Tokowhā

L J Crichton (tenor), Matt Barris (baritone/tenor), Tomairangi Henare (baritone) and Morgan King (bass) with Alex Jefferies (piano accompanist) perform songs by Māori, Pasifika, European and American composers.

The members of Tokowhā write:
Our concert series represents our growth and the happiness we have felt as singers growing up in a community that supports us.

From the communities we grew up in we moved on to study Classical Singing at Te Kōkī – New Zealand School of Music. In the beginning of 2020, the institution made the mistake of grouping us all together in a performance of Puccini’s La Bohème, Act I Scene I. Instantly, something clicked and a fire was lit, constantly stoked by our love of singing together.

Since then, we have garnered so much through our experiences as singers. We have performed from a balcony in Te Papa, in the bowels of the Hikitia with Chamber Music New Zealand, on the fabulous stage of the Fringe Festival Awards, and now this tour is taking us around the country.

We display our love for music with a programme which ranges from grand Puccini arias to the fun of Gilbert and Sullivan. Each song represents a key moment in our journey whether it be LJ nailing the High C of “Che Gelida Manina” or Morgan constantly being asked to serenade smiling women with “Ol’ Man River”. We are so excited to be presenting arias, duets and even full scenes of amazing opera to you.

We have also cultivated a selection of Waiata and Pese to honour our roots and the communities that we grew up in. It is an honour to be able to present our cultures to you on a stage where we can truly be ourselves. Each piece we have arranged ourselves for the quartet and we have felt a strong connection to the music and each other with singing it.

We are also excited to be working with our dear friend and amazing pianist, Alex Jefferies. Alex was thrown into the fire pit with us in May, accompanying us in the Pōneke Classical Sessions. Since then, he has been elevating our music and his unique and infectious presence has slotted into the fun. We are so grateful for Alex's constant support and amazing musicality. Being young gives us the disadvantage of having to wait if we have truly hit our highest, happiest moment or wondering if it will pass without us even realising it. One thing we all have collectively decided however, is that we feel our happiest when we are making music. The programme for this concert is based around our growth and the happiness we feel when singing. We invite you to sit back, listen and eventually say “Oh I heard when *insert more famous opera singer here* sung this decades ago, good on you boys for giving it a go”.

We want everybody to have fun with this programme, just as we will on stage. What matters most to us is that we have a good time together, enjoying music together.