Finalists for the Best Reo Maori Album to be announced at the Waiata Maori Music Awards in Hastings next week.
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See below for English translation
Ko Puoro Mataoraora
E pūhakehake kau ana te wairua māoriori o Keri Pewhairangi ko te reo te take, ka tika hoki, kātahi nei ka puta te rongo kōrero kua eke tā rātou puka-emi-waiata a Puoro Mataoraora ki te taumata whiringa toa mō te wāhanga puka-emi-waiata reo rangatira, ka whakapuakina ake ki te huinga Waiata Māori Music Awards ka tū ki Heretaunga ā te wiki hou.
Nā ngā tauira, nā ngā tamariki me ngā mokopuna o Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ruamata a Puoro Mataoraora i waihanga.
Ko rātou hoki te hunga waiata. He ahakoa i arahina rātou e Keri me Ty Gage e tika ana kia mihia ngā tamariki. Ko te mana whakamutunga o te puka-emi-waiata kai ngā hoi-taringa o tetehi mokopuna, me i pai ki a ia, he mōhio nō te tima ka pai ki te motu. Kai te kōmata o Kaiwaka te wairua haka o ngā tamariki.
Ka haria rātou ki te tāone ki te hoko pūeru tōingo e tika ana mō te pō whakamiharo me te takahi hoki i te whāriki kura ki Heretaunga.
Ko Okareka Oro te kamupene o Keri, wheoi anō e mea ana ko te waiata me Okareka kai tōna whakapapa e haere ngātahi ana. E mea hoki ngā pakeke, tirohia te whakapapa o te tangata, nā reira e mātau ai tātou ki te momo o tēnei tangata, nō Ngāti Porou tōna matua tāne e whai herenga ai ki a Tuini Ngawai me Ngoi Pewhairangi, tētehi huinga tokorua rangatira ki te tito waiata.
Nō Te Arawa, nō Ngāti Raukawa, nō Tamaterā me Ngai Tahi tōna matua wahine.
Ko Arapera Royal Tangaere tōna ingoa. Kai te pāmu o tōna matua wahine kai Okareka tēnei wahine e noho nei me tōna matua tāne kaokaoroa a Taiaroa Royal, tētehi mātanga ki te kanikani. Ko Okareka Dance tana kamupene, ā ko Okareka Oro tana taina. E mea ana tētehi, ' ka pai kē kua hoki mai ia ki te kāinga'. Kua rua tekau o ngā tau a Keri e kura mahita reo ana.
Ko ētehi anō o āna tūnga mahi, he tumuaki, whaihoki he kura mahita reo Māori mā te kōhanga reo tae atu ki te whare kura.
I whānau ai i Tamaki-makaurau, nā wai rā ka haere ki Te Whanganui-a-Tara hai pou mahi mā Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust.
E hakoke haere ana i aua taimā, e hakoke mokemoke kau ana tōna wairua, he mōhio nōna ko Rotorua te ūkaipō, ā ko Okareka tōna kāinga waewae.
E mokemoke ana ki ngā herenga whakapapa o te kāinga. Ka mate ana tōna matua tāne kaokaoroa a Kipa Royal i te tau e rua mano, he kotahi tekau mā ono, ka kī ake te whānau ki a hoki mai ia ki te hau kāinga. Nā te mea he mātanga ia ki te waiata, ka kipakipa anō ai tēnā wairua i roto i ahau.
Me te mea hoki, kua roa te whakaaro o tana ake kamupene ki te rae engari nō te tau ko pahemo kātahi nei ia ka rehitangia.
Ka toru tau a ia me tana hoa pākihi whakapau kaha ai, mahi ai mahi kirimana ai. Engari ko te tino karanga i roto i a ia ko ngā kaupapa Māori ake e mana ai te reo, e mana ai tā tātou ahurea, nā reira ka whiria ngā aka e rua, ko te aka waiata me te aka mātauranga me te aronga nui ki te reo Māori.
Ka rere ngā mamari o te waka.
Me kaupapa Māori anake, kāua ko te reo e noho here nei ki te whakaaro Pākehā.
E titiro nei tātou ki te ao hou me ngā momo hangarau o te ao nei e pūare ai ngā whatitoka katoa ki ngā iwi o te ao.
Mataoraora_Pae Tuku Aka launch. From back to front are: Haare Pēwhairangi-Charlie , Karlos-Taiaroa Pēwhairangi-Charlie, Pere Kerei, Beth'el Kerei, Kurapounamu Palmer, Kahimia-Baden Ewart-Tangaere, KC Ngahiwi Pēwhairangi-Charlie, Te Ahu Paenga, Te Kereihi Ewart-Tangaere, and Metua-Tamati Ewart-Tangaere.
