Richard Nunns
Encyclopedia
Richard Nunns QSM is a Māori traditional instrumentalist
of Pākehā
heritage. He is particularly known for playing the Taonga pūoro
and his collaboration with fellow Māori instrumentalist Hirini Melbourne
. Since Melbourne's death, he is regarded as the world's foremost authority on Māori instruments.
. He is a Pākehā
of Scandinavian descent and was born into a musical family. As a teacher in his late 20s living in the Waikato, he helped build a marae
, which fuelled his interest for Māori culture
. At the time, he was a jazz musician.
Nunns co-led the musicians at a dawn ceremony on opening day of Te Papa
in 1998. He has made recordings with musicians covering a wide variety of styles, including Moana and the Moahunters
, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
, the New Zealand String Quartet
, King Kapisi
, and Salmonella Dub
. In addition, he has toured with Māori musician Whirimako Black
, jazz musician Evan Parker
, pianists Marilyn Crispell
, Paul Grabowsky
and Mike Nock
, and flutist Alexa Still
. Nunns has worked with composers Gareth Farr
, Gillian Whitehead
and John Purser
. He has contributed to the soundtracks for The Lord of the Rings
film trilogy and Whale Rider.
Since 2001, Nunns has held the position of research associate in the music department of the University of Waikato
.
Nunns has for many years had Parkinson's disease
.
. He was a category winner twice in the New Zealand Music Awards
(in 2006 and 2007). He was bestowed an honorary doctorate by Victoria University of Wellington
in 2008 for his contributions to Tāonga Puoro. In the 2009 Queen's Birthday honours Nunns was awarded a Queen's Service Medal. Later that year he and Melbourne were jointly inducted in the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame
. Later in the same year, he received a Laureate Award from the Arts Foundation of New Zealand
.
Maori music
Te Pūoro Māori or Māori Music is music composed or performed by Māori, the native people of New Zealand, and includes a wide variety of folk music styles, often integrated with poetry and dance, as well as modern rock and roll, soul, reggae and hip hop....
of Pākehā
Pakeha
Pākehā is a Māori language word for New Zealanders who are "of European descent". They are mostly descended from British and to a lesser extent Irish settlers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, although some Pākehā have Dutch, Scandinavian, German, Yugoslav or other ancestry...
heritage. He is particularly known for playing the Taonga pūoro
Taonga pūoro
Taonga pūoro are the traditional musical instruments of the Māori people of New Zealand.Taonga pūoro were revived over the past thirty years by Hirini Melbourne, Richard Nunns and Brian Flintoff. The instruments previously fulfilled many functions within Māori society including a call to arms,...
and his collaboration with fellow Māori instrumentalist Hirini Melbourne
Hirini Melbourne
Hirini Melbourne was a Māori composer, singer, university lecturer, poet and author. He was from Ngāi Tūhoe and Ngāti Kahungunu Maori tribes.He is known in New Zealand for his work surrounding the revival of Māori culture...
. Since Melbourne's death, he is regarded as the world's foremost authority on Māori instruments.
Early life
Nunns was born in 1945 in NapierNapier, New Zealand
Napier is a New Zealand city with a seaport, located in Hawke's Bay on the eastern coast of the North Island. The population of Napier is about About 18 kilometres south of Napier is the inland city of Hastings. These two neighboring cities are often called "The Twin Cities" or "The Bay Cities"...
. He is a Pākehā
Pakeha
Pākehā is a Māori language word for New Zealanders who are "of European descent". They are mostly descended from British and to a lesser extent Irish settlers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, although some Pākehā have Dutch, Scandinavian, German, Yugoslav or other ancestry...
of Scandinavian descent and was born into a musical family. As a teacher in his late 20s living in the Waikato, he helped build a marae
Marae
A marae malae , malae , is a communal or sacred place which serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies...
, which fuelled his interest for Māori culture
Maori culture
Māori culture is the culture of the Māori of New Zealand, an Eastern Polynesian people, and forms a distinctive part of New Zealand culture. Within the Māori community, and to a lesser extent throughout New Zealand as a whole, the word Māoritanga is often used as an approximate synonym for Māori...
. At the time, he was a jazz musician.
Professional life
For many years, he performed with Hirini Melbourne (1949–2003), playing traditional Māori instruments. Together, they researched these instruments, which had not been played for over a century, as their use went out of tradition in the 1900s. For many of the instruments, which were still on display in museums, it wasn't even known what technique was used to play them. They are credited with reviving this part of Māori culture. Since Melbourne's death, he is regarded as the world's foremost authority on Māori instruments.Nunns co-led the musicians at a dawn ceremony on opening day of Te Papa
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is the national museum and art gallery of New Zealand, located in Wellington. It is branded and commonly known as Te Papa and Our Place; "Te Papa Tongarewa" is broadly translatable as "the place of treasures of this land".The museum's principles...
in 1998. He has made recordings with musicians covering a wide variety of styles, including Moana and the Moahunters
Moana (singer)
Moana Maree Maniapoto MNZM is a New Zealand singer, songwriter and documentary maker.-History:As a performing and recording artist, Moana has pushed the boundaries of Māori music with her unique blend of traditional Maori musical elements and contemporary western grooves.Both her recorded and...
, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra is the national orchestra of New Zealand. It is a crown entity owned by the Government of New Zealand, with 90 full-time players....
