A Song in the Night

Christchurch. July 2009. Ajr

This was a dramatic moment at the opening of the Christchurch Arts Festival Winter Garden in Christchurch's Cathedral Square on Thursday night. With thousands of people gathered below her, Wellington-based singer Toni Huata - raised 15-20 feet in the air and spotlit - sang a hauntingly beautiful Maori wiata (song), that rang out across the Square and silenced the crowd. I took these photos with a telephoto lens, with no flash and unsupported by a tripod, hence the crazy movement in the bottom image. But I kinda like that. For me it speaks of a festive mood. www.artsfestival.co.nz You can read more about Toni in the Meet the People Series on this blog. Click on her name below.

Meet the People - 1

Toni Huata, Waitangi Day Celebrations Christchurch Art Gallery. Feb 6 Ajr

The first in my new series Meet the People – Contemporary Maori Doing Ordinary and Extraordinary Things - Wellington-based Maori songwriter and vocalist, Toni Huata (Ngati Kahungunu, Rongowhakaata) has blazed a successful trail through the music world at concert and festival performances nationally and internationally. Armed with a music degree from Whitireia Polytechnic in Porirua, Wellington, she became a member of Te Rakau Hua O Te Wao Tapu touring theatre company headed by Jim Moriarty in 1995. She’s since toured throughout USA, Europe, Asia and the Pacific; she’s performed with the Neville Brothers in USA; and she was the first Maori to ever perform at the world renowned jazz club, Ronnie Scotts in London. Brought up in the Hawke’s Bay, Toni attended the famous Turakina Maori Girls’ College and says she was always surrounded by an eclectic array of influences – the Anglican Church choir, tap dancing and Maori cultural performance. Her debut album “Te Maori e” released in 2001, is a reflection of that. A fusion of jazz, jungle, flamenco, classical, dub poi and traditional waiata, it is dedicated to her grandparents, the late Te Okanga Kahutapere (Aussie) Huata and Ngaro Rangi-Huata. The theme for the album was built around the song “Te Maori e,” composed by her grandfather for the Te Maori exhibition in 1986.

Toni Huata @ PAO Wellington. Photo Supplied by Toni Huata

Toni Huata at Parihaka. Image by Kiritahi Takiari. Supplied by Toni Huata.

Recognised as an accomplished singer/songwriter, dancer, voice expert, actor and an inspirational ambassador of Maori Language, Toni also has her own entertainment business, WaaHuu Creations that provides production services and tuition in theatre, music and dance with the aim of enhancing the exposure of Maori in performing arts, language and culture. Toni’s music reflects her deep spiritual roots – a result of being raised within the traditions of Maori culture, song and her whakapapa (geneology). She confidently blends both Maori and non-Maori worlds and in drawing on the past she hopes to pave the way to new sounds of the future. “Werohia – Challenge yourself,” she says. “Pass the limits…grasp an idea and enter into it.” Toni’s second album, “Mauri To – Everlasting Force” was released in 2004. www.tonihuata.com