Dellow's musicianship lives on

Jessica Shaw (left) and her recorder group take up Dellow's challenge. Picture / Glenn Jeffrey

Holy Trinity Cathedral will resound in tribute to one of Auckland's best-loved musicians at a concert on Sunday. Ronald Dellow, who died just over two years ago, was a quiet dynamo, a man whose humanitarian, musical and administrative talents touched many.

His mana extended well beyond the Bombay Hills. Growing up in Whakatane in the 50s and 60s, I knew Ron Dellow as a regular visitor whose concerts with his Community Arts Singers reinforced my determination to pursue a musical career. He was also a sympathetic judge in competitions and festivals.

Leonie Lawson, one of the forces behind Sunday's tribute, was a close friend and, during her 33 years teaching at Auckland Diocesan, often asked Ron to compose for her students.

"Ron had a particular skill in writing for the ability, the sound and the type of group that the request came for," Lawson recalls. "I remember going to his church to hear a piece he had written and there were only seven singers in the choir.

"Yet it was beautiful. If someone else had tried to do that with such a small group, it could have been disastrous. Ron had a real knack."

The purpose of Sunday's gala concert is to focus attention on Dellow's music. Profits will go to the Ronald Dellow Music Trust, which will enable the publication of these eminently performable works.

The programme ranges from the Auckland Mozart Orchestra playing his Four Auckland Sketches, to the talented members of the Hall family offering his Miniature String Quartet.

On the choral side, smaller groups present individual items, and singers from 20 local choirs will join forces for massed items.

These works, conducted by Peter Godfrey and Peter Watts, promise a hearty spectacle. Lawson finds the Jubilate Deo, in particular, "dramatic and lively, with brass quartet and handbells adding to the brilliance".

There are miniatures for recorder consort, played by Jessica Shaw and her group, reflecting Dellow's lifelong interest in the instrument.

Shaw, a recorder virtuoso, chuckles at the challenge before them. One piece is "pretty leapfrog, with us all coming in all over the place and trying to make arpeggios sound as if they're played by one person instead of four".

She remembers, years ago, Dellow arranging for her to be one of the two soloists in Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No 4 and describes him as "very encouraging to young students, especially when they were playing their first serious repertoire".

John Wells, who will deliver two organ toccatas on Sunday, agrees. For him, Dellow was a tireless worker who helped a tremendous lot of people.

"He was the understated musician and never a highbrow in an elitist sense," Wells says. "He was up for anything and a real Renaissance man as far as music was concerned."

Many remember Dellow as the man behind the legendary Cambridge Music School for its 21 years. For composer John Rimmer this was his "crowning achievement, helped by Ron's ability to bring people together and inspire them to do their best".

Wells agrees. Arriving from England in 1969, he found Cambridge "a wonderful experience. It was such a shame that after Ron had worked so long with them, there was no one to take it over when he retired."

As the years go by, the importance to our culture of people like Ronald Dellow becomes more apparent. Sunday's concert will allow us to catch up with the past and build for the future.* Ronald Dellow Music Trust Gala Concert, Holy Trinity Cathedral, Sunday 2pm