Kia ora Koutou I have not blogged for a while because I have been so busy singing & teaching! ‘Diva’ was, and probably still is, my favourite Opera Film. I adored the scene of the Pirate illegally recording the Soprano with his portable reel to reel tape recorder. Where would we performers be without Pirates?Continue reading “Bootleg Recording of my Songs & Singing”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Guitar & Voice Recitals
I became interested in the idea of Guitar & Voice Recitals in the 90s; this interest led to a tour with Chamber Music New Zealand using my Paul Fischer Classical Guitar. It was a very popular tour; I performed throughout New Zealand. Other performances with the Paul Fischer Guitar included St. James Palace (London, UK),Continue reading “Guitar & Voice Recitals”
Songwriting
I have never been happy with my recording of ‘River Will Carry Me’ (2022). So, yesterday, I edited the vocals and sound engineering and… Voilà! The problem for me with the 2022 version was that the vocals weren’t expressing what I needed this song to say: ‘the River’ (life) will eventually bring the character inContinue reading “Songwriting”
Aotearoa New Zealand Opera School
Today’s blog is to say how much I enjoyed watching Nikki Li Hartliep teach at the Aotearoa New Zealand Opera School at the Prince Edward Auditorium, Whanganui Collegiate School, Whanganui, January 2024. Thank you to the school for allowing me to observe the school! If you have never been to a masterclass before, I urgeContinue reading “Aotearoa New Zealand Opera School”
Dreams Do Come True
From 2024, I will be an Artist in Residence at The Piano in Ōtautahi Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand. Several years ago, it was only but a dream to have my own music school. From 2024, I will teach in a space devoted to the musical arts where I will be working alongside fabulous colleagues. TheContinue reading “Dreams Do Come True”
Vocals for DJ Strange
Here is a snippet of a recording session with House musician, DJ Strange. The sound track is a snippet of Strange’s composition ‘Matariki’; one of the tracks that I recorded with him and that he is currently editing. Strange’s music is an unique blend of House, Taonga Pūoro and Waiata (Song). Here is his FacebookContinue reading “Vocals for DJ Strange”
Advice for the Rock Voice
Here is a soundtrack of a 14-year-old singer, pictured here (his guitar teacher is Michael Sumner). Here is the vocal advice that I gave him when I coached him and assisted with the band’s writing of this song. The human voice can only take so much; work out how to achieve an effect as efficientlyContinue reading “Advice for the Rock Voice”
Singing scales in the Māori Language
On May 13, 2023, in a concert with the Christchurch City Choir at the Transitional Cathedral, pianist Jeremy Woodside and I performed a solo piece for voice and piano, called ‘Kia Hora Te Marino’. A lot of people have been asking for information about the song. Hence today’s blog! I wrote the piece for Dr.Continue reading “Singing scales in the Māori Language”
Learning singing technique by recording an EP
In past blogs, I have encouraged singers to use recording as a learning tool. The iPhone, for example, is extremely handy and easy to use. Both audio and video can be used daily. The phone, together with reflection, can save on a lot of singing lessons! Today’s blog looks at recording from another angle byContinue reading “Learning singing technique by recording an EP”
Writing with Taonga Pūoro: Decolonization of Creative Practice
This year I am undertaking postgraduate research at ARA in Ōtautahi. My subject is the ‘Tikanga of songwriting with Mātauranga Māori’. I am in my final two months of research. Below is the first draft of the creative work for the research. I am about to embark on the second draft. However, I wanted toContinue reading “Writing with Taonga Pūoro: Decolonization of Creative Practice”
Deborah Wai Kapohe 