http://waikato.researchgateway.ac.nz/ Research Commons at the University of Waikato Copyright Statement: The digital copy of this thesis is protected by the Copyright Act 1994 (New Zealand). The thesis may be consulted by you, provided you comply with the provisions of the Act and the following conditions of use: Any use you make of these documents or images must be for research or private study purposes only, and you may not make them available to any other person. Authors control the copyright of their thesis. You will recognise the author’s right to be identified as the author of the thesis, and due acknowledgement will be made to the author where appropriate. You will obtain the author’s permission before publishing any material from the thesis. The Community Arts Service: History and Social Context. A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Music at The University of Waikato By Phillippa Ulenberg _____________ The University of Waikato 2009 Abstract The Community Arts Service (CAS, 1946-1966), founded after World War Two, took tours of music, drama, opera, dance and art exhibitions to smaller centres and isolated rural areas throughout New Zealand, fostering the cultural activities undertaken by local groups. From the Auckland University College, where it originated as a branch of Adult Education, it spread to the other University College provinces and, beyond New Zealand, to Australia. As Adult Education, CAS programmes emphasised educational value and aimed to develop the tastes and level of culture in the participating communities. The Service operated through local CAS committees, encouraging rural centres to take increasing responsibility for the cultural life of their own communities. Following World War Two, themes of nationalism, decentralisation of culture and correcting the imbalances that existed between rural and urban life so as to create a more egalitarian society, were key issues in New Zealand. The CAS played a significant role in redressing these concerns but to date, have received little critical attention. This thesis, which examines the important role of the Service in the musical and artistic life of twentieth century New Zealand, is an original contribution to the cultural history of this country. Main documentary research sources consulted were regional histories, publications on New Zealand music, theatre, ballet, opera and journals on the arts from the period. Diaries, correspondence, local cultural societies’ documentation and programmes of past concerts held in private collections have been valuable. The archival material for Arthur Owen Jensen and Ronald Graeme Dellow (Alexander Turnbull Library) and, the records of Auckland Adult Education (University of Auckland, Special Collections) have been a significant help. People who were involved with the CAS have generously contributed through interviews and correspondence. Newspaper cuttings in private collections and past issues of the Waikato Times held in the Hamilton Public Library have also been important sources. ii Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge the direction and kind assistance given by Dr. Kirstine Moffat and Dr. William Dart, the supervisors of this thesis. Their encouragement and support has been invaluable throughout the year. Thanks are also due to the librarians at the University of Auckland, Special Collections, the Alexander Turnbull Library and the Hamilton Public Library. Interviews and correspondence with people who were involved with the Community Arts Service as performers or local organisers have enlivened the account and have brought the valuable perceptions that come with hindsight. I am indebted to many people, but would particularly like to thank Peg Dewes (née Barnett) for the hours of her time and for making available her considerable private papers. Honor McKellar, Rosalie Carey (née Seddon), Diana Morcom (née Stephenson) and Margaret Crawshaw consulted years of private letters and notebook entries, and loaned precious scrapbooks and photos. I am most grateful for the assistance given by all the people who generously agreed to interviews, for the precious memories, valuable information and correspondence. Finally, I would like to thank my family and friends who have shown much patience, consideration and support. My daughter, Phillippa Walsh, has also drawn the maps which are in Appendix Two. iii Contents Chapter One: Introduction p. 1 Chapter Two: The Musicians and the Repertoire p. 21 Chapter Three: Community Arts Service Theatre p. 60 Chapter Four: Audiences, Venues, Pianos: the Community Arts Service p. 83 and the Communities Chapter Five: Tirau – an Unqualified Success p. 117 Chapter Six: Controversy, Communism and the Chamber Music Society: p. 138 the Case of Hamilton Chapter Seven: Conclusion p. 155 Bibliography p. 167 Appendix 1, Draft of Contract between CAS and local groups p. 173 Appendix 2, Maps showing locations of CAS local groups p. 176 Appendix 3, Notice of music schools and workshops in 1962 p. 178 iv Pages of llustrations (1) The Hungarians Lili Kraus and Robert Pikler were two artists p. 20 assisted by the CAS after the war. Photos by kind permission of Peg Dewes. (2) 1. Cas production of La Serva Padrona, 1953. By kind p. 59 permission of Dr. William Dart. 2. Janetta McStay, pianist for many North Island tours: reproduced from Auckland Festival Programme, 1965, p. 25. 