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Igelese Ete is a musical genius who shuns the limelight.
He prefers to share the glory for the choral production MALAGA with his colleagues at the Auckland University, Black Grace choreographers, his wife Jackie Leota Ete and the 200-strong choir that breathed life into the epic Polynesian journey.
Malaga 2002 drew full houses when it took centre stage at Auckland's Aotea Centre in February this year.
And as the applause from the Oscars fades, Igelese shies away from the public accolades that accompany Lord of the Rings winning the gong for Best Music Score in a movie.
The much-acclaimed film director Peter Jackson head hunted Igelese to provide the deep haunting choral sounds in the music score for Lord of the Rings.
"I am thankful to have been part of that. It has opened a door into the industry for us", Igelese says.
The Samoan born musicians' accomplishments are as diverse as his
capabilities. "I compose and arrange music, I would rather someone else
wrote the lyrics. I am more concerned with the emotions of the lyrics and how I can bring them out", Igelese
says. "I play the piano, some guitar; nothing flash," Igelese says.
The catchy tune behind the teen TV series The Tribe was his and so was the score for the Classical Polynesia featuring Iosefa Enari that opened the first Americas Cup in Auckland some years ago.
But Malaga is a spiritual undertaking for Igelese. In Malaga there is certainty of origin, certainty of identity and direction for the 200-strong voices that follow the passage of that journey.
That is the essence of Malaga. It serenades possibilities and restores worthiness in the souls of the school leavers that make up the choir.
Malaga began as a 15-minute segment four years ago to open Mana Pasifika, the Pacific section at Te Papa National Museum in Igeleses' hometown of Wellington. It has since evolved into a one-hour celebration choral work involving 14 opera pieces sung in Maori, Tongan, Samoan, Fijian, Niuean and Cook Island languages.
Malaga was generic last year relating the journey from Hawaiki to the different islands, but this time we had a navigator, Tangaloa the Polynesian God who represents father and son, Igelese says. We've added another dimension, there's a mother who sees her daughter off and she gives a 'taonga' or treasure which is passed on through the different generations coming down from the original arrivals to the modern day.
The music reflects certain periods in time with rap and hip-hop relating to the now. Tangaloa is a bassist, we have this big Niuean who has a fabulous low bass voice and we used him to navigate the ship toward the island of Aotearoa where the journey is headed.
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Then there is the mother who is a soprano soloist who sings a lilting moving duet with the daughter who is also a soprano. Opera buffs will warm to this duet as it is opera at its best with Rasita Vai and Shereen Clark drawing deep into their souls to deliver a passionate rendition of the journey.
Igelese embarks on a different journey with his appointment as the first Creative Fellow in Pacific Music at the University of Auckland lecturing in the new Bachelor of Pacific Island Performing Arts. He will also continue his role as music director for Hamiltons' Vision Leadership College Christian School of Music.
"I think the degree will go a long way towards retaining and advancing Pacific Island performing arts in NZ," he says.
If you're wondering what kind of journeys the Malaga choir chose to follow, most of them will have started lectures at university or tech.
We know for sure that 18-year-old Amelia Funaki, the mezzo soprano who sang the Fijian aria is polishing her German and Maori language skills at university while R&B artist Annie Puletiutoa is waiting to hear of a recording contract.
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