Kāore e take ana ngā kame piataata ngā hopuoro irirangi rangatira engari ko ngā mea i a rātou i tutuki ai ngā mahi. Ka rīpenengia ki te poho o tō rātou whare, ka herea ngā matarihi ki ngā pātū o te whare kia kāua e whakapōrearea ai ngā mahi e puta rānei te ia o ngā reo rōreka.
Kāore rawa a Keri i whakaaro ake ki te kaupapa i Heretaunga engari nā ngā pakeke me te tini tangata i tae ki Mourea i whakahuri ai ōna whakaaro.
Nā tō rātou whakangāhau rangatira i te pā taunaha o Hohowai ki Mourea i te wiki o Matariki ka puta te hiahia ki te kawe ngā mokopuna ki ngā tōpito huhua o te ao nā reira i hua ake ai te whakaaro ki a kuhu atu rātou ki te kaupapa Waiata Maori Music Awards. Wheoi anō e ngā ngongotangiwai o te nehenehe, kai ngā korohīmako, kokoia e ara e.
Keri Pewhairangi fair bubbles over with passion and enthusiasm for te Reo and music and is thrilled their album Puoro Mataoraora Te Whāriki a Te Kōhanga Reo, Te Pae Tuku Aka are finalists for the Best Reo Maori Album to be announced at the Waiata Maori Music Awards in Hastings next week.
Puoro Mataoraora Te Whāriki a Te Kōhanga Reo, Te Pae Tuku Aka was composed by kaimahi of Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust, Ōkāreka Oro, tamariki of Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Ruamata and Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngā Mokopuna.
The acoustic songs of the album were composed by Hinematioro Nohotima-Duncan and Shea Rogan, but the fully produced songs belong to the tamariki.
They have had guidance from Keri co-producer, producer Ty Gage and Arapera Tangaere but the work essentially belongs to the tamariki.
A four-year-old and youngest member of the group determined if the performance sounded good and interesting enough to be successful. It sounds a bit off the wall but if the baby liked the arrangement that meant it would reach its target audience.
The roopu performed at Te Takinga Marae at Mourea during Matariki celebrations and the impressed kaumatua encouraged Keri to showcase the talents of the mokopuna.
"This was also our first performance on our home soil so if felt great to give back to Te Arawa.
"It was the mother of one of our performers, Maria Ngawati, who nominated this album for the awards.
"She just went ahead and did it, wanting the nomination to be a surprise. Boy it was a surprise alright and now it has elevated the kaupapa of this album in the hopes that more or our mokopuna in Kōhanga Reo get to hear it."
Okareka Oro is Keri's company alongside partner Ty Gage and reflects that Okareka and music are in her whakapapa.
Keri was born in Auckland where she did much of her growing up and also lived in Wellington where she worked at Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngā Mokopuna and then for the Kohanga Reo National Trust.
Through her mother, Arapera Royal Tangaere, Keri has hononga to Te Arawa, Raukawa, Tamatera, and Ngai Tahu. She lives on her mother's family farm at Okareka with her uncle, reknowned dancer Taiaroa Royal of Okareka Dance. Okareka Oro is the teina company to Okareka Dance.
She has "come home".
A reo teacher for more than 20 years, Keri has also been a tumuaki and taught tamariki from babies at kohanga reo through to whare kura. For three years she and her business partner worked in music production, starting out as contractors.
But they had their own vision where kaupapa Maori was the driver and so they combined music and education and committed to te Reo Maori.
Puoro Mataoraora in Rotorua from left to right are: Beth'el Kerei, Karlos-Taiaroa Pēwhairangi-Charlie, Te Ahu Paenga (front) Te Akareva Ewart-Tangaere (baby on Te Ahu), Kēri Pēwhairanga (behind Karlos), Metua-Tamati Ewart-Tangaere, Te Kereihi Ewart-Tangaere, KC Ngahiwi Pēwhairangi-Charlie, Kahimia-Baden Ewart-Tangaere, Ty Gage, (back from left to right) Kurapounamu Palmer, Pere Kerei, Haare Pēwhairangi-Charlie
They wanted total kaupapa Maori, not reo Maori to a pakeha prescription.
Modern technology and the internet meant that this new world was definitely accessible to most people.
No flash gadgets were necessary for their work although they had quality microphones and recording equipment.
The album was produced in their whare and tied-together mattresses provided the sound-proofing.
