Membership of the Friends of Leys Institute group continues to steadily grow, even in this uncertain time when our thoughts are focused more on our families and homes, rather than issues in our wider community.
The Leys Orchestra was founded in 1905 and has taken different forms over the years – it has been a brass band and boys’ band before becoming a community orchestra. It rehearses weekly and gives three free concerts a year, with participation in the annual Heritage Festival its major event. The current core of around 30 players enjoy exploring, rehearsing and performing predominately music from the light classical repertoire, along with items from their large collection of scores donated over the years from other groups that no longer perform, comprising a unique collection in Auckland.
A new Friends of Leys Institute member, and longtime orchestra participant, Bryony Jagger, says how important the orchestra is: “The Leys Orchestra has played several of my orchestral pieces… they have also supported other New Zealand composers for years. I have learned a lot about writing for orchestras as a result... community orchestras are the only ones who deign to play music by New Zealand composers, in my experience.”
The Leys Orchestra director and conductor is David Brittain. For more information about the orchestra, see its Facebook page ‘Leys Orchestra’ and website at leysorchestra.webs.com
The Leys Institute Classic Film Club has screened films free of charge to library patrons since 2018. The screenings were held in the library’s downstairs Reading Room. The film club’s brochure indicates the scope of the films covered: ‘famous, influential and entertaining masterpieces of cinema from the Twentieth Century’.
Four themed series of films were covered each year, with six films per series being screened over six consecutive Saturdays. For instance, the themes in 2019 were as follows: Screwball Comedies, French Classics, Legendary Documentaries, Film Noir.
Despite the closure of the Leys Institute in December 2019, those on the club’s mailing list have been informed that its screenings will continue in 2020, though obviously this cannot now occur until after the lockdown has ended. No venue for the screenings has yet been announced, though attendees have been assured that it will be located somewhere in the Ponsonby area.
Friends of Leys Institute is sending updates to members as any information becomes available from the Waitemata Local Board. Keep checking the Facebook page entitled ‘Friends of Leys Institute’.
Anyone interested in becoming a member of Friends of Leys Institute can email co-ordinator Helen Geary at heleng@maxnet.co.nz