Richard Anthony Nunns (7 December 1945 – 7 June 2021) was a Māori traditional instrumentalist of

Pākehā Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non- Māori New ...

heritage. He was particularly known for playing taonga pūoro and his collaboration with fellow Māori instrumentalist

Hirini Melbourne Hirini (Sid) Melbourne (21 July 1949 – 6 January 2003) was a Māori composer, singer, university lecturer, poet and author who was notable for his contribution to the development of Māori music and the revival of Māori culture. He played tra ...

. After Melbourne's death, he was regarded as the world's foremost authority on Māori instruments.

Early life and family

Nunns was born on 7 December 1945 in

Napier Napier may refer to: People * Napier (surname), including a list of people with that name * Napier baronets, five baronetcies and lists of the title holders Given name * Napier Shaw (1854–1945), British meteorologist * Napier Waller (1893–19 ...

. He was a

of Scandinavian descent and was born into a musical family. After studying at

Matamata College Matamata College is a co-educational state secondary school located in Matamata, New Zealand. History The college was declared open on 11 February 1924 by the Minister for Education, James Parr. In July 2012, a student was killed by a t ...

, he did teacher training at

Canterbury University The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was f ...

. As a teacher in his late 20s living in the

Waikato Waikato () is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, t ...

, he helped build a

marae A ' (in New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan), ' (in Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies. In all these languages, the term ...

, which fuelled his interest in

Māori culture Māori culture () is the customs, cultural practices, and beliefs of the indigenous Māori people of New Zealand. It originated from, and is still part of, Eastern Polynesian culture. Māori culture forms a distinctive part of New Zealand cul ...

. At the time, he was a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

musician. Nunns was married to writer

Rachel Bush Rachel Bush (26 December 1941 — 23 March 2016) was a New Zealand poet and teacher. Her work was widely published in books, anthologies and literary magazines. Biography Bush was born in 1941 in Christchurch and grew up in Hāwera. She taught ...

and had two daughters and five grandchildren.

Professional life

For many years, Nunns performed with Hirini Melbourne (1949–2003), playing traditional Māori instruments. Together, they researched these instruments, which had not been played for over a century, as their use went out of tradition in the 1900s. For many of the instruments, which were still on display in museums, it wasn't even known what technique was used to play them. They are credited with reviving this part of Māori culture. After Melbourne's death, Nunns was regarded as the world's foremost authority on Māori instruments. Nunns co-led the musicians at a dawn ceremony on opening day of

Te Papa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring fr ...

in 1998. He made recordings with musicians covering a wide variety of styles, including Moana and the Moahunters, the

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) is a symphony orchestra based in Wellington, New Zealand. The national orchestra of New Zealand, the NZSO is an autonomous Crown entity owned by the Government of New Zealand, per the New Zealand Sympho ...

, the

New Zealand String Quartet The New Zealand String Quartet (established 1987) is New Zealand's only full-time string quartet. The current formation of musicians consists of Helene Pohl (1st violin), Monique Lapins (2nd violin), Gillian Ansell (viola) and Rolf Gjelsten (cel ...

King Kapisi Bill Rangi Urale is a New Zealand-Samoan hip-hop artist. Music career He was signed up as an artist with Festival Mushroom Records (NZ). In 2000 he released his critically acclaimed debut album ''Savage Thoughts'', followed by a second album, ...

, and Salmonella Dub. In addition, he toured with Māori musician

Whirimako Black Whirimako Black (born ) is a New Zealand Māori recording artist and actress. Black sings mostly in the Māori language, uses traditional Māori musical forms and collaborates with traditional taonga pūoro instruments. Her musical achievemen ...

, jazz musician

Evan Parker Evan Shaw Parker (born 5 April 1944) is a British tenor and soprano saxophone player who plays free improvisation. Recording and performing prolifically with many collaborators, Parker was a pivotal figure in the development of European free ...

, pianists

Marilyn Crispell Marilyn Crispell (born March 30, 1947) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Scott Yanow described her as "a powerful player... who has her own way of using space... She is near the top of her field." Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrot ...

, Paul Grabowsky and

Mike Nock Michael Anthony Nock (born 27 September 1940) is a New Zealand jazz pianist, currently based in Australia. Biography He was born in Christchurch, New Zealand. Nock began studying piano at 11. He attended Nelson College for one term in 1955. ...

