‘Te Rōpū Māori 30th Anniversary’ EP - Mō ngā whakareanga ā muri ake nei – celebrating three decades of Te Rōpū Māori (TRM), the Māori Students Association at the University of Otago, Dunedin, Aotearoa – New Zealand.
‘Te Rōpū Māori 30th Anniversary’ EP features a collection of six waiata performed by Te Rōpū Māori students and alumni at the university’s Te Korokoro o te Tui Recording Studio (School of Performing Arts) recorded by Stephen Steadman and produced by Teone Hotu of TRM and award-winning Māori Music Producer Maaka ‘Phat’ McGregor.
The project is a tribute to those who have supported the students on their journey at the University of Otago, and through this musical celebration they hope to inspire future generations to strive for excellence in all that they do.
A music video has been created for track 2 of the EP ‘Te Ata o Tūmāhina’, filmed and edited by Wade McClelland and Bradon McCaughey of Scrambler (www.scrambler.co.nz), and produced by Teone Hotu & Aliyah Tautuhi-Fraser of TRM.
Composed by Kiti Te Maire Brennan and Thomas-Aerepo Morgan, this waiata draws on the essence of celestial knowledge and the teachings of our tīpuna, encouraging us to hold fast to mātauranga for future generations.
The EP was launched at a special release party on the evening of Friday 24th July 2025 at Auahi Ora events venue, University of Otago. The event featured performances by Te Rōpū Māori, a panel of kaikōrero including composers of the waiata, refreshments, and the premiere of ‘Te Ata o Tūmāhina’ music video.
‘Te Rōpū Māori 30th Anniversary’ EP is now available on all major digital platforms including Spotify and Apple Music, and ‘Te Ata o Tūmāhina’ music video can be viewed via Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
Teone Hotu (of Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Maniapoto), in his fourth year of studying Dentistry at Otago, had the privilege of leading the creation of the EP.
“The idea of putting together this EP came from a realisation that our waiata, many of which we sing at TRM kaupapa and house parties, deserve their own spotlight.”
“I was a Six60 scholarship student and studying music production, so I spent a lot of time in the studio and built connections with the Otago School of Performing Arts, which is where we were able to record these waiata. I saw an opportunity there to make something cool happen and, with the support of Te Rōpū Māori and my whānau, that idea was made a reality.”
“Making these waiata easily accessible online allows more people to connect with us and our experiences and hopefully inspires the next generation to walk a similar path, proudly as tauira Māori.”
“The waiata tell many stories that relate to us as tauira Māori - seizing the day, striving for excellence, letting our loved ones go, staying grounded in our Māori identity, and showcasing the ‘after-hours’ culture of student life here at Otago.”
“Initially, I think people will be thrilled to finally hear our waiata be put out there. Alumni will hear it on the radio and have flashbacks to their hectic yet nostalgic uni days. But beyond that, I hope that in 50 years from now, we can look back and see that what we did here was the start of something bigger, the first in a series of TRM waiata to be produced, or that one song inspired our mokopuna to strive for excellence and become the first teacher, lawyer, dentist, or doctor in their whānau.”
‘Te Rōpū Māori 30th Anniversary’ EP - Mō ngā whakareanga ā muri ake nei!