Rob Thorne mesmerises at Spark

Wintec Spark week kicked off today with a performance of taonga puoro by Manawatu musician and anthropologist Rob Thorne.

Taonga puoro are traditional Maori instruments made of wood, shell, bone and stone.

Thorne began his performance with the putatara (conch shell trumpet).

“That’s because I have travelled here and for me the putatara – there’s a travel element to it,” Thorne said.

“Even though I’m opening [the Spark festival] I’m a guest and the putatara was something you would often use to announce your arrival.”

The audience sat mesmerised the entire 50 minutes of the performance as Thorne played a range of instruments including the pukaea (wooden war trumpet) and porotiti (a humming, twirling instrument).

Although a lot of Thorne’s performance was improvised, he had organised a list of instruments and how he was going to play them.

“It’s conceptual, so I’m working with a theme to allow the use of particular instruments,” Thorne said.

Thorne has been involved with taonga puoro for nearly 15 years.

“In 1999 a friend game me a koauau (flute) and I became extremely challenged by the simplicity of the structure of it,” Thorne said.

“But [I] couldn’t play it so I began a journey, which right now I’m still walking.”

Thorne said when he started demonstrating at schools 10 or 15 years ago the kids would be ignorant of the instruments.

“I turn up to schools now and I crack open the taonga and they are like ‘I know what that is, my dad’s got one’,” Thorne said.

Thorne believes the future of taonga puoro is exponential.