I particularly liked the "beyond" section.
Tonks was the author of The First Forty Years, a competent history of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra history published in 1986.
Although the new book is not a hardback, it is more attractive than its predecessor, and enriched by many illustrations on glossy paper, including two sections of pages with full-colour photos.
It is a painstaking history, told chronologically, of the many name changes, conductors, programmes, soloists, managers, sponsors, etc of the orchestra since its formation in 1959.
(At the time Aunt Daisy observed on radio: "The little girl playing the harp looked and sounded like an angel.") Highlights like the grand "world tour" of 1975 and a visit to the Brisbane Expo in 1988 get deserved attention.
As Tonks observes, the youth orchestra has "enriched and inspired lives, created lifelong musical friendships and enhanced the joy of music".
Many members of the orchestra have gone on to make music their major occupation.
In many ways this is an ordered and fairly inclusive scrapbook of information.
I was drawn to consult the bulky appendices to duly check that my family members' names were there, recorded for posterity. But the system chosen for recording all the musicians will annoy some readers.
Instead of being able to find all the orchestra in a particular year grouped together, the index has chosen to file names only under the instrument played and then runs names alphabetically in order, rather than chronologically, with the years recorded after the name. The names and details are run together rather than as a list, making a typographic muddle. It will not be easy for players from bygone years to revive personal memories by finding all the names of their fellow musicians.
The National Youth Orchestra (today's incarnation is called NZSO National Youth Orchestra) has been a potent force for musical education and development in this country, even though finances have prevented it from making national tours so we can all appreciate the progress it has made.
Tonks writes that Peter Walls, chief executive of the NZSO, "agrees that there has been a really noticeable improvement in standards".
Generally the selection of the conductor each year has reflected a determination to regard NYO members as musicians with a professional future.
Walls sees the big challenge for the future as being how to spread more activity through the year, as the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain or the Australian Youth Orchestra was able to do. (Not just through the year, but round the country, I would urge.) Limited resources makes this more difficult in New Zealand.
Of particular interest is the concluding chapter, guest written by Walls, titled "Future Proofing". A major point made is the need for programming music that will really develop student players' abilities by extending and challenging them. This philosophy has been successfully followed as the NYO has matured.
Playing works that university orchestras or regional youth orchestras would not be able to tackle has provided stimulation and excitement that makes the NYO experience so worthwhile for young players.
In many cases it may only be matched when a musician successfully auditions for a place in a major professional orchestra.
Walls had to mention the acclaimed Simon Bolivar Orchestra (formerly known as the Youth Orchestra of Venezuela) which stands at "the pinnacle of a whole network of youth orchestras which are themselves fed by a whole network of youth orchestras which are themselves fed by a music teaching infrastructure".
His wish for the future of music here is that we will have a revitalised itinerant music teaching scheme that will take affordable tuition on music instruments into every town in the country.
"If only the New Zealand Government had responded to the National Youth Orchestra's success in Aberdeen [1975 International Festival of Youth Orchestras] as the Venezuelan Government was to do two years later. But it is not too late." Walls refers to a pilot scheme operating in South Auckland and notes that the Minister for Arts, Chris Finlayson, has shown strong interest in developing the Venezuelan "El Sistema" programme of music education.
Walls hopes for a national rollout in the not-too-distant future.
Yes, that certainly would be wonderful!
• Geoff Adams is a retired editor.
