The China Mail, 1925-05-30

The China Mail, 1925-05-30

UNMUSICAL HONGKONG?

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MUNICIPAL ORCHESTRA REQUIRED.

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SINGAPORE EXAMPLE

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Excellent Chance for the Colony's Amateurs.

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The setting afoot in Singapore of a municipal music scheme raises once more the question how much longer Hongkong is going to lag behind in the matter of the provision of facilities for the many who enjoy listening to good music.

A recent visitor to the Colony, a musician of no small attainments, who had been very favourably impressed with Hongkong in nearly all respects, confused to great surprise, in the course of an interview with a "China Mail" representative, that there was no municipal orchestra or band here.

In reply to his question as to whether there had been no attempt made to test the demand for the entertainment such an orchestra could give, the reporter informed him that a military band had been put at the disposal of the community for a period last summer and had attracted large numbers over at Kowloon, although it had proved a financial loss for the Kowloon Residents' Association, under whose auspices it had been conducted. The band's selections also had been much appreciated in Statue Square.

The musician, who had had some experience of municipal music at Home and had been in the Colony long enough to gauge the local temperament to a certain extent, was of the opinion that such a scheme could be tun here with little, if any, financial loss, for the reason that the band would be always open to accept engagements. More suitable for Hongkong would be a party of amateurs under a professional conductor, he thought, and in that case the expense involved would be limited practically to expenditure on instruments and salary of the conductor.

He had understood when in Singapore that the authorities were confident the scheme along those lines just started there would put but little tax on the municipal pocket. An ex-military man was to conduct and the majority of other members were recruited from the Police Force. If the talent among members of the Police Force in Hongkong was not sufficient his suggestion was that the scope should be extended to other services. If it was the expense which was keeping the Hongkong Government from setting afoot such a scheme the lead of Singapore would be a better one to follow rather than that the expense of maintaining an entirely professional band should be borne, for he understood that the municipal band at Shanghai, consisting of professionals, had involved heavy loss.

Asked if there was any criterion on which to form a more definite opinion of the music receptivity of Hongkong people, the reporter recalled the concert given by the band of the East Surrey Regiment at the City Hall on April 2 when a very large audience sat out a long programme to the end and obviously enjoyed every minute of it. The works of Beethoven, Tschaikowsky, Wagner, Becker, Ansell and Sullivan had figured in the programme that night. There would be little difficulty in obtaining the services of a very capable leader, the reporter thought, and the opinion of the musician interviewed was that if this was so there was no reason from the observations he had made why a scheme should not be put in hand and prove most successful.