‘Brilliant’ Singing of the Babies concert
Pre-schoolers sung with enthusiasm, or not at all, at the delightful Korohi o Te Pepi – Singing of the Babies concert in Timaru yesterday.
Nineteen South Canterbury early childhood centres participated at the Caroline Bay Hall. The junior version of the Flava Festival is designed to encourage Māori culture and language.
Audience members comprised a consistent 200 family members of the performers who completed three or four songs in te reo Māori each, with actions.
Ka Toi Māori o Aoraki chair Kathy Campbell said it had been a ‘‘brilliant concert’’.
This year organisers adjusted the format so six or seven early childhood centres were timetabled together in three blocks to avoid congestion.
‘‘It worked really well. There weren’t people coming and going during performances,’’ Campbell said.
Arowhenua Whanau Services tinana ora navigator Bianca Sheed was MC for the four-hour concert and talked about the motivation behind the song choices and their meanings.
Campbell said children did not have hang-ups like some adults did about learning te reo Māori and they picked it up quickly.
‘‘They learn to talk [te reo Māori] by hearing again and again. It’s so easy for our babies to pick it up.’’
She learnt the language as a child and taught her own sons, who could speak te reo Māori and English by the time they started school.
Campbell hoped the singing babies would continue to progress in their understanding of Māori culture and te reo Māori as they went to school.
Ka Toi Māori o Aoraki introduced the inaugural South Canterbury Flava Festival for primary and secondary school student in 2013 in which early childhood centres also took part.
Korohi o Te Pēpi – Singing of the Babies was developed in 2015 to meet demand from this age group.