Balfour

New Zealand Tablet, 30 October 1913, Page 53

Balfour

The, annual Catholic concert was held recently in the-Balfour Hall,- which was crowded; to the doors (writes a correspondent). Mr. John Fitzshnmons occupied the chair, and' Rev. Father. O'Neill also occupied a seat on the stage. The chairman briefly outlined the object for which the concert was held and complimented the committee on the excellent programme which had been prepared. The opening item was a Polynesian war . song by Miss Troadec. Mr. Griffiths (Lumsden) sang ' True till death,' and in the second part 'The dear little shamrock,' for which he received a wellmerited encore, responding with ' Queen of the earth.' Miss Stirling (Lumsden) gave an excellent rendering of ' Asleep in the deep' and was twice recalled in the second part for her rendering of Slumber :j sea' and 'No one knows.' Mr. J. Liddell, who is the possessor of a splendid tenor voice, gave The old Scotch songs ' with much effect, and later on was recalled for his singing of 'Marching to the front.' Miss Elston (Lumsden) sang very sweetly T 'Sweet Asthore.' For an encore she submitted Lovers' lane,' and later she sang ' My dream.' Mr. oTShea,0 T Shea, a youthful singer of much promise, was much appreciated for his items, ' When the sunset turns the ocean blue to gold ' and ' Don't go down in the mine, dad.' Miss Mulqueen was another vocalist who completely captivated her audience with her rendering of ' Rory darling.' She had to respond to an imperative recall, and gave Allen Doone's A toast to Ireland.' Miss Sheed and Mrs. Rasmussen sang very feelingly the duets • Sing me to sleep' and 'Erin,' being encored for the latter number. Mr. Orr (Lumsden) was in particularly fine

voice, and won well-merited applause for his songs ' The old brigade' and ' The Bedouin love song.' Mr. W. Andrews (Pahiwi), who is always a' favorite with a Balfour audience, ably sustained his reputation with his recitation, The groom's story/ Mr. Wm. Robinson was recalled for his- comic item 'Near it,' and in response repeated the last verse. Mr. Stfathairn gave the character song, 'l'll have to call him, father,' in costume, and in the second part of the programme sang ' Och, go on,' for which he was recalled and gave The day we packed the basket.' Mr. Shelton (Riversdale) completely brought down the house with his comic items, and received a double encore each time he appeared, his rendering of ' His single hair being particularly humorous. The accompaniments were tastefully played by Misses Stirling, Elston, Sheed, Mulqueen, Fitzgerald, and Mrs. G. Small (Lumsden). At the conclusion of the concert the chairman thanked the public for turning out in such large numbers, and also the performers for their assistance,, making special mention of the singers who came from Lumsden at great personal inconvenience to themselves, and who had in a large measure helped : to make "the entertainment the success it undoubtedly was. Refreshments, which were, supplied in abundance by the ladies, were handed round.