Making Music at the Bottom of the World in Southland, Aotearoa/New Zealand

Making Music at the Bottom of the World in Southland, Aotearoa/New Zealand

Edited by

Sally Bodkin-Allen

Making Music at the Bottom of the World in Southland, Aotearoa/New Zealand Edited by Sally Bodkin-Allen This book first published 2020 Cambridge Scholars Publishing Lady Stephenson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2020 by Sally Bodkin-Allen and contributors All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-5275-4521-0 ISBN (13): 978-1-5275-4521-2

Thank you to my husband Dene, and my children Nick, Finn, Ruby, Meadow and Will, all part of the musical landscape in Invercargill, Aotearoa. This book acknowledges you, and all of the musicians like you. Thank you for making my life the noisy, busy, chaos that it is!

TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables ............................................................................................. ix List of Figures............................................................................................ xi Acknowledgements ................................................................................. xiii Chapter One ................................................................................................ 1 Introduction Sally Bodkin-Allen Chapter Two ............................................................................................... 7 Invercargill’s Orchestral Sounds: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives Henry Johnson Chapter Three ........................................................................................... 25 Kapa Haka in Murihiku: Ahakoa He Iti, He Pounamu Debbie Ruwhiu Chapter Four ............................................................................................. 45 Polyfest Sounding Out the Deep South Jared Mackley-Crump Chapter Five ............................................................................................. 67 The Southland Musicians’ Club: A Commentary Chris Chilton Chapter Six ............................................................................................... 81 A Thousand More Times: Reaching Out in Invercargill Susan West Chapter Seven ......................................................................................... 103 Left or Right and Independent Musical Practice in the “Deep South”: Succeeding on the Margins? Mike Holland

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Chapter Eight .......................................................................................... 121 What the Folk Do We Know? Brad MacClure Chapter Nine ........................................................................................... 139 The Sound of the “Invercargill March”: Young People and Brass Bands in Southland Sally Bodkin-Allen Contributors ............................................................................................ 159

LIST OF TABLES Table 2-1: New Zealand’s Main Orchestras ............................................. 10 Table 2-2: Invercargill Symphonia Activities Summary 2015-2016 ........ 17 Table 5-1: Kapa Haka Timeline 1900-2010 ............................................. 32

LIST OF FIGURES Figure 6-1: Thoughts about singing prior to an outreach ......................... 99 Figure 6-2: Thoughts about singing after an outreach .............................. 99 Figure 8-1. The bush band of the Foveaux Folk Club ............................ 127

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge the support of the Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) for this book. Thank you also to my colleagues in the Academic Support Office, and School of Music at SIT for all of their encouragement and support. Thank you also to Jo Whittle, I don’t think this book would have happened without her support at its outset. Thank you to all of the reviewers who have read and commented on the various chapters: Maddy Parkins-Craig, Peggy Fairbairn-Dunlop, Aiono Manu Faaea-Semeatu, Aaron Fox, Robert Legg, Georgia Pike, Jane Southcott, Linda Webb, Susan West, and Jeff Wragg. Your time and input is much appreciated.

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

SALLY BODKIN-ALLEN On March 20, 2013 I was sitting in the Civic Theatre in Invercargill watching the Southland Entertainment Awards for the first time. As the night wore on I grew more and more in awe of the community I lived in. Over the course of two and half hours an incredibly diverse range of musicians appeared on the stage: brass bands, pipe bands, musical theatre performers, covers band musicians, singer songwriters, professionals and amateurs. It was a true celebration of musicking, 1 with performers, managers, supporters, families, communities all being acknowledged. I had never imagined that there could be an event like this that brought together so many musicians from the local community to celebrate the multifariousness of the musical landscape in Southland. This book is inspired by that experience. It acknowledges and celebrates the diversity of music in Invercargill, Southland, New Zealand’s southernmost city. A city known for its wide, open streets, cheese rolls, friendly people and for (infamously) being referred to as “the arsehole of the world” by Mick Jagger or Keith Richards when the Rolling Stones visited in 1965. Like so many people who live in Invercargill, I am a born and bred Southlander. I left the city at 17 for university, (as many of its young people did and still do), never thinking I would be back to live permanently; yet somehow, something pulled me back. I returned to the city in my 30s with a young family, and now could not imagine living anywhere else. Some of the contributors to Making Music at the Bottom of the World in Southland Aotearoa/New Zealand are similarly linked to Invercargill. Like myself, Debbie Ruwhiu, Brad MacClure, and Chris Chilton were all born

