Simply magic

Stars align for taonga puoro expert Ariana Tikao.

- RICHARD BETTS

Several orchestras are marking Matariki this year, but Dunedin Symphony's "Celebrating Matariki - Whakanuia Matariki" (July 22 and 23) concerts are properly mouthwatering.

Orbiting Mozart's "Jupiter" Symphony are a cluster of New Zealand works. Shining brightly among them is Manaaki, a collaboration between composer Philip Brownlee and taonga puoro expert Ariana Tikao (Kāi Tahu).

The pair have worked together before, on the groundbreaking concerto Ko Te Tātai Whetu. Manaaki is a smaller affair, just strings and Tikao's traditional instruments, and is an expanded version of the work Tikao performed with the New Zealand String Quartet at the Aotearoa Festival of the Arts.

Tikao says that even after 10 years of working with classical musicians, the orchestral stage isn't her natural environment.