In early March, the capital\u2019s Michael Fowler Centre will take on a completely new identity when Rob Ruha joins forces with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) to present TEIWA as part of the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts (its 40th Anniversary). The event will be one of the major highlights of the festival, melding orchestral scale, haka, and the diverse sound world of Aotearoa into a single, immersive live performance.<\/p>\n
Teiwa is shaped by Ruha\u2019s connection to East Coast M\u0101ori histories, especially the stories of ancestral performance houses known for their awe\u2011inspiring displays of creativity. The project re-imagines these ancient environments through a modern lens, using haka, orchestral music, and contemporary composition to bring those long\u2011held narratives into the present.<\/p>\n
This is a significant collaboration, bringing together a full symphonic capacity, while TOA (Te Taumata O Apanui) adds the physical and emotional force of kapa haka. The evening blends waiata rooted in marae tradition with large\u2011scale anthemic material and new work created specifically for the event.<\/p>\n
Audiences will hear some of Ruha\u2019s most recognised music alongside brand\u2011new material that expands his artistic language into orchestral territory. Tim Gruar called up Rob Ruha to find out more.<\/p>\n
When I catch up with Rob, he\u2019s just slipped away from his son\u2019s Basketball Tournament to have a bit of a k\u014drero about his latest project. Given the crazy summer we\u2019ve had, the conversation inevitably begins with the weather. He kino te rangi ki konei ki Te Whanganui-a-Tara. He aha te ahua o te rangi kei hea koe?<\/strong><\/p>\n Yeah, it's raining. We're in a red alert for heavy rainfall, but it's just normal drizzly rain. It's supposed to hit later tonight.<\/p>\n You\u2019re in Rotorua, but have strong ties to the East Coast. And you\u2019re really isolated up there. A couple of years ago, I was working in Te Kaha, I had to ride a horse to get out because the road had closed, due to slips after a big storm. That was \u2018fun\u2019.<\/strong><\/p>\n Well, we're hoping it doesn't do that again..<\/p>\n I saw the devastation afterwards driving through. Pretty scary getting back to Whakat\u0101ne. <\/strong>I hope everyone is OK up there. <\/strong>Stay safe. Anyway, enough about the weather, this is about your beautiful waiata and mahi. Your work is so wide: Kapa Haka composition, soul, reggae, R&B, orchestral projects - looking over your career, are there any threads that tie it all together?<\/strong><\/p>\n I think who I am is the greatest thread. Music is creativity, so it can take many forms. Who I am, where I'm from, what I was raised to believe in - our culture, identity, my identity as a boy on the East Coast - is the main thread. My belief in identity and its power to give inter-generational life\u2011giving energy to people and families is the main thread of what I like to do as a creative.<\/p>\n https:\/\/youtu.be\/jEOydUQXfl8?si=lY_XxOF3Y7zUkxlf<\/p>\n Yeah, your music has a positive multi order to it. The song 35<\/em>, in particular - like that's a banger and everyone\u2019s like: \u201cOh, we gotta go there to that place!\u201d It\u2019s made the East Coast a real destination again \u2013 mana, natural beauty, people, everything!<\/strong><\/p>\n Yeah, it's created that kind of thing. There\u2019s merch everywhere - bumper stickers, hoodies, cups, even the ice cream \u2018scoop\u2019 named after Kalega<\/em>.<\/p>\n For context Rob\u2019s song Kalega refers to the massive ice cream scoop servings offered by shops like the Tirohanga Beach Store, near \u014cpotiki on State Highway 35. As the lyrics go: \u201c\u014chope, \u014chiwa\/ Scoop, fish, oysters, ice cream \u2013 Tirohanga \/ Whakat\u014dhea, T\u016bwhakairiora!\"<\/em><\/p>\n That big scoop, the Kalega ice cream scoop is still a thing on the East Coast. A new shop has opened and still sells it.<\/p>\n I love the way a song becomes part of the identity of a rohe. And it\u2019s not just commercialism, it's the ownership, the kaitiaki of the whole concept.<\/strong><\/p>\n Actually, we still get messages from organisations doing the Kalega<\/em> pilgrimage as a team-building exercise. They start in Rotorua and follow the song along the Coast.<\/p>\n Really? That\u2019s so cool. It's really got under the skin, under the soul of that rohe. <\/strong><\/p>\n It has.