'A 'Royal Military Theatre' was established on Marsland Hill, where, in 1858, 'Sheridan's celebrated Tragedy in 5 Acts, entitled Pizarro was staged; The Bride of Lammermoor-The Story of Which is Familiar to every reader of Scott's unrivalled Novel-as well as farces like How to Pay the Rent, and The Farce of the Tiger. 7 It was war which brought military music to New Plymouth. The various British regiments stationed in the town had their own bands, and on 2 April, 1859, the first civilian band in New Zealand was formed in "Mr Manby's Musical Hall in New Plymouth'." The 'civilians' were men of the Taranaki Militia and Rifles, and 26 volunteers offered their services. Manby was conductor of the Philhar- monic Society, and although his volunteers knew little about music, he had them sufficiently trained a year later, on instruments brought by the troopship Blue Jacket, to 'welcome the British Imperial Forces rein- forcements as they landed in the settlement during the Maori Wars. They played the Volunteers' Regimental march The British Grenadiers and the National Anthem as they marched through the streets of the settlement' .9 This group of musicians had achieved a high standard of proficiency by the time they were disbanded in 1866 and the' volunteers' returned to their devastated or damaged homes. Three who did not lose interest were Thomas Hughes, James Paul and George Garry. Hughes formed a Town Cavalry Band in 1876 and the Smart Road Band a year later, both of which performed at public functions in the town. In 1880 the New Plymouth Regimental Band was formed, with Paul (then the Mayor) as its president and cornetist, and Garry as conductor. All three were prominent in band affairs until early this century when the New Plymouth Citizens' Band was formed. In 1923 the two bands were amalgamated into the Taranaki Regimental and New Plymouth Municipal Band, with F. W. G. McLeod as conductor. This was disbanded in 1950 when the present New Plymouth City Band was established with Lionel Hall as bandmaster. This combination has won many provincial and national contests. Several instrumentalists have been selected as members of the National Band of New Zealand. Among them were Dennis Taylor (cornet) 1965; Jeffrey Mulraney (baritone) 1978; and Ernie Ormrod, son of the well-known radio band commentator (tuba), 1965-1967, and as an administrator in 1974 and 1976. Ormrodjoined the City Band in 1957 and served, as player, executive member and president for 22 years. Stewart Cowie toured with the 1953 and 1980 National Bands. The conductor of the band since 1974, Trevor Bremner, was a member of the National Band in 1962 and 1965.
Other bands in New Plymouth have included the Caledonian Society's Highland Pipe Band (formed in 1922), the City of New Plymouth Highland Pipe Band (1948), the Salvation Army Band (1899) and the Boy's High School Band (1917), all of which performed with distinction at New Zealand's first band centennial in Pukekura Park in 1961, and have continued to give their services at many public and private functions. New Plymouth has always had its share of talent in the music and drama sphere. In 1858 'that famous singer Mrs Bryan' gave a series of three concerts in the Masonic Hall, assisted by the newly-formed Philharmonic Society. In the lengthy critique of her 'farewell concert' to a crowded audience, the Herald said: 'The Songs Scenes That Are B,:ightest, Kathleen Mavoureen, and Home Sweet Home were all sung WIth good taste and feeling ... the vocal and instrumental parts taken by the (Philharmonic) Society members, though valuable accessories, properly occupied a subsidiary place ... we have only one suggestion to offer-that it would tend to general convenience during these long winter evenings that performances were commenced not later than 7 o'clock. Thursday's concert was announced for 8 o'clock, but what with the tuning of instruments and other delays it was half past 8 before it was commenced. ' The Garrick Club, established in the 1860s, amde a speciality of staging performances in the Masonic Hall of Gilbert and Sullivan musical comedies 'which would do credit to any professional company.'IO Not everyone appreciated the efforts of these amateur performers, and behaviourists who criticise today's youth say little that is new: 'At concerts and other entertainments young lads-many of them old enough to know better-congregate and behave themselves disgrace- fully; they stand upon seats, keep their hats on; use foul language in loud . tones and pass rude and filthy remarks on the performers, especially if ladies appear on the stage. They whistle, shout and stamp like idiots and altogether make it unpleasant to sit near them ... the police would do all in their power to eradicate the nuisance if they were communicated with'. This was in 1882!' I These buffons were, of course, in the minority, as they have always been, and their behaviour did not deter the many dedicated musicians and teachers, most of whom gave recitals and concerts. Many years later a different age-group was misbehaving itself in a manner which prompted Miss Evelyn Dowling to write to the editor of the Hera ld: 'May I bring forward an objection on behalf of conductors and performers to the apparently quite harmless habit of knitting during performances. To a person concentrating on giving his best it is most disconcerting to see the flashing of needles with their monotonous movement. On behalf of lecturers and musicians I make a plea for consideration from our most industrious friends.'
