MĀORI MUSIC 1

The recent announcement that the collaboration between Massey and Victoria Universities - in the form of the New Zealand School of Music - is going to end brought back memories of my days at the then Victoria University School of Music. It reminded me of my teachers - David Farquhar, Jack Body, Ross Harris, Alan Thomas, Elizabeth Kerr and more - it reminded me of my student friends - Danny Poynton, Helen Bowater, John Psathas, Jonathan Crayford and many more - it reminded me of special times - visiting Douglas Lilburn, sitting with Peter Sculthorpe during a performance of his 'Mangrove', participating in master classes by Lou Harrison and Bela Siki and much more. Thinking of my time at that Music School also reminds me of the way I left that school - under a cloud, I suggest. It was during music school that my consciousness as a Māori person suddenly burst into life and I became conscientised as to the plight of Māori in this country since the 19th century. I wrote a critical note to the school - as indignant young people are want to do - and I sent myself off into the Māori world. I rationalised this 'departure' to myself with the words, "I discovered that I was aping European art music poorly. I want to find a music indigenous to this country." At a certain level that indeed is what I did and the music that I found in the Māori world was the reo, or the Māori language itself and forms - and expressions in that language, particularly storytelling. I also found an entirely different worldview and way of experiencing and explaining even the purpose of life. I plunged myself into language learning - whakapapa, kōrero, waiata, karakia. I devoured these treasures voraciously and I gained fluency in the language quickly. (I have always thought that I gained fluency quickly because I approached the language as a music.) After a little while, I emerged for air and thought a little more about my quest for music in the Māori world. We have yet to really tie down 'Māori music' in a way that is inspiring, satisfying, moving.

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