1 Christopher Small, Musicking: The Meanings of Performing and Listening (Hanover: Wesleyan University Press, 1998).

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here. Australian Susan West now counts Invercargill as her second home. Michael Holland has spent extended periods of time in Invercargill, with local group Left or Right, the band he writes about here, and also as a tutor for the Southern Institute of Technology Audio Production School in 2016. Other contributors Henry Johnson and Jared Mackley-Crump are not local to Southland, but rather provide an outsider’s view with their chapters. Very little has been published about the music scene in Invercargill or indeed individual musical scenes in New Zealand. One signficant exception is Neil McKelvie’s 45 South in Concert,2 published in 2006. It provides a categorised and pictorial account of both covers and originals bands in Invercargill, and is an important record of this aspect of Southland’s music history. Another book worthy of mention here is Dunedin Soundings,3 a collection of chapters by staff at the University of Otago. Dunedin Soundings brings together perspectives from composers, producers, and musicians, linked by their location of Dunedin. It provides accounts of music that is written, performed and produced in this location, with a focus on creative practice. The emphasis of Making Music at the Bottom of the World in Southland Aotearoa/New Zealand is on the musicking activities within the city and the people who engage in them. Making Music at the Bottom of the World in Southland Aotearoa/New Zealand brings together a number of perspectives on various parts of the musical landscape of Invercargill. Henry Johnson’s chapter on the Invercargill Symphonia provides an historical background to the orchestra, as well as examining how this group of musicians functions in the present day. Johnson uncovers the ways this amateur orchestra contributes to the musical life of Invercargill and notes that it is important for the cultural vibrancy of the city. Debbie Ruwhiu’s chapter on the development of kapa haka in Murihiku (Southland) gives insight into a previously unexplored aspect of the music scene in Invercargill. Participants’ narratives are interwoven throughout, and Ruwhiu pays tribute to the people who have been integral to kapa haka here. Jared Mackley-Crump focuses on Murihiku Polyfest, a festival which has been a part of the Southland landscape since 2009. This chapter looks at the development and growth of the festival since its beginning, and analyses local media reporting of the event to show the ways Murihiku Polyfest displays Southland’s growing multiculturalism.

2 Neil McKelvie, 45 South in Concert (Invercargill: Southland Musicians’ Club, 2006). 3 Dan Bendrups and Graeme Downes, eds. Dunedin Soundings (Dunedin: Otago University Press, 2011)

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Chris Chilton is no stranger to the Invercargill music scene and his commentary on the Southland Musicians’ Club outlines the history and development of this iconic Southland institution. This chapter shows the ways that the Club has supported and encouraged music in Invercargill, highlighting the importance of music performance venues to local scenes. Outreach singing is relatively new to the music scene in Southland, and Susan West’s chapter outlines the growth of this form of altruistic music making in the south. West suggests that in Aotearoa in general, and Invercargill in particular, the community has been quick to respond to the concept of outreach singing, and has done so with genuine warmth and enthusiasm. Mike Holland’s contribution to Making Music at the Bottom of the World in Southland Aotearoa/New Zealand focuses on the band Left or Right, and their musical roots in Invercargill. Holland argues that the lack of a singular, strong originals scene or “sound” in Invercargill may have contributed to the group’s own diverse and multi-stylistic sound. Brad MacClure, another stalwart of the Southland music scene, as well as a graduate of the Southern Institute of Technology’s contemporary music degree, examines the folk scene in his chapter. He sheds light on a part of the musical landscape that may not be particularly well known to many readers, celebrating the stories and characters of this local subculture. The book ends with my chapter on the youth of the Ascot Park Hotel Auxiliary Brass Band in Invercargill. This chapter shows the ways music is embedded in the lives of these young brass band musicians in Southland, highlighting the value and intricacies of community music making. What is covered here is by no means a definitive account of Invercargill’s musical landscape. There are many, many more groups active in the local community which have not been included in this collection. The pipe band community in Invercargill is a well-established and long running group. Country and western music is another dominant scene not reflected here. Likewise, the Invercargill Musical Theatre has a strong role in the local community. There are community choirs, ukulele groups, singer songwriters, and metal, blues and jazz scenes, along with several other groups and styles. It is my hope that in the future others will take up the mantle and continue to explore the musicking that occurs at the bottom of Aotearoa. One of the aims of Making Music at the Bottom of the World in Southland Aotearoa/New Zealand has been to create a text that has academic rigour along with popular appeal. This is a difficult task. All of the chapters have been through a double peer review process, and I would like to thank and acknowledge the work of the many reviewers who have contributed to this

