Category: Music

  • This week’s activities

    This week is going to be busy in Greymouth Māwhera! On Monday there is a workshop with Aquabella, the Berlin ensemble of women who perform world music acapella. This is followed by a concert on Tuesday evening by the group. On Tuesday there is also a concert of Baroque arias in St Patrick’s Church with…

  • This week’s Spotify playlist

    Each week a curated playlist is created to go along with the blog. Featuring audio that is either mentioned in the articles on the blog or that relates to current affairs, the playlist is on Spotify and can be heard from the player above. Those with a subscription to the platform will hear the music…

  • The Korean Hanbok

    Hanbok – the name means “Korean clothing” – is an ancient form of dress that is still relevant today. Designated National Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2022 by the Cultural Heritage Administration of the country, Hanbok have enjoyed renewed success through designers taking up the challenge of making the costume accessible, acceptable and exciting for contemporary…

  • Poor Things

    The wildly entertaining, thought-provoking, rollicking, surreal, dark and funny film, Poor Things, has the most wonderful costumes created by Holly Waddington and comes with an amazing soundtrack by Jerskin Fendrix. In this film, the majority of which is not shot on location, the exploration of growing up and experiencing life through the eyes of its…

  • Shelburne Museum

    Shelburne Museum

    Having grown up in New York with her parents, Henry and Louisine Havemeyer, and their collection of important Asian and European art, at the age of 19 Electra Havemeyer Webb decided to follow their example and begin her own collection of American art. Much of the Henry and Louisine Havemeyer collection is now in the…

  • This week’s Spotify playlist

    Each week a playlist on the streaming app, Spotify, is curated to go alongside the blog articles. You can listen to the playlist on the player above. If you do not have a subscription you will only be able to hear a few seconds of each track. A free subscription will be interrupted with advertisements…

  • Sutton Hoo meets Aotearoa New Zealand

    Sutton Hoo meets Aotearoa New Zealand

    The Sutton Hoo mound is a medieval burial site, the most impressive in Europe, and includes funerary riches held within a 27 metre-long ship. The history of the ship and its contents is fascinating and it continues to be a focus for understanding Anglo-Saxon life. One of the projects that has come from the discovery…

  • The artistry of Africa’s forest dwellers

    The people who live in the equatorial forests of Central Africa have a unique sense of artistry in their textiles and music. These people, although once all defined as “Pygmy”, a pejorative term that is no longer used, have a strong connection to their forest home and make use of its resources to create, amongst…

  • A concert in Hokitika

    Last night’s Summer Soirée in Hokitika was an excellent experience. Held in the Renton Hardware Building, an old brick-built building that narrowly escaped demolition and is now being restored thanks to its owners and volunteers, the huge space lends itself to performance. It currently houses some of the artefacts from The Luminaries, along with tapa,…

  • This week’s Spotify playlist

    Each week a Spotify playlist is created to go with the blog articles and to respond to current events. For those with a paid subscription to Spotify you will hear the whole list without interruption, those with a free subscription will have adverts every so often, and everyone else will hear excerpts.