History
Te Vaka is a group of eleven musicians and dancers from Tokelau, Tuvalu, Samoa, Cook Islands, and New Zealand brought together under the inspired leadership of award winning songwriter, Opetaia Foa'i. Te Vaka's music is "grounded in the rhythms of the Pacific by the use of pate (single and double log drums) and pa'u (indigenous goat skin conga and bass drums)." Most of their songs are written in the Tokelauan language, with some also written in Samoan and Tuvaluan languages. They have been wowing international audiences since 1997, presenting a rich, luscious mix of Polynesia's ancient culture to the modern world.
Te Vaka has performed in the USA and toured the UK, Europe & other parts of the world extensively over the last 13 years, performing in such prestigious venues as London’s Royal Festival Hall and Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club. The group has headlined music festivals throughout Europe and been favourites at WOMAD festivals around the world. They have performed at the APEC ministerial dinners and America's Cup events in Auckland, the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, the Rugby World Cup in Paris and the Olympic Games in Beijing. In 2008 they won a total of 4 music industry awards – "Best Pacific Group" and "Best Pacific Album" in New Zealand and in the Australian Songwriters Association Awards they took first place in the "International songwriting category" and won "Best Live performance" of the night awarded by the Phonographic Performance Company of Australia.
Opetaia Foa’i is the songwriter/ lead vocalist of the group. The inspiration for his music comes from his multi-cultural upbringing - half Tokelauan, half Tuvaluan, born in Samoa and bought up in a Tokelauan community in New Zealand. Opetaia’s musical background spans both the traditional and the diverse influences of contemporary metropolitan culture. The group has created "a truly pan-Pacific sound" from this diverse heritage. Described as "one of New Zealand’s finest songwriters" and " a true son of the Pacific", he won the Senior Pacific Artist award in 2005 for his contribution to the Pacific Arts.
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