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book. Some of the contributors of chapters are experienced academic writers, while others are venturing into publication for the first time, or come from other fields such as journalism. One of the strengths of this book is that it brings together these different voices and styles. What comes through most clearly in this collection is the way the musicking of Invercargill musicians is interwoven. Individuals play across many different groups and genres, different groups come together to perform alongside each at public events such as the Santa Parade, and the Christmas in the Stadium concert, or to perform together at the biennial Proms concert. The Invercargill musical community does not appear to have many musical silos. Rather, there are multiple connections running through local schools, the Southern Institute of Technology, Out of School Music Classes, the Southland Musicians’ Club, and many other groups. This book is important for many reasons. The music scene in Invercargill is unique, being situated in one of the few regions to have a licensing trust which has a direct influence on so many facets of local musical life here. At the same time Invercargill will have commonalities with communities in other locations around Aotearoa. Making Music at the Bottom of the World in Southland Aotearoa/New Zealand provides insight into the musicking in one small city. It highlights the “wide and diverse range of cultural traditions, musical genres and practices which reflect and enrich the lives of participants and their broader communities.”4 It adds to the body of knowledge about musical practices in communities, illuminating themes of identity, place, connection and embeddedness. Bartlett et al. have identified three significant elements of community music making in case studies of community music in Australia and New Zealand: place making, social inclusion, and inspired and inspiring individuals.5 These elements resonate here in the accounts of Invercargill’s musical landscape. Perhaps what stands out the most, is the inspired and inspiring individuals who have contributed, and who continue to contribute, to the musical landscape of Invercargill, Aotearoa. This book celebrates them and their musicking.

He aha te mea nui o te ao. He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people,

it is people.

4 Brydie-Leigh Bartleet et al., “Community Music in Australia and New Zealand Aotearoa,” in Community Music Today, eds. Kari Veblen, et al. (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2013), 80. 5 Bartlett et al. “Community Music,” 81.

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References

Bartleet, Brydie-Leigh, Shelley Brunt, Anja Tait and Catherine Threlfall. “Community Music in Australia and New Zealand Aotearoa.” In Community Music Today, edited by Kari Veblen, Stephen Messenger, Marissa Silverman and David Elliott, 79-97. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2013.

Bendrups, Dan, and Graeme Downes, eds. Dunedin Soundings: Place and Performance. Dunedin, Otago University Press, 2011.

McKelvie, Neil. 45 South in Concert. Invercargill: Southland Musicians’ Club, 2006.

Small, Christopher. Musicking: The Meanings of Performing and Listening. Hanover: Wesleyan University Press, 1998.

