Soul singer Teeks (Te Karehana Gardiner-Toi) will headline his first ever New Zealand show in March when he joins the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra (APO) at Auckland Town Hall on 28 March.
Hailing from Northland, Teeks ((Ngāpuhi, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui) grew up surrounded by music and performance. Raised with strong kapa haka influences, Teeks went on to form his own band at high school, before being selected to participate in the late Dr Hirini Melbourne’s development initiative, Pao Pao Pao, for emerging and establishing Māori artists.
The concert marks Teeks' very first national headline concert and the opportunity to perform his own music backed by the 72-piece Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra.
“I feel extremely humbled to be given this opportunity. Performing alongside an orchestra has always been a fantasy of mine and to be playing my own material makes it pretty special,” Teeks says, “To hear the full force of an orchestra play your songs, songs you might have written in your bedroom a few years ago none the wiser, it is crazy to imagine. I'm so excited to see what we can do together.”
Since the release of Teeks’ critically acclaimed debut EP The Grapefruit Skies in 2017, he has collected awards and nominations as well as delivering heralded live performances, earning him legions of fans.
Teeks has been nominated for a prestigious Taite Music Prize, a Silver Scroll, and several New Zealand Music Awards, picking up the inaugural award for Best Māori Artist in 2018.
The APO will join Teeks to perform a selection of his current and new music in an intimate acoustic concert experience. Composer and arranger Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper has been selected by Teeks to reimagine his music into full orchestral arrangements.
Doors open at 8pm, with the APO opening the evening with a short programme of orchestral music. Teeks will then take to the stage, together with the APO conducted by David Kay.
Hailing from Northland, Teeks (Te Karehana Gardiner-Toi) grew up surrounded by music and performance. Raised with strong kapa haka influences, Teeks went on to form his own band at high school, before being selected to participate in the late Dr Hirini Melbourne’s development initiative, Pao Pao Pao, for emerging and establishing Māori artists.