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National

Māori waiata finalist in children's music awards

Loopy Tunes Preschool music was founded by sisters Siu Williams-Lemi and Leah Williams-Partington to embrace a passion for creating music incorporating Te Reo Māori for children.

Over the weekend Siu was announced as a finalist for the New Zealand’s children's music awards for the best children's song for her waiata “He uri Ngāti hua-rakau.

“It's huge,” she said.

“We never thought that a Reo Māori waiata would get in the finals.”

Beginning in 2010 as an outreach preschool music programme at Beckenham Methodist Church in Christchurch, the vision was for Loopy Tunes to offer music to local whānau that were live, interactive, affordable and fun.

“My sister and I went there, and families asked for waiata, and about two years ago we created our first album, so it all started from there," Siu says.

The books are available at most libraries and at their online store.