3. Maurice Till, veteran South Island pianist: reproduced from Auckland Festival Programme, 1971, p. 27. 4. Diana Stephenson. By kind permission of Toby and Diana Morcom. (3) 1. Bruce Mason, CAS tour of The End of the Golden Weather, p. 82 1964, reproduced from Auckland Festival Programme, 1965, p. 49. 2. Allen Curnow, CAS tour of Moon Section, 1959, reproduced from Auckland Festival Programme, 1959, p. 37. 3. Producer Ronald Barker, CAS drama tutor 1958-1962, reproduced from Auckland Festival Programme, 1959, p. 37. (4) 1. Cambridge Music School Tutors group. p. 116 2. Owen Jensen, Stewart Harvey, Peg Barnett: friendships were fostered through the CAS system of billeting. 3. Lili Kraus’ autograph on Barnett’s piano. 4. Group tuition at Cambridge assisted many local musicians. By kind permission of Peg Dewes. (5) Beethoven Festival at Tirau. By kind permission of Peg Dewes. p. 137 v Chapter 1 Introduction The Community Art Service (CAS), founded by Owen Jensen in 1946 and administered as an arm of Adult Education through the Auckland University College, toured music, drama, opera, ballet and art exhibitions of very high standards to smaller centres and rural areas. It presented these communities with opportunities to experience quality creative arts and fostered cultural enrichment, education and activities in groups that otherwise had no easy access to these. The activities of the CAS have received little critical attention to date. This thesis, which examines the important role of the Service in the musical and artistic life of twentieth-century New Zealand, is an original contribution to the cultural history of this country. The CAS was modelled along the lines of the English Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts (CEMA) and is similar in its aims to the New Deal project of Roosevelt’s America from 1935 – 1939.1 There was also another English model, the Rural Music School Movement. An English folk singer, Mercy Collisson, who had been closely connected with the development of this movement, toured for the CAS in 1948.2 The Auckland CAS had a powerful impact for 20 years on the 90 communities who were involved.3 The scheme spread from Auckland University College to Melbourne, Australia, and then to the other New Zealand University Colleges. The dual aims of the CAS were to present cultural programmes of quality to the communities and to foster the development of local cultural activities. This study will focus on the music and theatre programmes, two performance facets of the CAS which exemplify its success in accomplishing these two aims. In the case of both music and drama, in addition to the regular tours proffered, local performing groups 1 were formed and assisted by Adult Education specialist tutors. Pre-existing musical and dramatic groups also benefitted. The CAS was an arm of Adult Education and this chapter will begin by placing the CAS in context through a survey of adult education in New Zealand, which will be useful for observing the precedents for some of the Service’s methods and for understanding the occasional problems that it encountered. The chapter will then examine how World War Two had an impact that was linked to an upsurge in cultural interests in the post-war era. This cultural boom was connected to a growing sense of nationalism in New Zealand. Lastly, the founding of the CAS and the closely allied Cambridge Music School by Owen Jensen will be discussed. David Hall’s book, Adult Education in New Zealand, provides a useful and comprehensive survey of adult education work that preceded the CAS. As he notes, concern for the provision of adult education in New Zealand was apparent from the earliest days of colonial settlement. In some cases, adult classes in literacy and numeracy took place on the long journey to New Zealand by ship. As the colonists began to create towns in their widely dispersed settlements, they also built Mechanics Institutes which housed collections of books and provided one or two multi-purpose rooms. Talks were given when suitable speakers could be procured and often informal musical and dramatic entertainments were included on the evening programmes. Play-readings were frequent and popular activities. In some places, basic literacy, numeracy and drawing were taught in evening classes. The Mechanics Institutes were the predecessors of the Lyceums and Athenaeums and many of the book collections eventually evolved into, or were absorbed into, the public libraries. At this early colonial stage, such adult education was necessarily regional because the fledgling settlements were isolated from each other.