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Wednesday 1 May 2019 8:20pm

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Celebrate New Zealand music month at the Hocken - with an excellent programme of events on offer.

Don’t miss the opportunity to sing-a-long with the Sextet, or get an exclusive insight into an iconic musician’s creative process, at the Hocken this month.

The library has once again delved into its significant collections and come up with a fantastic array of events for NZ Music Month.

Researcher Services Manager Lynn Benson says the aim is to “purely and simply” celebrate New Zealand music.

“I love that we’ve been able to put together a programme that covers such a wide range of music, topics and research interests – as well as singing,” she says.

Events include a “rude and risqué” sing-a-long with the Otago Capping Sextet, in its 125th year, incorporating the very rich collection of photos, programmes and historical recordings held by the Hocken; a talk by Dr Graeme Downes on the creative process behind the latest Verlaines album Dunedin Spleen; an exploration of musical worlds by four postgraduate researchers; and an evening of 60s bands The Titans and the Catlins River Boys, featuring music not heard for decades, thanks to a recent donation of posters, photos and recordings.

"We hope people will come along and have an enjoyable and interesting time, and learn a little more about New Zealand music and the breadth and depth of the Hocken Collections."

“We hope people will come along and have an enjoyable and interesting time, and learn a little more about New Zealand music and the breadth and depth of the Hocken Collections. Who knows, they may be inspired to take up a research journey themselves using our collection, or re-form that band they used to be in!”

Each year the Hocken gets behind the annual month-long celebration of home-grown music to share its rich and significant research collections relating to New Zealand music.

Sound recordings, sheet music, and songbooks, sit alongside posters and ephemera, archival music material, as well as a large book and periodical holdings in the library’s collections.

“We actively collect in this area as it’s a hugely important part of New Zealand’s history, culture and political landscape and is an area of much active interest by researchers. Consequently NZ Music Month is of great relevance to us and it gives us a great opportunity to promote our collections to the public, and to academic, and music communities.”

All events are free and held at the Hocken Library Seminar Room, 90 Anzac Ave. For more information, phone 03 479 8868, or visit: https://www.otago.ac.nz/library/hocken/otago683197.html#NZ_Music_Month

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