Abstract:
Although entitled "A Survey of Orchestral Activity in New Zealand" this thesis does not profess to be an exhaustive account of every organization and movement connected with its growth. By being selective it endeavours to better emphasize the characteristics, problems and achievements of such orchestras, amateur and professional, that have existed and endured.
This selectivity applies more to Part One of the Survey, which attempts to show something of the beginnings and early growth of New Zealand's orchestral life. The disregard shown for the smaller centres in no way minimizes their contribution to the country's music, but naturally, it was in the four main cities that the most significant orchestral development took place. Also, the ready availibility of source material to some extent determined what could be covered with any degree of thoroughness in the present survey.
