Before Spotify, before CDs, before vinyl, folk made their own music. And the halls were alive with it.

Professor Samantha Owens from the New Zealand School of Music—Te Kōkī recounts the story of the 1901 tour of Aotearoa by the future King George V and Queen Mary. In each city they visited, the royal duo were regaled by a host of musicians performing everything from comic opera to waiata, she says.

“The tour gives a snapshot of the rich and varied musical life of colonial New Zealand. Music was performed by every ethnic group and, before the introduction of gramophones or radio, live music could be heard almost everywhere—from the streets to the theatre.”

This period of musical history, and the role of music in building a ‘sense of community’ in colonial-era cities, is the focus of Samantha’s research.

Musical performances provided the chance for people and cultures to mix, she says.

“In 1900, more than 95 percent of Māori lived rurally, but Māori musicians and dancers nevertheless featured regularly in the musical life of cities. These occasions presented important opportunities for Māori and Pākehā from across the social spectrum to interact.”

Touring musicians from around the world also turned up on our shores and many settled here. “As well as enriching the country’s cultural life, these performers created opportunities for new immigrants to meet and mix with others in their adopted home.”

Together with Dr Michael Brown, music curator at the Alexander Turnbull Library, Samantha has previously explored the history of band rotundas, which started to spring up in the 1890s and provided another stage for music to be played in public. A lot of them were located in parks and near beaches where people gathered for recreation, she says.

Of the 100 rotundas built around the country, just 44 remain today.

Despite the importance of music in colonial-era cities, very little research has been done on the topic, she says.

To help remedy that, Samantha is hosting a research symposium in November.

“This symposium will bring together for the first time a group of New Zealand-based researchers in this field, many of whom have never met in person.”

Topics for discussion include the role of music in people’s daily lives and in shaping the development of communities. The symposium will also provide the chance to identify new topics for researchers to dig into.

“There is a wealth of primary source material held in collections across the country, but much of it is still unexamined.”