Pūoro Tū Festival Announced - Adventures In Māori Instruments and Sound

Te Whanganui-a-Tara's Pyramid Club have been unwavering in their support of Aotearoa's most exciting and adventurous live musical practitioners, delivering the goods throughout the twists and turns 2021 has given us. They've announced Pūoro Tū, a week-long festival of adventures in Māori instruments and sound, happening in spaces and places all around the capital including Karori's beautiful Futuna Chapel, the Brooklyn Army Bunkers and Te Kopahou Reserve from mid-November onwards. Curated by Pyramid Club with Alistair Fraser and Ruby Solly, Pūoro Tū features a wide-ranging smorgasbord of indoor and outdoor events, a panel kōrero, sound foraging workshop, sound installation, and the opening of Nathan Taare's (E N T) Stick Stone + Bone exhibition. Head along to the Pyramid Club site HERE for in-depth details on this excellent initiative and scope out the lineup info below...

Pūoro Tū Festival - adventures in Māori instruments and sound

Rātu - Tuesday 16th November - Pyramid Club, Wellington
Exhibition Opening: Nathan Taare - 'Stick Stone + Bone 

Rāapa - Wednesday 17th November - Pyramid Club, Wellington
[LIVE STREAMED, participants only at event]
Kōrero and performance with James Webster and panel kōrero with Mahina Kingi-Kaui with Tamihana Kātene, Shane James, Elise Goodge, Ruby Solly

Rāpare - Thursday 18th November - San Fran, Wellington*
Live performances by Ruby Solly (tāonga pūoro) & Michelle Velvin (harp); Te Kahureremoa Taumata and Khali Meari Mataroa (puppetry); Jerome Kavanagh (taonga pūoro), Salina Fisher (koto, violin), Neil MacLeod (electronics) and Urn, Tom Carroll and Rob Tyler’s fusion of taonga pūoro and modular synthesis, incorporating plants as a modulation source. 

Rāmere - Friday 19th November - San Fran, Wellington*
Live performances by Alistair Fraser (taonga pūoro) & Jonny Marks (voice), Kerian Varaine, Ladyfruit, Rob Thorne (taonga pūoro) / Isaac Smith (double bass) / Andy Wright (drums)

Rāhoroi - Saturday 20th November - Futuna Chapel, Karori*
Riki Gooch conducts taonga pūoro ensemble

Rātapu - Sunday 21st November - Brooklyn Army Bunkers, Hawkins Hill Road, Brooklyn
Outdoor Performance 11am -12:30pm 

Rātapu - Sunday 21st November - Found Sound at Te Kopahou Reserve
2-4pm Sound foraging workshop at Te Kopahou Reserve visitor centre
4pm Sound installation opening at Te Kopahou Reserve visitor centre

*Tickets available HERE via UTR

Listen to 'I Te Rā Ki Te Pō' from Riki Gooch & Alistair Fraser's 2020 Noa Records album Rangatira...

Press release:

Pyramid Club is proud to present Pūoro Tū, a festival of adventures in Māori instruments and sound. Bringing together many of Aotearoa's leading and emerging voices in taonga pūoro (traditional Māori musical instruments), the festival is a celebration of this tradition and a forum to forge new pathways with ancient knowledge and taonga.

Curated by sonic-arts space Pyramid Club with Alistair Fraser and Ruby Solly, Pūoro Tū incorporates a wide range of work in some 'out-there' locations, and showcases boundary pushing artists currently working with taonga pūoro: Tom Carroll and Rob Tyler's project Urn fuses pūoro with noise music using plants as a modulation source; Riki Gooch conducts a mass ensemble of pūoro players; Jerome Kavanagh, Salina Fisher, and Neil MacLeod mix Māori, Japanese and electronic music; Ladyfruit brings pūoro into contemporary pop music; + many more performances.

Kōrero about the tradition and pathways forward take place throughout the week. In addition, the festival sees a site-specific outdoor event at Brooklyn Bunkers, a sound foraging workshop at Te Kopahou reserve, a sculptural exhibition by artist Nathan Taare and a sound installation for the Te Kopahou Visitor Centre by Daniel Beban, Ruby Solly and Alistair Fraser.