CHAPTER TWO INVERCARGILL’S ORCHESTRAL SOUNDS:

HISTORICAL AND CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVES

HENRY JOHNSON

Introduction The orchestral sounds of western classical music are a meeting point of different instrument types, leadership skills, and audience reception. As an ensemble occupying a cultural sphere that produces an event that for many is considered a phenomenon and spectacle of creative practice in western classical music, the orchestra offers a fascinating site for the study and interpretation of social and cultural processes. With its roots firmly grounded in the cultural sphere of a bygone age, the orchestra in its contemporary guise has a role that attempts to meet the needs of an audience with a diverse musical palate. It reproduces music that is primarily of western origin; it plays contemporary music written in a range of pastiche or modern styles; and it has a place amongst musicians and audiences alike as a confluence of tradition, identity, and expression. This chapter has two main objectives. First, it will offer an historical perspective on orchestral music making in Invercargill. Second, it will analyze the place of such an ensemble in the present day at the southern end of the South Island of Aotearoa New Zealand. The approach taken in this research combines historical and interview methods. As well as documenting some of the significant moments in Invercargill’s history of orchestral music making, key informants have been interviewed with the aim of offering qualitative data that helps outline the place of orchestral musicking through personal memories, histories, and current practices. Through such approaches, the chapter offers a perspective of how orchestral

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music making has had an influence on the musical life of Invercargill both historically and in the present day. The Invercargill Symphonia is an amateur community orchestra named after its ensemble character and location in Aotearoa New Zealand’s southernmost city. With a history of active classical music appreciation and music making since the early days of European settlement in the mid nineteenth century, Invercargill nowadays has one main amateur orchestra that occupies a cultural sphere of significance in terms of its contribution to the musical sustainability of classical music in the city. Locations such as Invercargill are important sites for the study of such music making, especially because they occupy a space that is not only on the geographical periphery of the nation (at the southern end of the South Island), but also with regard to the size of its population, which is just over 50,000 and the tenth largest urban centre in New Zealand.1 In this context, and drawing on historical and interview data, this chapter offers an historical perspective on orchestral music making in Invercargill, as well as a study of contemporary practices with a particular focus on the history and existence of the Invercargill Symphonia. The account is not intended as a biography of players, conductors, or committee members, but, rather, provides a perspective on the institutional raison d'être of the orchestra in the modern day. As one of the nation's “many voices”2 and a type of micromusic3 that is seldom given the detailed scholarly attention it truly deserves, the Invercargill Symphonia offers a rich source for the study of “musicking”4 in a range of cultural spheres. As Bryant notes, Invercargill is particularly affected by its geographic isolation in terms of influences as well as a lack

1 Statistics New Zealand, “2013 Census Usually Resident Population Counts,” accessed October 7, 2016, http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/population/census_counts/2013CensusUsuallyResidentPopulationCounts_HOTP2013Census/Commentary.aspx; Statistics New Zealand, “2013 Census QuickStats About a Place,” accessed May 24, 2016, http://www.stats.govt.nz/Census/2013-census/profile-and-summary-reports/ quickstats-about-a-place.aspx?request_value=15112&tabname=. 2 Henry Johnson, ed., Many Voices: Music and National Identity in Aotearoa/New Zealand (Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2010). 3 Mark Slobin, Subcultural Sounds: Micromusics of the West (Hanover: University Press of New England, 1993). 4 Christopher Small, Musicking: The Meanings of Performing and Listening (Hanover: Wesleyan University Press, 1998).

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of musical linkages between orchestras.5 While this is true to a certain extent, as shown in this chapter, the Invercargill Symphonia does have some established links with other orchestras and is active in its own right as a local amateur community orchestra that has generated its own social and cultural capital. There are many ways to define community music-making, but, as Veblen comments, “community music is always shaped and defined by particular social settings”.6 In this context, the Invercargill Symphonia is a site of local and community importance in the ways it contributes to the musical well-being of Invercargill through its own sphere of orchestral music making. Scholarly research on orchestras in New Zealand includes several case studies of locations,7 specific orchestras,8 and some key general studies of music across the nation.9 The approaches taken in this chapter use pertinent literature and archival sources (e.g., minute books and correspondence), as well as knowledge gained through in-depth semi-structured interviews with key informants (e.g., current or former players). Each of the five interviews was carried out based on a semi-structured approach and with approval from the University of Otago Ethics Committee. Such an approach has allowed me to offer a study of the background of orchestral music making in Invercargill as well as the current practices of the Invercargill Symphonia. Unless shown otherwise, information is sourced from the interviews, which have remained anonymous. I draw also from research in the field of ethnomusicology, especially when looking at the social and cultural processes involved in orchestral music making.10

