New Flavour to National Waiata Maori Music Awards

Well-known producer and performer, Ngatapa Black, has been named as the new television producer for this year’s National Waiata Maori Music Awards.

The singer-songwriter heads her own company, Black Media, in Auckland, which is currently in production with two new series that will air on Maori Television. It includes Poutiriao a 13-part series showcasing the mythical stories of our Kaitiaki Maori, and a 20-part music series called Oruōrua.

Ngatapa is also well into work as producer for this year's National Waiata Maori Music Awards, which celebrates its 5th birthday, at the Hawke's Bay Opera House in Hastings on September 14.

The awards ceremony will be recorded by Maori Television and prepared for delayed broadcast later this year. It will also be broadcast live through the iwi radio station network.

Ngatapa is no stranger to the Waiata Maori Music Awards. She was a finalist in 2011, in the Best Maori Female Solo Artist category, and was also a guest performer at the awards ceremony last year.

"I have been involved in the awards for the last three years, either working or as a finalist, so when I was given this opportunity I jumped at it, as it combines both passions music and television," Ngatapa says.

"We don't want to take the awards too far away from what it is, but I guess it will just be about adding my own flavour from both an artist perspective and television perspective.

"But we'd like to put more emphasis on profiling and acknowledging those artists who are icon award recipients and of course the 2012 finalists."

The names of the 2012 finalists will be announced next week. Guest artists confirmed for the awards ceremony include Tiki Taane, Anna Coddington, Te Awanui Reeder, Sid Diamond and Ahorangi Winitana to name a few.