Waitā | for Orchestra and Choir

Waitā | for Orchestra and Choir
Duration: 5 Minutes
Level: Grade 5-6
Premiered in 2025 by the Manawa Ora | Wellington Regional Hospital Orchestra and Choir, in the atrium of the Wellington Regional Hospital.
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Commissioned by the 2024 SOUNZ Community Commission for the Manawa Ora |
Wellington Regional Hospital Orchestra and Choir, this piece is part four of a nine
movement suite for the stars of Matariki. The music is intended to be accessible,
memorable, and inspire curiosity about what Matariki means to us individually and as
a community. As lullabies, the suite also seeks to capture the essence of each star from
the perspective of our tamariki; offering a glimpse of each star's significance through
the eyes of our youth.

A key aspect of these works - wri en with the support and ideas of the Manawa Ora
Orchestra and Choir, for the wider Wellington community - are the lyrics. As part of the
wider project to create these pieces, Jacob Barre worked with a local primary school to
source poems from our tamariki about each star of Matariki. The words for this piece
come from Waita by Davy. I especially want to thank Davy for the taonga he has gifted
to us - it was magical in the truest sense to write music to your words, and I hope that
this music inspires you to keep on writing.

Waitā is the star associated with the ocean; from the tides of Te Moana Nui a Kiwa, to
the depths of the ocean floor, and all the different ocean lifeforms who live within it. In
particular, Waitā is significant for influence over tides, floodwaters, and food gathered
from the sea. To show respect to Waitā, we should seek to protect our oceans by
conserving water, preventing/reducing waste around the ocean, and fishing or
consuming seafood sustainably.