Opening of Dunedin Town Hall

Radio Record, Volume III, Issue 31, 14 February 1930, Page 5

Opening of Dunedin Town Hall

A Week of Musical Treats

UXTEN SIVE preparations have been made with respect to the celebrations attached to the opening of the néw Dunedin Town Hall. The entertainments which have been arranged are of a standard well in keeping with the magnificence of the building which is to be opened. These entertainments will commence on Saturday evening (February 15) and will continue during the following week. Saturday Evening. [THE official opening ceremony takes place on Saturday evening at 8 o’clock. A procession headed by the Mayor, Mr. R. 8S, Black, will advance to the stage, when the National Anthem will be sung. Mr. W. G. Price (musical director) will be at the organ, Miss Meda Paine will be the soloist, and Dr. V. B. Galway the conductor. Then will follow an address by the Mayor and the singing of the festival "Te Deum," with accompaniment by an orchestra of stringed instruments, brass and organ. There will be a vote of thanks to the donors of the organ, the speech on behalf of the city being made by Councillor H. L. Tapley, C.M.G. A further vote of thanks to the Bristol Piano Company and Messrs. Chas. Begg and Company fot gifts of concert grand pianos will be moved in a speech by Councillor J. J. Olark. After the singing of "Worthy is the Lamb" and "Amen," the evening’s programme will close with the singing of the National Anthem. Sunday Afternoon. ON Sunday afternoon the opening of the new Town Hall will be celebrated by a service held under the auspices of the Council of Christian Congregations. The programme will include the singing of "Jerusalem" and the "Hallelujah Chorus" by the choir. There will be an address by the Rey. W. B. Hamblett, president of the Counceil of Christian Congregations. Monday Evening. Monpay evening’s programme will be presented by the combined male voice choirs of Dunedin (Royal Dunedin Male Choir, Returned Soldiers’ Choir and Commercial Travellers’ Association) and the Dunedin Orchestral Society. ’ ‘ The first half of the programme will be devoted to the rendition of the symphonic ode, "The Desert." The soloist will be Mr. Alf Walmsley. Dr. V. E. Galway will conduct. In the second half of the programme the Dunedin Orchestral Society, under Mr. Jas. Coombs, will play the "Grand March" from "Tannhauser," Ronald’s "Garden of Allah," "Traumerei," "Chanson Triste’ and "Moses in Hgypt." Numbers by the respective choirs will include Buek’s "Chorus of Spirits," "Swing Low Sweet Chariot," "Shenandosh," "Autumn Sea," "Martyrs of the Arena," and "Land of Hope and Glory," the last being by the combined choirs, under Mr. John 'T. Leech. The soloist in "Chorus of Spirits" will be Mr. W. Satterthwaite.

Organ Recital for Tuesday. N Tuesday evening the first organ recital by Dr, W. G. Price, of Melbourne, will be given. Assisting vocal artists will be Madame Winnie Fraser and Mr. John T. Leech, with the Dunedin Philharmonic Society, under the conductorship of Signor Squarise. The official accompanist will be Mr. Charles A. Martin, L.A.B. The programme to be presented will be a musical treat. "Messiah" on Wednesday. ON Wednesday evening MHandel’s "Messiah" will be presented by the combined choirs of the city, consisting of the Dunedin Choral Society and representatives from the Royal Dunedin Male .Choir, Returned Soldiers’ Choir, Commercial Travellers’ Choir, Miss Ida White’s Ladies’ Choir, and Miss Meda Paine’s Ladies’ Choir. The soloists will be Miss Meda Paine, Miss Mary Pratt, Mr. Hrnest Drake, and Mr. Lawrence A. North. The conductor will be Dr. V. BE. Galway, and the chorus master Mr. H,. P. Desmoulins. The opening number for the évening prior to the "Messiah" will be the singing of the National Anthem, as arranged by Sir Edward Hlgar for choir, soloist, orchestra and organ. Friday Afternoon for Children. PRIDAY afternoon is set aside for a children’s celebration, when pupils from all the schools in the city will take part. This will commence at 2pm. The singing of the National Anthem, a civic address and a brief organ recital will occupy 20 minutes. The entertainment of the children will comprise brass band and orchestral selections, part-songs and choruses, action songs, rhythmic dances, a violin solo, a playette, folk dances and a physical display. The entertainments on Saturday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings will be relayed to 3YA for broadeast from the Christchurch station.