Rob Thorne (Ngāti Tumutumu) Rob is a profoundly original voice in the evolving journey of Taonga Puoro. His inaugural solo album on Rattle Records, "Whāia Te Māramatanga" (2013) is a deeply felt and highly concentrated conversation between the past and the present - a musical passage of identity and connection. Using modern loop technology and traditional Māori flutes and horns made from stone, bone, shell and wood, Rob creates a transcendent aural experience that touches the soul with timeless beauty. Every performance is a stunning and very personal exploration of the spiritual and healing qualities of an ancient practice.

Rob Thorne Toi Pūoro | Facebook

DUNEDIN CITY … Ltd spaces available bookings essential

Tuesday 13th July, 6-8pm – Karitane Hall, Coast Road (in association with Waikouaiti Library) www.facebook.com/events/338339810967252

Wednesday 14th July, 6-8pm – Downes Room, Mosgiel Library, 7 Hartstonge Avenue www.facebook.com/events/780058306025615

Thursday 15th July, 6-8pm – Port Chalmers Library, cnr Beach and Grey Street

www.facebook.com/events/780058306025615

Friday 16th July , 6-8 pm - Araiteuru Marae, 24 Shetland Street Wakari Dunedin

www.facebook.com/events/1017824992357051

Saturday 17th July, 2-4pm – Dunningham Suite, 4th Floor, Dunedin City Library, 230 Moray Place

www.facebook.com/events/4035030836617462

Rob

Rob Thorne

Rob Thorne is a Taonga Puoro composer, performer and anthropologist. Rob, Ngāti Tumutumu, was the recent Creative NZ / Jack C. Richards Composer-In-Residence at the New Zealand School of Music, Victoria University, Wellington. He has travelled, performed and presented at a number of overseas events and gatherings including Womex on a number of occasions

The programme is as follows Porotiti Mindfulness Workshop & Performance Meditation.

The porotiti is a traditional Māori musical instrument also known to be used in traditional healing.

Suspended by a cord, and spun with both hands in front of the body, it is renowned as a children’s toy and was known to be medicine for the respiratory system, the chest and spine, the spirit and the mind.

The simple act of playing the porotiti is a meditation.

In this modern world, we can struggle to connect our bodies and minds in a way that is healthy. Anxiety and stress seem to pervade almost every part of life today, as does the act of performance brought on by the internet, socialisation, schooling and work. Pressure is an inherent part of our success and achievement culture. Mindfulness and meditation practices and theories abound and it can be difficult to find ways to connect fully into these in a way where we are confident that we are achieving the purpose of the practice. Our minds can become distracted with the pressure of performing the practice correctly and successfully and the benefits of the practice become compromised.

In this workshop the participants learn and achieve both a moving and a breathing meditation that also incorporates a sonic meditation made by the instrument. The act of playing the porotiti allows the mind and body to subconsciously align through breath, action and sound and because the body is busy the mind is free to flow.

Participants also learn about traditional Māori musical instruments (taonga puoro), and how to play an instrument (the porotiti). They are also given the opportunity to consider the value of traditional practices and other ways of knowing and being.

The workshop incorporates discussion on what defines performance, and the consideration that behaviour and action are types of performance. When we acknowledge all the ways we exist in a performance state in relation to social stressors and anxiety we can begin to consciously observe and assess and alter how we respond and cope.

Workshop and Meditation

90 minute with up to sixty per session

• Brief introduction to taonga puoro.
• The porotiti, its tradition, its functions, its potential.
• Mindfulness and meditation as a practice of wellness,
• Mechanisms of meditation: self, extended repetition, mantra, mindfulness, flow.
• Performance as action with purpose and narrative.
• Learn to play the porotiti.
• Rob demonstrating his instruments with looping technology

The workshops will focus on teaching folk about the relationship between culture and sound while exploring within the fluid gap between traditional and modern perspectives. They will come to experience the simplifying but empowering effects of improvisation within performance that will translate into everyday living and identity. It also give students the opportunity to develop an understanding and appreciation of the arts as well as the creative process.