Fifth Korea Concert Party

New Zealand Listener, Volume 31, Issue 779, 25 June 1954, Page 21

Fifth Korea Concert Party

NEw ZEALAND’S fifth Korea Concert Party will leave on June 30 for Japan and Korea as part of the entertainment scheme arranged for the British Commonwealth Division, who are still on garrison duty in the recent war area. The leader of. the party will be Ces Morris, of Auckland, a magician and card-trick expert, who was formerly a member of the Kiwi Concert Party. The other members are Pat McMinn, of Auckland, pops vocalist and comedienne; Jean Kirk-Burnnand, of Dunedin, solo pianist and accompanist; John Reidy, of Auckland, comedian; and Johnny Cooper, of Wellington, cowboy. singer. The artists in the party have been selected by the NZBS in conjunction with the Army Department, and their show, which is planned on the lines of a small

revue, will be produced and rehearsed by the NZBS_ before departure. Rehearsals will begin at Narrow Neck Camp in Auckland one week before leaving. The party will spend a month in Korea and two weeks in Japan. The Commonwealth entertainment scheme for Korea allows for a visit each month by a team from one of the Commonwealth countries.. The New Zealanders first went there in August, 1952, and a new team has gone up regularly every six months since then. The concert party entertains all units of the Division, which includes British, Australians and Canadians, as well as New Zealand troops. Their past visits have been very popular with the Division, according to Ulric Williams, who led some of the previous parties and is in charge of the rehearsals of the present group. Pat McMinn will sing the popular songs which always seem to get most applause in army shows. She is well known in Auckland as a radio and dance band singer, and has done outstanding work at Papakura Camp concerts in recent months, where she has developed a considerable talent as a comedienne, She was a member of the second Korea Concert Party in 1953.