SOUNZ Community Commission Awarded to Kane Parsons

SOUNZ Centre for New Zealand Music | Toi te Arapūoru wishes to congratulate the recipient of the 2025/26 SOUNZ Community Commission Te Tono Mahinga ā-Hapori a SOUNZ, Kane Parsons.

Kane is a composer, storyteller, and educator based in Te Papaioea Palmerston North, whose work weaves music, culture, and community into vibrant, meaningful experiences, grounded in a deep respect for identity, language, and intergenerational connection. With a career spanning over 24 years in music, theatre, and education, Kane’s work focuses on community connection and culturally grounded creative expression.

Ka Tū, Ka Ora – Stand Strong, Live Well is the title of this ambitious project, which brings together rangatahi from across the Manawatū region including kapa haka and music students from local primary schools, rangatahi from Manawatū Youth Theatre, a newly-formed local youth choir, the emerging Pasifika Youth Choir, and tamaiti from Malamalama Moni Aoga Amata Childcare Centre. Over the next nine months, Kane and his collaborators will work with approximately 200 young people on a multilingual choral composition project that blends te reo Māori, English, and Gagana Samoa to promote resilience and positive mental health outcomes in rangatahi.

Kane will work with local choir directors, community leaders, reo Māori and Gagana Samoa experts, youth mental health workers and advocates, bilingual lyricists, and kapa haka tutors to collaborate on the work. Rangatahi will contribute lyrics and melodic ideas, which Kane will use to create his work. Following workshops and kōrero-gathering sessions, Kane will compose his work and tailor it specifically for the community groups he’s working with. A rehearsal process, first with individual groups, and then with the full ensemble, will prepare the performers for a showcase concert in New Zealand Music Month in May 2026. The concert will include storytelling elements, visual design, and audience participation, and will be co-led by the newly-formed youth choir and emerging community leaders, ensuring the work is of, by, and for the people it serves.

Through fostering creative resilience and uplifting young voices, Kane aims to strengthen community connections and promote mental wellbeing in our rangatahi. On being awarded this commission, Kane says:

"I’m truly thrilled and humbled to be awarded the 2025 SOUNZ Community Commission, and would like to express my deep gratitude to SOUNZ Centre for New Zealand Music and the generous project donor. This is an incredible opportunity to bring together youth and community groups from across the Manawatū region, creating a multilingual choral work in te reo Māori, English, and Samoan. It will be a celebration of resilience, hope, and the power of collective wellbeing. I am in awe of this recognition and excited for the opportunity to grow as a composer while deepening connections within our vibrant and diverse communities. I can’t wait to embark on this meaningful journey with our amazing collaborators!"

Funded through the generosity of an anonymous donor, the SOUNZ Community Commission is now in its 28th year. It provides a professional composer with the opportunity to work closely with community ensembles in the creation and performance of a new work.

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