5 Michelle M. Bryant, “From Printed Score to Performance: Access and Collaboration in the New Zealand Orchestral Community” (Master of Library and Information Studies, Victoria University of Wellington, 2008), 33. 6 Kari K. Veblen, “The Many Ways of Community Music,” International Journal of Community Music 1, no. 1 (2008): 6. 7 For example, Philip Jane, “An Historical Survey of the Establishment of an Orchestral Tradition in Christchurch to 1939” (PhD diss., University of Canterbury, 2009); David Murray, “Raffaello Squarise (1856–1945): The Colonial Career of an Italian Maestro” (PhD diss., University of Otago, 2005). 8 For example, Joy Tonks, The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra: The First Forty Years (Auckland: Reed Methuen, 1986); Joy Tonks, Bravo!: The NZSO at 50 (Auckland: Exisle, 1996). 9 For example, Bryant, “From Printed Score to Performance;” John Mansfield Thomson, The Oxford History of New Zealand Music (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991). 10 For example, Marcia Herndon, “Cultural Engagement: The Case of the Oakland Symphony Orchestra,” Yearbook for Traditional Music 20 (1988): 134–145.

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Soon after migration from Britain to New Zealand had begun, New Zealand’s various centres began to create organizations that reflected similar ones to those back home. For example, the first Philharmonic Society was established in Wellington in 1848, with similar ones being founded soon after in many locations, and with Invercargill’s formed in 1864.11 In the years that followed there were also exhibition orchestras, film orchestras, radio orchestras, a centennial orchestra, various local orchestras, and, by 1946, a National Orchestra.12 Bryant has identified New Zealand’s main professional and amateur orchestras, which I have modified in Table 1 (there are a number of other groups found in various educational and amateur settings, but the ones listed stand out in terms of their visibility in specific locations).13 Table 2-1: New Zealand’s Main Orchestras

Orchestras Amateur/Community Orchestras New Zealand Symphony Orchestra Auckland Symphony Orchestra Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra Canterbury Philharmonia Orchestra Christchurch Symphony Orchestra Central Otago Regional Orchestra Dunedin Symphony Orchestra Greenhill Ensemble Vector Wellington Orchestra Hawke’s Bay Orchestra Invercargill Symphonia Manukau City Symphony Orchestra Manawatu Sinfonia Trust Waikato Symphony Orchestra Wellington Chamber Orchestra

While a number of these orchestras are outlined by Walls,14 a detailed description of the amateur orchestras that have existed in Invercargill is absent, presumably because of the size of the city, its geographic location, and its smaller orchestral activities when compared to larger New Zealand centres such as Auckland, Wellington, or Christchurch.15 Drawing on a

11 Peter Walls, “Orchestras – Nineteenth-century Orchestras. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 22-Oct-14, accessed October 19, 2016, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/orchestras/. 12 Walls, “Orchestras.” 13 Bryant, “From Printed Score to Performance,” 22. 14 Walls, “Orchestras.” 15 Douglas R. Harvey, A Bibliography of Writings About New Zealand Music Published to the End of 1983 (Wellington: Victoria University Press, 1985); The Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council of New Zealand, “Report on Orchestral Development

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range of texts on the history of Invercargill, I have brought together herein information about active community orchestral music making in Invercargill, which has had a long presence with a range of ensembles and activities.

