Five questions with Kim Cunio

What drew you to Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington?

I was very fortunate to have achieved most of what I wanted to in my career in Australia and was looking for a new challenge. I also have a very strong interest in Indigenous music and wanted to travel to New Zealand to encounter more Māori and Pasifika musicians. A big part of it was the knowledge that there’s a National Music Centre being set up, because I think this is a very rare opportunity for any musician to be involved in, and I want to play a part in developing this capacity for the country.

Could you talk about your vision for the New Zealand School of Music—Te Kōkī?

I love music schools. I think they’re the most exciting places in the world. This school of music is fantastic because it has a proud tradition of training classical and jazz performance and composition and musicology at the highest level. My vision is to safeguard these important areas while developing an energised community engagement for the School that sees the School deeply linked to its communities in all forms of music making. I want to see the School take the approach of looking after people’s lifetime of music, from early childhood to retirement age, with its jewel being the tertiary training programme.

What are some of the highlights you’re looking forward to in 2025?

This year we are putting significant resources into our orchestra. We are looking to expand our engagement with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, which is a wonderful institution, and have their players mentor our players more. When you come to see our orchestra, we hope you will hear the difference. We are also spending this year redeveloping our long-standing relationship with the New Zealand String Quartet and will be very happy to share this integrated vision later. I’m very happy to help define what the National Music Centre will be this year. We have a group working towards this from the Wellington City Council, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and the New Zealand School of Music.

In terms of personal highlights, I’m fortunate to be musical directing an event at the Sydney Opera House in April, and I am also releasing my sixth album with the British Antarctic Survey this year, which is The Sounds of the Moon.

Could you talk about the importance of philanthropy to NZSM, and to music more widely?

I feel very strongly that music schools need philanthropy built into their business model. We rightly expect music schools to offer one-to-one tuition in performance at an international standard, and this is getting increasingly hard for universities to fund. Rather than retreating away from teaching music at the high level, I want to invite our community to safeguard it for the next generation and beyond. This requires a change in our thinking from the traditional model of giving, which is usually student scholarships, to endowed positions at a music school, like what is done at leading institutions such as the Royal College of Music and The Juilliard School. If we can achieve this, we will safeguard music and this music school for the next 100 years.

Why do you think the National Music Centre will be such an important asset for Aotearoa New Zealand?

To put it simply, music needs to be protected and understood. Why does it affect us so much? All of us in music need to think beyond our individual organisations and roles to safeguard something that is so precious. Only through a National Music Centre can we think with a 50-year term and plan and implement what music needs. Without a National Music Centre, we cannot do the important research to articulate the economic and social benefits of music and the arts for Aotearoa.

None of this could happen without our donors. To our donors, I would like you to know that you are donating to much more than a building. You are donating to an institution that will be beloved in this country. None of this would happen without the leadership of Dame Kerry Prendergast, and I want to express my profound thanks to her.