, the New Zealand String Quartet
New Zealand String Quartet
The New Zealand String Quartet is New Zealand’s only full time string quartet. The current formation of musicians consisting of Helene Pohl , Douglas Beilman , Gillian Ansell and Rolf Gjelsten was established in 1994.The Quartet performs more than eighty concerts a year in New Zealand and...
, King Kapisi
King Kapisi
King Kapisi is a New Zealand Hip hop recording artist. He was the first Hip hop artist in New Zealand to receive the prestigious Silver Scroll Award at the APRA Awards for Songwriter of the Year for his single Reverse Resistance in 1999, which followed on the popular release of his debut single...
, and Salmonella Dub
Salmonella Dub
Salmonella Dub are a Dub/Drum n Bass/Reggae/Roots band from Kaikoura, New Zealand. They were formed in 1991 by Andrew Penman, David Deakins and Mark Tyler...
. In addition, he has toured with Māori musician Whirimako Black
Whirimako Black
Whirimako Black is a New Zealand Māori recording artist Whirimako sings mostly in Te Reo Māori, uses traditional Māori musical forms and collaborates with traditional Taonga pūoro instruments....
, jazz musician Evan Parker
Evan Parker
Evan Shaw Parker is a British free-improvising saxophone player from the European free jazz scene.Recording and performing prolifically with many collaborators, Parker was a pivotal figure in the development of European free jazz and free improvisation, and has pioneered or substantially expanded...
, pianists Marilyn Crispell
Marilyn Crispell
Marilyn Crispell is an American jazz pianist and composer.-Biography:Crispell studied classical piano and composition at the New England Conservatory of Music. She has been a resident of Woodstock, NY since 1977 when she came to study and teach at Karl Berger's Creative Music Studio...
, Paul Grabowsky
Paul Grabowsky
-Biography:Grabowsky was born on 27 September 1958 in Lae, Papua New Guinea; his father Alistair had lived in Papua New Guinea with his wife Charlotte since the 1930s working on oil rigs, building roads, flying planes and playing the drums...
and Mike Nock
Mike Nock
Mike Nock is a jazz pianist, currently based in Australia. He began studying piano at 11 and by 18 was performing in Australia. He headed a trio that toured England in 1961 and then attended Berklee College of Music...
, and flutist Alexa Still
Alexa Still
Alexa Still is a New Zealand born flutist currently based in Oberlin, Ohio, where she teaches at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.Still studied in the US with Samuel Baron at SUNY Stony Brook and with Thomas Nyfenger...
. Nunns has worked with composers Gareth Farr
Gareth Farr
Gareth Vincent Farr ONZM is a New Zealand composer and percussionist. He has released a number of classical CDs and composed a number of works performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Royal New Zealand Ballet...
, Gillian Whitehead
Gillian Whitehead
Dame Gillian Karawe Whitehead, DNZM is a New Zealand composer.She studied at the University of Auckland from 1959–62, and Victoria University of Wellington in 1963, graduating BMus Hons in 1964. She then studied composition at the University of Sydney with Peter Sculthorpe from...
and John Purser
John Purser
John Purser, born in 1942 in Glasgow, Scotland, is an eminent composer, musicologist, and music historian. He is also a playwright.He initiated the reconstruction which commenced in 1991 of the Iron Age Deskford Carnyx, producing a replica which was first played in 1993 by trombonist John Kenny.The...
. He has contributed to the soundtracks for The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...
film trilogy and Whale Rider.
Since 2001, Nunns has held the position of research associate in the music department of the University of Waikato
University of Waikato
The University of Waikato is located in Hamilton and Tauranga, New Zealand, and was established in 1964. It has strengths across a broad range of subject areas, particularly its degrees in Computer Science and in Management...
.
Nunns has for many years had Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
.
Awards
Nunns holds an honorary life membership of the New Zealand Flute Association. In 2001, Nunns received a citation for services to music from the Composers Association of New ZealandComposers Association of New Zealand
The Composers Association of New Zealand is a body that lobbies for the interests of New Zealand composers. Through its affiliations with the International Society for Contemporary Music and the , CANZ provides its members with opportunities to participate in international music festivals...
. He was a category winner twice in the New Zealand Music Awards
New Zealand Music Awards
The New Zealand Music Awards show, is a major annual New Zealand music event where musical acts and singers are awarded each year. It has occurred every year since 1965 to outstanding New Zealand musicians and groups....
(in 2006 and 2007). He was bestowed an honorary doctorate by Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
in 2008 for his contributions to Tāonga Puoro. In the 2009 Queen's Birthday honours Nunns was awarded a Queen's Service Medal. Later that year he and Melbourne were jointly inducted in the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame
New Zealand Music Hall of Fame
The New Zealand Music Hall of Fame is a hall of fame dedicated to noteworthy musicians from New Zealand. The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand and Australasian Performing Right Association announced their intentions to create the hall of fame in August 2007...
. Later in the same year, he received a Laureate Award from the Arts Foundation of New Zealand
Arts Foundation of New Zealand
A facilitator of private philanthropy, the Arts Foundation of New Zealand supports artistic excellence through its permanent Endowment Fund. Legacies and donations help grow the Fund, with income generated enabling the Foundation to support the arts....
.
External links
- Video showing Richard Nunns discussing traditional Māori instruments