Invercargill's Orchestras in Historical Perspective

Reflecting early Scottish and English influences, music ensembles such as the Caledonian Pipe Band of Invercargill was established in 1896 (known at the time as Southland Pipe Band), and the Invercargill Garrison Band was established in 1878 (having had several name changes and now known as the Ascot Park Hotel Brass Band).16 Other music ensembles included the Southland Choral Society, which was established in 1865, the Invercargill Garrison Band, which was established in 1867, and the Invercargill Orchestral Union, which was established in 1890. The late nineteenth century and early twentieth century witnessed an active orchestral community in Invercargill. The Invercargill Orchestral Union was the city’s main classical music orchestra,17 and by the beginning of the twentieth century, the Invercargill Musical Union was formed as a result of combining the Invercargill Choral Union with the Invercargill Orchestral Union.18 The Invercargill Orchestral Society formed the city’s orchestral hub in the second decade of the twentieth century, having been established in 1910. It was especially active during the period of the First World War and performed often in the Victoria Hall. Such was the participation in choral and orchestral activities early in the twentieth century, as part of an effort to raise funds for the First World War with “proceeds in aid of wounded soldiers’ fund”,19 a Coronation Choir and Orchestra was formed in 1915 with over 300 singers and instrumentalists, which was a collaboration with the Invercargill Orchestral Society. The event, which was held at the King’s Hall, had the following programme, which had a distinct theme connecting with the Allies and occupied nations of the First World War:

in New Zealand (Wellington: The Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council of New Zealand, 1973); Thomson, The Oxford History of New Zealand Music. 16 Murray, “Raffaello Squarise,” 86. 17 The Southland Times, September 25, 1890, 2. 18 Cyclopedia of New Zealand, “Otago & Southland Provincial Districts” (Christchurch: Cyclopedia Company Limited, [1905] 2015). 19 The Southland Times, October 11, 1915, 6.

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1. War March of the Priests. 2. “Let the Hills Resound with Song.” 3. Imperial March (Elgar). 4. Belgian National Anthem. 5. Russian National Anthem. 6. French National Anthem. 7. Rule Britannia. 8. God Save the King.20

Having already gone through a name change, in 1920 The Southland Times reported that the Invercargill Orchestral Society was proposing that it become known as the Municipal Orchestra and receive local Council support.21 W. J. Ferguson, the conductor of the Invercargill Orchestral Society, was interviewed by media at the time, when the teachers, number, and qualifications of some of the players were noted:

At present the string department included a pupil of Mr R. A. Edwards, also one of Signor Squarise’s22. . . . In the string portion there were nine first violins and twelve second violins, quite a good balance for an orchestra of 38. Among the first violins there were, three who hold the Professional Diploma Licentiate of the Royal Academy and Royal College of Music; two who hold the practical of the L.T.C.L. of Trinity College; one holding the practical certificate A.T.C.L., Trinity College, practical portion of L.T.C.L, Trinity College; one holding the practical portion of A.T.C.L., Trinity College-all professional diplomas.23

While the history of the Invercargill Symphonia is outlined in the next main section of this chapter, as a way of helping to show the range of orchestral opportunities for Invercargill musicians, a brief background of some current key orchestras in the lower South Island is now discussed. There are very few orchestral performance opportunities in Invercargill apart from playing in the Invercargill Symphonia. As a community orchestra, the Invercargill Symphonia provides a hub for amateur orchestral playing for those suitably skilled in this field of classical music performance. In this part of New Zealand, the Invercargill Symphonia is the city’s de facto orchestra, and in Dunedin, which is the closest city to Invercargill, there is one main orchestra (Dunedin Symphony Orchestra) and several smaller amateur groups. In

20 The Southland Times, October 11, 1915, 6. 21 The Southland Times, March 11, 1920; The Southland Times, April 17, 1920. 22 An influential conductor and violinist based in Dunedin: Murray, “Raffaello Squarise.” 23 The Southland Times, April 19, 2012.