<\/p>\n What would you call your music? Your waiata? <\/strong><\/p>\n I coined \u2018Haka Soul\u2019 when I started my solo career. I come from a haka background. My family for generations has done haka. We grew up doing haka as breakfast, lunch and tea - like waking up with the sun. We're still doing haka now.<\/p>\n The haka part - that primal energy tapped into the past, relevant now, future\u2011focused - is central to everything in Kapa Haka and still part of my artistry.<\/p>\n And your iwi, Te Wh\u0101nau-\u0101-Apanui<\/a>, are Matatini champions\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Three times.<\/p>\n Does that make you a cultural leader?<\/strong><\/p>\n I have a balance of creative, cultural, community responsibility. So, yes, absolutely.<\/p>\n To bring the tamariki into haka and tikanga M\u0101ori? <\/strong><\/p>\n All of that. Our isolated place works for us. It grows amazing people, perspectives, and a tight network. Maintaining culture through inter-generations is one of my jobs. To be that storyteller, to keep ancient stories alive through music and visual arts, and to lead that space. Definitely in my community.<\/p>\n Spiritual leader, creative leader. I carry that with pride as my wh\u0101nau have.<\/p>\n https:\/\/youtu.be\/HIqQTrxc15E<\/p>\n As a mentor of emerging artists, what qualities do you want to nurture most?<\/strong><\/p>\n Strength of community. Talent is boundless in Aotearoa and in M\u0101ori communities. When wh\u0101nau go along on the journey, the talent shines. We encourage family - extended family, friends, community - to support the artist. That gives artists the strength, clarity, and space to be the best version of themselves.<\/p>\n So, for the upcoming Aotearoa New Zealand Festival, your new project is Teiwa<\/em> \u2013 with a \u2018Haka Orchestra\u2019, elements of \u2018futurism\u2019 promised, the inclusion of intricate \u2018Iwi narratives\u2019. Tell me more.<\/p>\n Teiwa<\/em> is an abbreviated version of Hineteiwaiwa<\/em>, a deity responsible for creating M\u0101ori performance art.<\/p>\n Hineteiwaiwa (or \u2018Hine-te-iwaiwa\u2019) is a major deity or guardian (M\u0101ori atua) associated with the house of weaving (te whare pora), childbirth, and the moon (te marama), and closely connected to the cycles of life and nature (Waikato Museum<\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\n I envisaged a grand night of ancient and new. In the time of Hineteiwaiwa<\/em>, her crew would perform mind\u2011blowing acts in ancient houses. That\u2019s the excitement I want to rebuild. I want to transform the Michael Fowler Centre into a supernatural hub of creative energy, found only in Aotearoa.<\/p>\n How will you do that? You've got the orchestra - the NZSO?<\/strong><\/p>\n I've spoken today about community, family, close friends - those are the most powerful tools I'll use.<\/p>\n And my band, The Witch Drs., who have been with me for over 10 years. I've performed with Te T\u0101onga people even longer. We\u2019re bringing the next generation too, and the might of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Together, it's going to be a freight train of musical power.<\/p>\n I'm working with Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper, a close friend, on arrangements for the orchestra and Kapa Haka. It's magically exciting. Community, wh\u0101nau, friends - those are the tools.<\/p>\n These amazing people - the band, the Kapa Haka, the orchestra. Some songs are old - songs I wrote at 19 years old. I\u2019ll be working live like I\u2019ve done before.<\/p>\n Such as when?<\/strong><\/p>\n Such as on M\u014dhau <\/em>(2019\/2020<\/p>\n This was a live visual album project featuring Ruha alongside Ria Hall, Troy Kingi, Bella Kalolo, Majic Paora, and Kaaterama. It won the Te M\u0101ngai P\u0101ho Mana Reo Award and the Best Worship Artist (Te Kaipuoro Kairangi Toa) award at the 2020 Aotearoa Music Awards. Or Ka P\u014d, Ka Ao<\/a> (2022), a Matariki project with the Auckland Symphony Orchestra, re-imagining work from Rob\u2019s back catalogue.<\/em><\/p>\n And as well as old, there will be brand-new music the world hasn't heard yet. My passion space is in Haka and the collaboration between Te Taumata o Apanui - my Kapa Haka group - and the orchestra. Mahuia described his latest orchestral score as \u201cepic.\u201d I can\u2019t wait to experience the coming together of these worlds.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Sadly, only a day later we heard about the major flooding in Te Araroa and a devastating slip, causing fatalities in Mt Maunganui. Our hearts and prayers go out to everyone one affected.<\/em><\/p>\n