From the early 1920s Miss Dowling was a prominent figure in the town's musical development. She conducted large violin classes for which she charged each pupil 5 c a lesson. She was a founder member of the New Plymouth branch of the British Music Society which ex- perimented with choral and string groups. Her lifetime of work with young musicians is commemorated with a scholarship donated annually to promising students. She was also a keen swimmer and it was not long before she had encouraged lady swimmers to become members of her numerically powerful Ladies' Life-saving Orchestra. Miss Constance Leatham, one ofthe city's most talented pianists, was a daughter of Dr H. B. Leatham. She gave her first public concert in 1920 while still a schoolgirl, and in 1978, at the age of 86, she gave a piano recital in aid of charity before a packed house. She died in 1979. It was the highly qualified Miss Vinnie Ross, for more than 40 years one of the town's leading music teachers, who, in July, 1938, formed the nucleus of the present City Orchestra conducted by Miss Joan Fearn. This met with varying success (it went into recess during World War Two and was revived in 1945) until the arrival in the town of Willi· Komlos, a Hungarian, in 1956. Under his leadership the orchestra, plus singers from the long established Choral Society which had sponsored his visit, and amateur dancers, acquired national notice with their performance ofthe city's first big opera Orpheus . A professional singer, Donald Munro, took the lead. Komlos also produced The Bartered Bride, Merrie England, The Emerald Isle and The Mikado, all of which revealed his masterly all-round technique. It was a sad day for New Plymouth music when Komlos left for Holland, but his influence remained. Under the successive leadership of Murray Hewson (then a programme organiser for Radio Taranaki), Ian Menzies, and Harry Brown, the orchestra maintained its strength and reputation. Menzies, music adviser to the Taranaki Education Board, also formed the City Choir after the Philharmonic Society and the Choral Society went into recess. Brown, music master at the Girls' High School, also conducted the City Band, lifting it to A grade status, and in addition formed the powerful Ars Nova Choir, which in 1979 performed Bach's St Matthew Passion in Wellington Cathedral, with the Phoenix Choir. The New Plymouth Opera house in Devon Street has, under various names, occupied the same site since 1883 when, as the Alexandra Hall built by a group of businessmen, it was the venue for many local and visiting entertainers. It was later acquired by F. A. Carrington, from whose executors it was bought by M. J. Jones in 1901. Jones spent a considerable amount on enlargements and improvements before selling it, in 1904, to the New Plymouth Theatre Company.
Chairman of directors was W. Bewley and among the directors was James Paul, who had some years previously transferred his brewery from the site now occupied by the Opera House stage. Renamed the Theatre Royal, the building continued to be the centre of New Plymouth's activities as a cinema and as a venue for amateur and professional theatrical performances. Many touring companies, most of them from Australia, kept the public well served with music and plays, with performances often of outstanding merit. Nellie Melba, John Mcf'ormack, Chaliapin, Jan Kubelik, Clara Butt, and Gallicurci were among those who drew capacity audiences. On July 21, 1916, following the showing of a silent war film, The Martyrdom of Nurse Cavell, the Theatre Royal was destroyed by fire, and the site stood empty for several years. In 1923 the town's two cinema companies, Taranaki Amusements and People's Pictures, pooled their resources to establish the New Plymouth Opera House Company with $60,000 capital. T. H. Bates, who had been involved in building the Mayfair Theatre, designed the Opera House and the contract of $49,554 was won by J. T. Julian and Son. The building was opened by the Mayor, F. E. Wilson, on November 25, 1925. Because of the depression, and World War Two, the company was in debt for much of the time and it was not until 1943 that investors received their first dividend-2%. In 1933 J. C. Williamson Picture Corporation, later known as Kerridge Odeon, leased the Opera House. But this, too, was unprofitable and in 1969 the Opera House Company decided to sell out. An offer to the New Plymouth City Council was refused because of difficulties of obtaining loan money for such an old building. The council was also reluctant to become involved in running a theatre enterprise. For many years before World War One New Plymouth had an enthusiastic, if small, amateur operatic company, but with the coming of talking pictures public interest shifted and the company went into recess in 1935. The Junior Chamber of Commerce resuscitated it with their Christmas pantomime in 1950. This was such a success that the following year Mother Goose was produced, and the Jaycees decided to revive the Operatic Society, drawing on members of Little Theatre, choral and harmonic groups, choirs, and students of the town's dancing academies. Erika Lagore produced the first musical in the Opera House, a revue called December Song, in 1952. Since then annual productions have become more lavish, perhaps the most prestigious of which were My Fair Lady in 1974 and Joseph and the Many Coloured Dreamcoat in 1976. But the attendance at 15,000 for The Sound of Music in 1967 has never been exceeded. In 1970 the Operatic Society, which had its headquarters in an old Freemason's Hall in Robe Street, was the only group using the Opera House with any regularity. Realising the old theatre's latent possibilities, the society began negotiations with the owners, who reduced their price to $80,000 (the Government valuation was $135,000).