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Central Otago, there is the Central Otago Regional Orchestra in Alexandra, which also has a Central Otago Regional Training Orchestra as part of its local activities for younger players. Orchestral playing does take place in Invercargill in the school context, where some smaller groups are in constant annual change depending on the availability of suitably skilled and interested students. One high school in Invercargill, James Hargest College, is particularly active with its classical music ensemble opportunities with smaller groups and an annual production that requires musical accompaniment. For example, James Hargest College has “a diverse range of musical opportunities in Orchestral, Choral, Contemporary and Theatrical Performances,” and “three annual multi levelled productions give huge numbers of students the opportunity to perform on stage in popular musicals, the most recent of which was Oliver. Every year we have our own orchestra providing the music.”24 On an occasional basis, occasional orchestral groups are formed in Invercargill. For example, the A Capella Singers has held some performances that have required a chamber orchestra, such as its performance of Saint-Saen’s Christmas Oratorio in 2014 that was held at the First Presbyterian Church auditorium on Tay Street.25 However, for such events, it is usually Invercargill Symphonia players who are asked to help form such ensembles. This type of cultural activity shows how the Invercargill Symphonia functions as a core base for orchestral performance from which Invercargill Symphonia players branch out for occasional performances that themselves help contribute to the city’s creative climate. The mobility of players within the city to help on such occasions reflects the limited number of orchestral performers in this limited size city on the one hand, and utilizes the cultural capital of classical performance in the city on the other. More widely, and reflecting the mobility of performers, some Invercargill orchestral players may join a youth orchestra, such as the South Island Youth Orchestra or the National Youth Orchestra, the latter of which has been organized by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra since its origins in 1959. Other youth opportunities for Invercargill-based orchestral players have included the Southland Youth Orchestra (currently obsolete) and within some school settings, such as at James Hargest College as noted above. Further, younger players (to the end of Year 8) are able to participate

24 James Hargest College, “Music,” accessed May 20, 2016, http://www.jameshargest.school.nz/pages/music/. 25 Invercargill Symphonia, “Timeline,” Facebook, December 1, 2014, accessed May 21, 2016, https://www.facebook.com/InvercargillSymphonia/timeline.

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in ensembles, including orchestras, within the Out of School music programme.26 One other orchestral activity in Invercargill is the Invercargill Orphans’ Club Orchestra, which is a very small amateur chamber group.27 Such various types of orchestral opportunities (locally, regionally, and nationally) is evident in the career of one double-bass player from Winton in Southland. This player received orchestral playing experience at the Central Southland College, Southland Youth Orchestra, Invercargill Symphonia, and is now a member of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.28 Another regional opportunity is the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra (formerly Southern Sinfonia), with which one member of the Invercargill Symphonia is currently a performer (discussed later).

The Invercargill Symphonia

While the Invercargill Symphonia dates in name from 1974, it has roots in “other local amateur orchestras”.29 During interviews for this chapter, some players mentioned that they had a general understanding that the Invercargill Symphonia was formed in the early 1970s, but they couldn’t be more exact. There was also a general assumption that other orchestral groups merged around the same time to help form the Invercargill Symphonia. Indeed, knowledge of groups prior to 1974 amongst most Invercargill Symphonia members is almost non-existent, although a few long-serving players who were interviewed could recall some earlier orchestras.

26 Out of School Music, accessed October 19, 2016, http://www.osmc.co.nz/. 27 Kindred Clubs, “Club history,” accessed May 1, 2018, http://www.kindredclubsnz.com/229659012. 28 Thomas Brown, “Value of School Music Tuition Demonstrated,” The Southland Times, April 3, 1997, 6. While not an Invercargill-based orchestra, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) is the country’s main professional orchestra and receives state funding through the Ministry for Culture and Heritage. As part of its annual performance activities, the NZSO tours New Zealand, and in 2016, for example, it visited 12 centres around the country and included one performance in Invercargill at the Civic Theatre: New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, “Season 2016” (Wellington: New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, 2016). 29 Charitable Services, “Invercargill Symphonia Incorporated,” accessed October 9, 2016, https://www.register.charities.govt.nz/CharitiesRegister/ViewCharity?accountId=8908c0e2-fba0-e011-91d0-00155d741101&searchId=cba9852c-7984-473e-a9e2-1adfebd85cbf.

