The beginnings and development of a New Zealand music: The life ...

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subsequently accepted by, the Government:
"I) To arrange in collaboration with the Provincial
Committees for a series of musical festivals in
Dunedin, Christchurch, Auckland, and Wellington
during the months of May and June, 1940.
2) To engage a Musical Director and Conductor, and four
principal singers (soprano, contralto, tenor, and bass),
whose services would be made available to the Provincial
Committees for such festivals.
3) To assemble a full-time National Centennial Orchestra
to provide, in conjunction with local artists, the
orchestral requirements of the Festivals.
4) To arrange for the presentation of an opera as a part
of the Festivals, and to provide the services of the
conductor and principal singers, and also the necessary
scenery and costumes.
5) To organize through the Provincial Committees, competitions
for choirs and string quartets, and a One-act Play
Competition; elimination contests to be held throughout
the provinces, with the semi-finals in the four main
centres and finals in Wellington. Prizes to be
awarded, and the transport expenses of the semi-final
winners to Wellington to be met by the National
Committee.
6) To arrange a competition for original compositions to
include orchestral work, choral work, stage play, and
radio play. Prizes to be awarded by the National
Committee."11
The Musical Director and Conductor engaged by the Committee was
Anderson Tyrer, the soprano Isobel Baillie, the contralto Gladys Ripley,
the tenor Heddle Nash and the bass Oscar Natzke. Two other singers,
bass-baritone Raymond Beatty and baritone Frank Birmingham, were also
engaged. The opera that was to be presented was Gounod's Faust, conducted
by Anderson Tyrer and produced by Harrison Cook of Wellington. 12
Steps were taken, in 1939, towards the formation bf the proposed
National Centennial Orchestra through the establishment of the National
Broadcasting Service String Orchestra under the leadership of the English
violinist Maurice Clare. This string orchestra was formed with the
express intention of providing a working nucleus for the formation of the
full orchestra in 1940.
II ibid.
12 ibid. pp.28-30.