Auckland Notes

Radio Record, Volume III, Issue 31, 14 February 1930, Page 6

Auckland Notes

(By

Call Up

HE special broadcast by 1YA on relay of the concert which the Hamilton Orchestral Society were going to’ give on board a steamer moored in the Waikato, could not be carried out on Wednesday evening, as no boat was available. ‘The 1YA authorities only received short notice of this, but arranged a studio concert in its place. LOVERS of classical music who listen to 1YA will be pleased to hear that a series of nights devoted to individual composers-has been arranged. The first will be a Schubert night on February 21; March 11 will be a Verdi night, and the evening of March 31 will be devoted to Haydn, that being the anniversary of his birth. 1YA hope to make a feature of famous composers’ works on their anniversaries. LASt Tuesday (February 4) evening, Uncle George (Rev. George Coats), was given a farewell by the other Uncles and Aunts of 1YA on the occasion of his last appearance before the microphone before his departure for a lengthy holiday abroad. Uncle George has been with 1YA for two years, and during that time has endeared himself to a large number of Auckland children. (SINDERELLA (Miss Palmer), of 1YA, will be away on a fortnight’s holiday after February 15. Mr. Culford Bell, announcer, will resume on February 16. EVERAL people have expressed their opinion to "Call Up" that the switches between the studios at 1YA leak, quoting as evidence the interfer ence of an orchestra with the concert from the Lewis Eady Hall on Friday night (January 31). They believed that the interfering music came from the

~---. 1YA. Orchestra practising in one of the station studios. There certainly was interference, but it came from the Majestic Theatre, where someone had thoughtlessly inserted a plug, so that the outside music was from the talking pictures. MAY listeners would appreciate a fuller news service, but copyright restrictions prevent this. There is a suggestion that the Broadcasting Company should be admitted as a member of the New Zealand Press Association, and that each station should receive all the association’s news, but this would mean a great deal of extra expense and labour for the station officials in editing and arranging the "copy." Another suggestion is that there should be a Sunday night news bulletin, as is given in England and elsewhere, but this is

impossible at present owing to the fact that no news is received on Sundays. The main weakness in the 1YA news service at present is that, with the silent night on Monday, country listeners hear no news between Saturday and Tuesday night, which provides some of them with a real grievance. N experienced Auckland electrical man, with a proved and _ tested eight-valve set assures "Call Up" that reception of 1YA is seriously interfered with in the south-eastern part of the province by the Coromandel Range, which contains heavy mineral deposits. He said that for several months recently he had his set ip Morrinsville, and could never get 1YA satisfactorily, although southern stations came in excellently.