Glass Koauau
At the recent opening of Heather Kremen’s solo exhibition “Changing Landscapes”, Rukingi Haupapa gave the gathered visitors a beautiful performance, playing his glass Koauau (flute).
Rukingi was a victim of stroke, thankfully now recovered. As part of his recovery journey, Rukingi was drawn to the traditional stories and music of his whanau and the different taonga puoro (Māori musical instruments) of his whakapapa. He found playing the instruments and telling the stories of his ancestors actually helped his recovery, unlike the more traditional western medicines. This was a surprise for him as he had never been involved in music or his cultural musical heritage. What was more surprising for Rukingi is that he found playing the instruments came naturally – but he’d never picked them up before. As a descendant of Tutanekai and Hinemoa of the famous legend, maybe the music is in his DNA!
As his journey to recovery progressed, Rukingi began playing around, finding and making Koauau (flute) of different materials: bone, wood, when one day he was driving past Amokura Glass in Rotorua.
A glass Koauau …what would that sound like? The next time he was passing the glass studio he called in and discussed the possibilities with glassblower Heather Kremen. Although not a straightforward process, Heather and Rukingi worked on iterations to get the right size, shape, and tune. Each Koauau design is bespoke– the length and finger holes designed to suit each individual player. Heather and Rukingi are now working on a range of Koauau to be sold in Heather’s gallery shop.
Please enjoy this video of his performance amongst Heather’s stunning glasswork.