Learn to make and play taonga pūoro with Alistair Fraser and Ruby Hinepunui Solly.
Using wood as the primary material, workshop attendees will learn to make and play two taonga pūoro – kōauau and porotiti.

10am – 4pm, Sunday 5th September, 2021
At The Warren – Cross St.
Cost – $60
Places are limited to 10 attendees. Priority will be given to mana whenua.
Please email admin@audiofoundation.org.nz to secure attendance.

Kōauau are the most common type of Māori flute, and traditionally were made from various woods, kelp, albatross wing bones, human bones, shell, gourds and probably moa bones. They range in length from about 100 millimetres to 385 millimetres and most commonly have three finger-holes, known as wenewene. The sounds are further manipulated with slight movements of tongue and lips. Kōauau are used in entertainment, but also for healing, grieving, to ease pain and in many other moments through life..
Porotiti are spinning discs that rotate around two parallel strings. The porotiti is wound around the strings, then the player gently pulls on each end of the strings and the instrument winds and unwinds, producing a whirring hum as it rotates. They can also be blown on as they rotate, which creates a slightly different sound. The sound varies depending on the size, shape and material of the instrument. Porotiti are made from a variety of materials including pounamu, bone and wood. Porotiti are wind voices and come from Tāwhirimātea, the atua (spiritual entity) of the winds. The howling and eerie sounds of the winds are often acknowledged as messages from the spirit world. Sometimes porotiti produce unexpected sounds which are considered special as they are perceived as spirit voices joining in with the song.

Ruby Solly (Kai Tahu, Waitaha, Kāti Māmoe) is a musician, writer, taonga pūoro practitioner, and music therapist living in Pōneke. She has played with artists such as Yo-yo Ma as part of his Bach Project, The New Zealand String Quartet, Trinity Roots, Whirimako Black, Orchestra Wellington, Al Fraser, and Ariana Tikao. She also works as a session musician and has been recorded as a cellist on over twenty different albums. Ruby is a taonga pūoro player and therapist with a first class masters in music therapy where she conducted kaupapa Maori research into the use of taonga puoro in acute mental health. As a taonga pūoro player and therapist she is privileged to work around the country with people from all walks of life sharing the taonga of her ancestors. She is currently studying towards a PHD in public health at Massey university looking at the use of taonga pūoro in hauora.

Alistair Fraser (Pākehā) is a manu whakatangitangi a ngā taonga pūoro, a player, composer, maker and researcher of ngā taonga pūoro who has been making, performing and composing with these musical instruments since 1999. Al has elegantly woven taonga pūoro into many projects that are recognised as being at the forefront of Aotearoa arts practice and puoro Māori, through musical collaborations with artists such as Dr Richard Nunns, Ariana Tikao, Riki Gooch, Te Ahukaramu Charles Royal, Ruby Solly, Bridget Douglas, Grove Roots, and the NZ Symphony Orchestra. Alistair has collaborated with dance practitioners including Lemi Ponifasio (Jerusalem, NZ Festival of the Arts 2020) Ōkareka, Daniel Belton, Jack Gray, and Lou Pōtiki Bryant, and visual artist Joe Michael (Voices For The Future, NYC United Nations Building with music by Rhian Sheehan and Brian Eno 2019).
Alistair has released six solo and collaborative albums through Rattle Records since 2018. In 2020 Alistair and Riki Gooch released their album, Rangatira, through Noa Records and in 2021 release Bird Like Men as part of the ensemble Tararua through Oro Records.
Alistair was a researcher for Hokotehi Moriori Trust and Otago University from 2017-2020, researching Moriori musical instrument culture. Alistair has completed two research trips to the United Kingdom and Ireland to investigate taonga pūoro held in collections there, one in 2015 and one in 2016 as a Churchill Fellow