Matariki celebration concert & gourmet hangi for music therapy
Some of the country’s leading musicians and our top ex-pat chef are joining forces to start the season of celebrations of Matariki, the Mori New Year.
Dave Dobbyn, Hollie Smith, Nesian Mystik and Hinewehi Mohi join several other prominent Kiwi musicians and celebrity chef Peter Gordon at Ngaruawahia’s Turangawaewae Marae for the four hour music and food event in May.
Gordon leads a team of chefs preparing a gourmet hangi to be served to the public and VIP guests who include the Mori King, Minister of Maori Affairs, Hon Dr Pita Sharples, Hon Georgina Te Heuheu and local body dignitaries.
Tourism New Zealand has organised a film crew from Canada to attend the special Matariki event billed as Aotearoa’s biggest gourmet hangi and concert.
Matariki is the Mori name for the group of stars also known as the Pleiades star cluster or The Seven Sisters and what is referred to as the traditional Maori New Year.
Funds raised go towards supporting the Auckland-based Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre (RMTC) run by a privately-funded trust to provide music therapy for special needs children of school age and younger.
Singer/songwriter Hinewehi Mohi is a trustee of the centre and she says the event provides a unique opportunity to modernise the traditions of Matariki focusing on Mori traditions, music, food and the sharing of ideas.
“Peter’s menu has a real gourmet touch to the traditional hangi and the music has a strong Mori flavour too. But the event also includes a range of Mori cultural experiences with a back-drop of art and design.”
Included is a huge Manu Aute or Mori kite on loan from the Waikato Museum and designed in the traditional manner by artists Rama Kete, Pita and Karen Te Ngaru and Kirihaehae Kirkwood. NZ artist Tracey Tawhiao is designing the stage backdrop for the event.
More than 600 guests are being catered for at the event. Peter Gordon’s gourmet hangi menu includes marinated pork loin and stuffed pork belly, marinated chicken, whole baby lamb and marinated beef.
He says all the dishes have been devised to add a twist to the usual hangi fare. “I’ve simply added a fusion approach using local ingredients where I can and some Asian spicing as well. It will be very tasty I can assure you.”
Peter Gordon is joined by marae chefs including Anne Thorp, the Mori Queen of Cuisine and star of Kai Ora and the Turangawaewae Marae chief cooks.
The event is hosted by television personality Matai Smith and sponsored by Foodstuffs, Waiwera Water, Allan Scott Wines and Tourism NZ.
This promotion was part of a commission by Maori Television and will be broadcast as a Matariki programme special on the 28th June and 5th July 2009.
Tickets: Adults: $50, children: $20 available through www.rmtc.org.nz or phone 09 369 1839. Includes admission, gourmet hangi by Peter Gordon & Concert.
About the Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre
The Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre (RMTC) in Auckland opened on 18 March 2004 and is New Zealand’s only music therapy centre. The centre provides music therapy for special needs children of school age and younger.
Music therapy is about building bridges of communication through music and actively engaging individuals in potential growth, development and change through the power of music. For many people, music helps reduce a sense of isolation and creates new possibilities for participation in the world and a more creative life.
Funding is always a struggle. To contribute to the cause:
· visit the centre website - www.rmtc.org.nz/donations
· contact the centre direct on 0-9-369 1839 to find out about instrument purchase donations, fundraising events and more.