School scornful of Idol worship

Keshia Paulse's success on NZ Idol has little merit to some at Auckland University.

Sour notes are echoing round Auckland University's School of Music after one of its stage-one students made the top 10 finalists on NZ Idol.

Keshia Paulse is majoring in popular music. But an email from the school's head, Professor Eric Hollis, which was initially interpreted as trying to distance it from the show, has exposed cracks.

The comments were accidentally included in an email sent by the university's PR agency, Baldwin Boyle. Some who received the email believed Baldwin Boyle was being asked to help distance the university from Idol.

"It's very elitist," a source who did not want to be named told the Weekend Herald.

"It's saying our market is only the classical establishment - so the home-grown talent who want to do popular music are being put in a third-class category."

Professor Hollis last night released the content of the email and its responses, saying it had been misunderstood. He was proud of Paulse's achievement and had offered his support to her.

Reading his email, he said: "One of our popular music stage-one majors is in the final group for the NZ Idol TV competition - Keshia.

"Along with many of the popular music students, I don't have a particularly high opinion of this form of entertainment/reality mix. However, she will probably do quite well - she is already listed as a favourite in this week's Herald.

"I mentioned this as it could be an opportunity for publicity in the future due to profile (eek ... )."

Professor Hollis said the "eek" indicated a fear of dealing with publicity, and not a dislike of NZ Idol. He watched Idol and other reality TV shows, which he found entertaining, but had misgivings that some misled viewers by falsely appearing to portray reality.

The head of the popular music programme, Stephen Small, was perplexed by Professor Hollis' email. He replied that he was amazed and could not fathom how "you consider this to be a problem".

"The very thing we are supposed to be teaching these people to do is perform in a professional environment."

But Mr Small apologised for this response in a later email and said he appeared to have taken Professor Hollis' email out of context.

Another source told the Weekend Herald the situation was symptomatic of much wider problems within the university's National Insitute of Creative Arts and Industries and a move - denied by Professor Hollis - to axe popular music from the music school's curriculum.

Said the source: "It all stems from the medieval way this faculty is being run, which is through favour rather than through any sort of merit."