, and flautist

Alexa Still Alexa Still (born 1962) is a New Zealand-born flutist based in Oberlin, Ohio, where she is an Associate Professor of Flute at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Still studied in the US with Samuel Baron at SUNY Stony Brook (MM, DMA) and with Tho ...

. Nunns worked with composers

Gareth Farr Gareth Vincent Farr (born 29 February 1968) is a New Zealand composer and percussionist. He has released a number of classical CDs and composed a number of works performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) and Royal New Zealand Ba ...

, Gillian Whitehead, and John Purser, and contributed to the soundtracks for ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 c ...

'' film trilogy and '' Whale Rider''. In 2001, Nunns achieved the position of research associate in the music department of the

University of Waikato The University of Waikato ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato), is a Public university, public research university in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand established in 1964. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university perfo ...

Later life and death

Nunns was diagnosed with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

in 2005, after which he rarely appeared in public. In 2009, Nunns was given the Arts Laureate award by the Arts Foundation of New Zealand. Nunns was the subject of a tribute concert in his honour held at the

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring fr ...

in 2013. Nunns amassed over 70 traditional wind and percussion instruments within his collection throughout his long career. Nunns died in Nelson on 7 June 2021, aged 75.

Honours and awards

Nunns held an honorary life membership of the New Zealand Flute Association. In 2001, Nunns received a citation for services to music from the

Composers Association of New Zealand The Composers Association of New Zealand (CANZ), established in 1974, after an initial meeting of composers was organised by David Farquhar. Farquhar was the association's first president. It is a body that lobbies for the interests of New Zealand ...

. He was a category winner twice in the

New Zealand Music Awards The Aotearoa Music Awards (previously called the New Zealand Music Awards), conferred annually by Recorded Music NZ, honour outstanding artistic and technical achievements in the recording industry. The awards are among the most significant tha ...

(in 2006 and 2007). He was bestowed an honorary doctorate by

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Z ...

in 2008 for his contributions to Tāonga Puoro. In the

2009 Queen's Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 2009 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as pa ...

, Nunns was awarded the

Queen's Service Medal The Queen's Service Medal is a medal awarded by the government of New Zealand to recognise and reward volunteer service to the community and also public service in elected or appointed public office. It was established in 1975 and is related to ...

, for services to taonga pūoro. Later that year he and Melbourne were jointly inducted in the

New Zealand Music Hall of Fame The New Zealand Music Hall of Fame , Te Whare Taonga Puoro o Aotearoa is a figurative hall of fame dedicated to noteworthy New Zealand musicians. The hall was created in 2007 by Recorded Music NZ (then known as the Recording Industry Associa ...

. Later in the same year, he received a Laureate Award from the Arts Foundation of New Zealand. File:Richard Nunns 14.jpg, A ''pūtōrino'' (flute/trumpet) File:Richard Nunns 15.jpg, A ''pūtātara'' (

conch Conch () is a common name of a number of different medium-to-large-sized sea snails. Conch shells typically have a high spire and a noticeable siphonal canal (in other words, the shell comes to a noticeable point at both ends). In North Am ...

horn) File:Richard Nunns 22.jpg, A ''kū'' (traditional

musical bow The musical bow (bowstring or string bow, a subset of bar zithers) is a simple string instrument used by a number of South African peoples, which is also found in the Americas via slave trade. It consists of a flexible, usually wooden, stick ...

) File:Richard Nunns 23.jpg, A ''porotiti'', which is spun very quickly and then blown at

Awards

Aotearoa Music Awards

The Aotearoa Music Awards (previously known as ''New Zealand Music Awards'' (NZMA)) are an annual awards night celebrating excellence in New Zealand music and have been presented annually since 1965. ! , - , 2009 , , Richard Nunns , ,

, , , , , -

References

External links

Video showing Richard Nunns
discussing traditional Māori instruments * *
Richard Nunns Collection
at the Alexander Turnbull Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Nunns, Richard 1945 births 2021 deaths APRA Award winners New Zealand musicians People associated with the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Nelson College for Girls faculty People educated at Matamata College Recipients of the Queen's Service Medal People from Napier, New Zealand