Three grand pianos played on stage simultaneously

A wonderful one-off performance of Mozart being played on three grand pianos simultaneously is the latest fundraiser for the Raukatauri Centre.

The concert, on 30 March at the Raye Freedman Arts Centre in Epsom, will utilize the talent of three excellent soloists from Auckland University, backed by the "The Auckestra".

Mozart's Concerto for Three Pianos is rarely performed because of the logistics of getting three grand pianos on one stage, so this is a chance for the audience to experience something very special.

The programme for the night also includes Beethoven's Concerto No 2.

The soloists are graduates of Epsom Girls but currently attend Auckland University doing piano performance.  They are Tina Kim, Nayoung Koo and Lucy Zeng, and "The Auckestra" is conducted by Peter Thomas.

Tickets for this unique musical evening are just $20, with proceeds to the Raukatauri Centre.
Click here to buy tickets.

2010 Workshops

The Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre is once again offering a range of professional development workshops in 2010.  Please see the attached flyer for details and enrolment form.  Early enrolment is advised as spaces are limited.

Raukatauri Christmas Raffle

9 December 2009

One of the Raukatauri children and her mum made a special visit to NZ Mint last week to draw the Raukatauri Christmas raffle.

Due to the generosity of NZ Mint, Raukatauri received four wonderful pieces of jewellery from Boh Runga's new Lotus and the Snowbird range. Stephanie and her mum Jun visited NZ Mint's beautiful new premises in Greys Ave to draw the winning tickets.

The winners were: June Clark, who received the Lotus Stud Earrings and Snow Feather Pendant; Joy, who won the Snow Feather Earrings; and George Milliken, who received the Snow Feather Drop Earrings.

The raffle tickets were very popular, and almost $2,000 was raised for the Centre, which was a great result.

Singer-songwriter Boh Runga is Patron of the Raukatauri Centre, and has been designing jewellery since 2007.

Charity CD a great stocking filler

24 November 2009

A New Zealand version of the Beatles classic Come Together has been recorded for the benefit of the Raukatauri Centre.

The single, recorded by Boh Runga and Che Fu, will be released on 30 November, in time for Christmas.

The single will be available at JB HiFi, Marbecks, Real Groovy and The Warehouse as well as digitally through digiRAMA, Telecom and Vodafone. All funds raised from its sale go to support the Centre.

Come Together was originally written by John Lennon to support American psychologist Timothy Leary's presidential campaign. It became a Beatles classic and was the opening track on the group's Abbey Road album.

Boh, a patron of the Raukatauri Centre, says it's a great song that's fun to sing.

"I've always liked the strange, percussive lyrics and the great sing-a-long chorus. When it was suggested as the charity single I was totally up for it. Che is an amazing talent who I have long wanted to perform with and finally I have the chance to sing with him for a cause that is dear to me."

Che says he is thrilled to be involved. "I got to spend an afternoon at the Centre with Boh, and what the staff do there for our young peeps is just magical. I'm stoked to be involved and am glad to be able to rock out a classic tune with Boh at the same time."

Former Raukatauri Music Therapy Trust chair Campbell Smith says the song was chosen by Supergroove vocalist and keyboard player Karl Steven, who produced the single. Karl is also a Raukatauri Music Ambassador.

Campbell says they were looking for a song that had a good groove and that Boh and Che's voices would suit, and Come Together was one of Karl's suggestions.

"The entire project has been one of fantastic cooperation between performers, musicians and the music industry. We're extremely grateful for their help in not only giving of their time and funding but also helping to raise the profile of the work done by the centre."

The single was recorded at Auckland's York Street Studios and is due to be released by Sony Music on 30 November.

The single is $4.99 in physical format and $1.79 as a digital download. Sony and the music retailers are foregoing margins to ensure as much of the purchase price as possible goes to the benefit of the Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre.

Boh performs with Che on the More FM Winery Tour in February. The tour runs through 16 wineries and estates throughout New Zealand between 5 February and 6 March 2010.

Big hearts, great music, good result

19 November 2009

The New Zealand music industry has raised more than $70,000 for the Raukatauri Music Therapy Trust at a charity gala auction in Auckland on Saturday night (Nov. 14).

The funds will go towards operating costs for the Auckland-based trust's therapy centre for children with special needs. The centre receives no statutory funding and the trust needs to raise $400,000 each year to keep it running.

Top bid on the night was $13,000 for a cocktail party for 20 guests at Auckland bar and restaurant Sale Street, with entertainment from RMTC Ambassador Hollie Smith. The highest bid in a concurrent silent auction was $7,500 for a signed Billy Joel poster.

Other highlights of the night were:

• $9,000 paid for original artwork from Flying Nun's 25^th Anniversary CDs
• A Big Day Out package that raised $5,000
• Lunch with rugby doyen Colin Meads that fetched $4,750
• A guitar singed by Alice Cooper, which raised $4,500.

Hosted by Oliver Driver, the evening featured donated performances by a range of musicians including The Mint Chicks, Opensouls Acoustic, Simon Oscroft and Jeremy Redmore from Midnight Youth and singer/songwriter Anna Coddington together with the Masque Vocal Ensemble.

And for the greybeards, Hello Sailor made a special appearance following the band's successful gig with The Who in March.

Retiring trust chair Campbell Smith says the money raised is vital for achieving the aims of the centre.

"The trust is self-funding and relies on the generosity of a wide range of friends and family - together with a dedicated staff - to achieve its goals of providing first class music therapy.

"Once again the music industry and supporters have opened their hearts and their wallets for the cause and we are very, very grateful for their support for what is a crucial service for so many families."

It is the sixth year New Zealand musicians and friends have come together in support of the Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre.

The centre works with more than 100 children each week, either at its premises in the Auckland suburb of Grey Lynn or in the Outreach programmes it runs with schools.

Issued for the Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre by Pead PR

Contact:

Dianna Vezich, Pead PR, Tel: 0-9-918 5577; Mob: 021 983 960; e-mail: dianna@peadpr.co.nz

New chair at RMTC

16 November 2009

It's with mixed emotions that we record a changing of the guard on the Raukatauri Music Therapy Trust board.

Our founding chair Campbell Smith has resigned as both chair and a trustee and Sean Coleman has been elected his successor by the board.

Campbell has been chair of the trust since its inception in 2004. We are however extremely fortunate to have Sean as a truly worthy replacement. 

Sean has been involved in the music industry for 40 years, first in his homeland UK and for nearly two decades in New Zealand. He is a shareholder in businesses involved with music tours and artist management.

He joined the RMTC board in 2005, introduced by a business acquaintance and friend after expressing an interest in giving back something to the industry.

In assuming the role, Sean paid tribute to Campbell's tireless work for RMTC.

"Campbell's contribution to the guardianship of the centre and the funding of the trust has been immense. We will miss his valuable insights and unselfish commitment of his own free time to the cause."

Sean says his initial goals for the Trust are modest.

"We are not about to fix anything that isn't broken. To me, the obvious ultimate goal is to significantly reduce waiting times and making the centre more financially secure is a key driver of that.

"But we have a wonderfully experienced board and a dedicated therapist team so we are in good heart and my aim is to ensure we continue on those tracks."

Campbell's final task as chair of the trust was to oversee the recent fund-raising charity auction in Auckland that saw $70,000 raised by the music industry and guests.