBS programmes, *

VIOLIN AND PIANO

"THE three Brahms sonatas for violin and piano» have been recorded by

Vincent Aspey | and Ernest Jenner, and are to be heard from the YC stations and 2YZ.

3YZ and 4YZ during the next few

months. They will be broadcast first from 3YC, starting with Sonata No. 1 in G Major, Opus 78, at 7.15 p:m. on Thursday, September 24, and the series will begin at 2YC during the following week. *

SONGS THE ENGLISH LIKE

|-RANCIS COLLINSON, who arranged and introduced in the BBC Lizht Programme the programme Songs from the English Countryside (transcriptions are now going round the = Nationai stations of the NZBS), studied music under his father, Dr. T. H. Collinson,

organist at St. Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh, and when working for his deeree of ‘Mus.

Bac., he took lessons from Professor Sir Donald Tovey. While at Edinburgh University as a student he composed music for undergraduates’ shows and was later conductor of a theatrical production on tour and in London. At one time he was

Music Director to Lee Ephraim and later to C. B. Cochran. Martin Boddey, tenor, who appears in this programme, is a versatile artist who has sung in films and musical comedy, and is a gifted interpreter of English, French, German and Italian songs. His regular connection with broadcasting began in 1934° when he joined The Wireless Singers, and one of his most distinguished performances was in the speaking part of Milhaud’s Christopher Columbus. In 1936 he was appointed professor at the Guildhall School of Music. Since the war Boddey has added a considerable amount of film work to his singing and acting for radio. Two others in this programme are Robert Irwin and Jan Van Der Gucht. Robert Irwin, baritone, who was born in Dublin, received his early musical training there as a chorister at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, later becoming an adult member of. the choir. In 1937, as a result of much encouragement from the Irish tenor John McCormeck, he went to England to study singing. He has given song recitals in the BBC’s Third Programme. Jan Van Der Gucht began singing lessons after leaving school, but soon dropped the idea of a career as a vocalist and worked in a brewery for five years, At the end of that time he changed his mind again and spent his savings on training his\ voice, studying under Cuthbert Smith and Sir George Henschel. His first professional engascement was with the BBC. Songs from the English Countryside is at present on 3YC’s Friday evening programmes. It will go to 1YA or 1YC next month, ~

KIWIS TAKE THE AIR

NIEW ZEALAND'S Dominion Day *" (September 26) will be. commemorated in the General Overseas Service of the BBC by Kiwis. Take the Air, a programme by New Zealanders for New Zealanders everywhere (Saturday, 6.30 p.m. and 12.0 midnight, and Sunday, 11.15 a.m., .N.Z. time). The compere is Ted Kavanagh, well-known writer of ITMA_~ and other’ BBC shows. He will introduce first a fellow Aucklander, 26-year-old . John .Hauxwell (pronounced Hovell), who has been

singing only five years and has already

won London success. When. Hauxwell came out of the Air Force in | 1946 he joined the |

staff of 1ZB and took up singing sericusly after one of his senior officers had "discovered" him singing in. a washreom. He has been appearing in several BBC productions, including Varietv’ Ban © .x and a new Max Kester children’s serial, Then come two singers from TimaruMarie Campbell and Leslie Andrewsin private Mr. and Mrs. Andrews, who went to England five years ago and have since done a great deal radio and television work, toured Britain with the Arts Ceuncil. Opera Players and given. solo and duet recitals. Alan Loveday, the New Zealand violinist who toured this country this — year, will © be heard in Variations on. a Theme ,by Kreisler, to the accompanimerit of his English wife, fRuth Stanfield, "Finally listeners will hear Inia Te -Wiata, who has .won a proud place in the Covent Garden. Opera’ Company. The _ programme, Which is produced by Glyn Jones, will’ include the BBC Variety Orchestra conducted bv Paul Fenoulhet.