Blind Adjudication – Short Snort (Organ) #5

The Shepparton Country Women’s Association held a two day competition for music and elocution. On the second day (Tuesday 4th September, 1934) the Mouth Organ Bands Section was presented with the Shepparton Ambulance Harmonica Band triumphant on 82 points – two clear of the Shepparton Harmonica Band. The event was adjudicated by composer and poet, Louis Lavatar, who did not operate out of a tent!

Tent judging was apparently a thing for brass and pipe bands (predominantly outdoors I would think), but I don’t believe it was a common practice for mouth organ bands. The adjudicator would sit in a tent with flaps closed where he could hear, but not see. It was, you see, all about the music not the presentation.

J Herbert Hughes from Burwood Victoria had an answer to perceived judging bias in solo competitions. Writing to the editor of The Herald on January 12th, 1930 he stated, “The only way to discover Australia’s best mouth-organist is to have a competition with each player to be numbered and walk on to a darkened stage.”

SHEPPARTON AMBULANCE HARMONICA BAND

In this photo of the 1934 Shepparton Ambulance Harmonica Band (nice uniforms – just saying) it features and identifies in the four corners; J H Freeman (Conductor), C Mather (Secretary), G Cant (President) and A De’ Pagny (Treasurer). Fourth from left, middle row is Jimmy (Arthur) Hillet.

🐇🐇🐇 🤏 & 🤛 – HNM, Riff Raffers

Please check home page for copyright details.

Postscript: Just in case you had trouble reading the first letter.

To the Editor. The Advertiser, Sir.—Having visited the musical competitions last night, I noticed that the Judge was sitting in the open hall whilst judging the musical items. Now I understand, with my twenty years’ experience, that his proper place was in a tent. The proof of this may be judged in or by his decision in the Mouth Organ Band’s performance. The Judge was not there to judge or to award points for uniforms, or any other matter excepting music, that is the rendering of each band’s particular piece of music. I heard both bands play and I have no doubt as to which one was the best, but to my surprise, when listening to the Judge’s remarks, that No. 1 played the best music, but he gave the decision to No. 2, and his reason’s were that No. 2 were in uniform and that No. 1 had string instruments included. Could he not see also that No. 2 had the same number of string instruments included? Any band is entitled to three string instruments, therefore I take it that No. 2 band was awarded first simply because they wore uniform, because if the No. 1 played the best music this is the only conclusion. I suppose there were others besides myself who are of the same opinion, and it seems a pity that the Judge was not, in the first place, placed in a tent, secondly he awarded. No. 1 the prize simply because they wore uniforms. I say there was no comparison between the two selections the bands played. Leaving the matter to the public to decide. — Yours etc.,

“MUSICIAN”