Rappers awarded orchestra scholarships

Rappers awarded orchestra scholarships

Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra (APO) has added two talented young artists to a select group of APO Remix the Orchestra scholarship recipients.

Bob Fa’atiga (19) and Danielle Peeni (24) were chosen to record their original hip-hop tracks with urban music producer Anonymouz (Matthew Faiumu Salapu) and orchestral musicians from the APO. The tracks will be available for free download, and each will be set to a music video.

Instrumentalist/rapper Bob and singer/rapper Danielle were among 25 applicants to the APO’s ‘Remix Out West’ workshop, held in February at Corban Estate Arts Centre, Henderson. Their stand-out efforts saw Bob, Danielle and three others invited to perform live in Aotea Square with Anonymouz, members of Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and APO Remix mentors King Kapisi and Cherie Matheson. Following this performance, which was part of Auckland Arts Festival’s family day, Bob and Danielle were offered the scholarships.

Selecting the final pair was difficult, but the APO’s Lee Martelli says Bob and Danielle are worthy winners who could have a future in the music industry. “They have that ‘x factor’ and a passion for music that comes out when they perform. They were also able to absorb all the ideas and advice they were given and use it in creative, original ways.”

Bob and Danielle are only the second and third people to receive an APO Remix scholarship. They are preceded by Mike Taii, aka Laybaq, who in 2012 released his first EP, Loungin’, and recently issued a new single, ‘Down Memory Lane’, which features NZ Idol winner Rosita Vai.

Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra’s Chief Executive, Barbara Glaser, congratulated Bob and Danielle on their achievement.

“Bob and Danielle are immensely talented and we hope, through these Remix the Orchestra scholarships, to help them fulfil that talent,” she said. “We’re also pleased to uncover two people with their abilities at our first Remix workshop in West Auckland. We are Auckland’s metropolitan orchestra and initiatives like Remix Out West represent one way to expand the breadth and depth of what we do. It’s critical for us to engage with communities in a way that’s meaningful to the people we serve, whether it’s through hip-hop in Henderson or Haydn in Auckland Town Hall.”

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