The Dream of Decolonised Music in a Colonial Reality

Interweaving the practices of Tangata Whenua (Indigenous Māori) and Tangata Tiriti (non-Māori) for musical creation is a powerful way to explore the dialogical relationships that honour te Tiriti o Waitangi. Classical-music spaces are positioned to showcase cross-cultural collaboration that truly dreams of fostering understanding and equity between cultures, highlighting the power of their unity, the beauty of their differences, and decolonising the space in the process. However, far too often, decolonising intentions have to contend with the cultural hegemonies of the classical-music world.

In this presentation, we draw on our experiences of co-authoring a piece for choir and classical orchestra commissioned for performance in 2025. As co-authors, Oliver Bramah (Tangata Tiriti) and Hēmi Kelly (Ngāti Maniapoto and Ngāti Tahu-Ngāti Whaoa) took inspiration from te ao Māori (Māori worldview) and te taiao (nature). Our hope was that our piece, Kūī Kūī, would showcase how te ao Māori could intertwine with European classical music, both in theme and aesthetic, and demonstrate this unity and beauty to a classical music audience.

The dream would unfortunately fall flat against reality. The director and soloists (soprano and countertenor) identified that they did not understand the intention and construction of the work, leading to its cancellation within a month of the performance. Using Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s Decolonising Methodologies, this presentation explores and critiques both the dreams and values of an indigenised composition, confronted with the reality of persisting colonising structures and discourse that continue to dominate musical spaces.

This presentation also provides a rare opportunity to discuss a cross-cultural collaboration that was not performed, addressing survivorship bias. By explicating the challenges faced, we provide an opportunity to support successful cross-cultural collaborations.