Invercargill’s Orchestral Sounds 15

The main orchestra from which the Invercargill Symphonia evolved was the Invercargill City Orchestra (ICO).30 The ICO held its first general meeting on 16 February 1956 at the Southland Technical College on Tay Street.31 At the same meeting, it was resolved “that the members of the orchestra be enrolled as an Evening Class at the Technical College under the same terms and conditions as the former Junior Symphony Orchestra”. 32 The Invercargill Junior Symphony Orchestra (IJSO) was a forerunner of ICO and had its assets, including its bank account, absorbed into the ICO in 1956. 33 ICO’s connection with the Southland Technical College was consolidated with the appointment in 1956 of a College representative to the orchestra’s Board.34 Also at the same meeting an Invercargill Musical Union representative was appointed to the Board,35 thus showing a clear link with the city’s other musical institutions. In 1959, ICO closed its bank account in its own name and opened a new one in the name of Southland Technical College Senior Orchestra (STCSO), 36 which reflected the orchestra’s very close ties with the College. Further, the orchestra’s link with the College were strengthened even more with some obligations to perform for the College’s Annual Music Festival, among other events.37 The ICO performed at various locations in the city, including the RSA Memorial Hall on Deveron Street and the Civic Theatre on Tay Street. A one-off performance in 1960 was held at Kew (Southland) Hospital.38 It

30 One informant used the name Invercargill Civic Orchestra when referring to the orchestra, although this was never an official title. The name Invercargill Orchestra has been used on several occasions. One example, and offering an instance of a touring orchestra, was in 1967 when the orchestra performed at a parent-teacher end-of-year dance in the Community Hall, Hydro Village, Manapouri, which are about 150km from Invercargill: Manapouri Messenger, Manapouri messenger, no. 4 (November, 1967), 3, 5. 31 Invercargill City Orchestra, February 16, 1956. The Southland Technical College (est. 1912), which dropped the term “Technical” in 1968, became the site of Southland Polytechnic in 1972, and then the Southern Institute of Technology in 2000. 32 Invercargill City Orchestra, February 16, 1956. 33 Invercargill City Orchestra, March 1. 1956. 34 Invercargill City Orchestra, April 5, 1956. 35 Invercargill City Orchestra, April 5, 1956. 36 Invercargill City Orchestra, April 30, 1959. 37 One informant mentioned that the precursor of IS was named the Southland Technical College Orchestra, although it is unclear if that specific name was actually ever used. 38 Invercargill City Orchestra, September 24, 1959.

Chapter Two

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also performed at the Southland Technical College’s new assembly hall in 1966 amongst other venues.39 Throughout the 1950s and into the 1960s ICO had established a long and successful connection with the Southland College, and at one committee meeting it was agreed “that the College name appear in small print below the I.C.O. on the Programmes.”40 However, by 1973 there was some interest amongst committee members to move the orchestra elsewhere.41 Indeed, this was a turning point for ICO in that its place in what was now Southland Polytechnic was questioned: “Mr. Allot began a discussion of the future of the orchestra by saying that he feels the time has come for us to consider moving out from the Polytechnic.”42 At the same meeting a motion was passed to form a sub-committee to investigate such a move in more detail. As a result, the ICO committee proposed establishing a new incorporated orchestral society in 1974,43 and, after a public meeting, the committee agreed to transfer all of its assets to the Invercargill Symphonia Inc,44 which included the bank account that was still in the name of the Southland College Senior Orchestra.45 Invercargill Symphonia was formed as an incorporated society in 1974 (as of 2011 it also became a registered charity – Charitable Services 2016), with the full legal name of The Invercargill Symphonia Incorporated (New Zealand Companies Office 1983). It was formed with the following objectives:

a) To teach the playing of musical instruments both solo and in concert. b) To promote the advancement and the study of music. c) To do all such things as are incidental or conducive to the attaining

of the above objects including the formation and maintenance of an orchestra.46

39 Invercargill City Orchestra, May 31, 1966. 40 Invercargill City Orchestra, November 4, 1969. 41 Invercargill City Orchestra, June 26, 1973. 42 Invercargill City Orchestra, June 26, 1973. 43 Invercargill City Orchestra, March 26, 1974. 44 Invercargill City Orchestra, May 29, 1974. 45 Deed, “Between Michael David Ferns and Shirley Lyness,” June 21, 1974. 46 New Zealand Companies Office, 1983, accessed June 1, 2018, www.societies.govt.nz.