Category: Music
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Opera as African artform.
A new book on how opera became African has recently been published and it promises to be a fascinating read. Opera was introduced to Cape Town in South Africa in the 19th Century and was originally the preserve of the privileged few. When democracy came to the country in 1994, people thought that opera would…
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The choir
A few weeks ago a new singing group started in Greymouth. This week the group started to learn a piece of music that will be familiar to many readers… and listeners: Es ist ein Ros entsprungen. The choir has been lots of fun. There plenty of laughter alongside some serious learning, and the group is…
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This week’s Spotify playlist
Each week a curated list of music (and sometimes sound) is made on the streaming platform: Spotify. The list goes alongside the blog, featuring audio from different artists and countries that appear in the weekly newsletter or that reflect current events. For those with a paid subscription to Spotify, you will hear the tracks in…
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The New York Times series on young Africa
The New York Times is running a series of articles focusing on the youth of Africa. The “youth boom” of the continent is changing both it and the wider world, altering perceptions and driving change through invention, creativity and energy. There is plenty to read in the articles including pieces about artists, designers and makers…
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Whirimako Black
Maori soul singer, performer and actress, Whirimako Black (Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit) is on tour and has just played the West Coast. One of the surprising things about many of the small settlements in Aotearoa New Zealand is the vitality and creativity of their art scenes. Barrytown, a very small township…
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This week’s Spotify playlist
Each week a new audio playlist is curated to go with the blog. The pieces chosen relate to the stories on the blog or to current events. To listen click on the player above. If you have a paid subscription to Spotify you will hear the compete tracks, while free subscriptions will include advertisements. If…
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Choir dates
The new choir had a great session last weekend and we have decided on some dates for rehearsals as well as some other admin things. Here is a poster for the dates and place for our meetings to Christmas.
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Kate Sheppard
Kate Sheppard was a leader of the women’s suffrage movement in New Zealand. In 1847 Kate Malcolm was born in Liverpool, England and migrated in her twenties to Christchurch Otautahi where she married Walter Sheppard, a merchant. In 1885 Kate Sheppard joined the fight for liquor prohibition by becoming a member of the new Women’s…
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This week’s Spotify playlist
Each week a list of music that relates to the blog or to current events is curated on Spotify. Readers can listen to the songs by following this link or by clicking on the play button on the player above. Paid subscribers will hear all the music, free-to-listen subscribers will hear the music with advertisements…
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The new choir
A new singing group has started in Greymouth this weekend. The group met in The Left Bank Gallery on Saturday to sing together, learn some new music, and organise how to run a choir. We will meet every week in blocks of six sessions with a short performance at the end of each block. The…