WOMAD 2013 Launch - 31st Oct 2012
By Mark P. Williams
WOMAD NZ 2013 Artist preview (video from TAFT)
Last night the line up of performers for WOMAD 2013 was announced at a launch party in the Grand Hall in Parliament.
Last nights's launch party was well-attended by special guests artists, businessmen, sponsors and supporters. Particular
mention was made of the representatives of the embassies of Russia, Italy and Israel, and from the High Commissions of
South Africa and Britain. Other special guests included: the Mayor of New Plymouth, Hon. Harry Duynhoven; Rod Jager, New
Zealand Country Chair of Shell; Paul Moore; Chief Executive of Todd Energy; Kevin Murphy, Chief Executive of the TSB;
Elaine Gill, chair of Taranaki Arts Festival Trust (TAFT); Hayden Wanoe, Chief Executive of the TSB Community Trust;
Drew James, WOMAD Artistic Director ; Labour MP Andrew Little; and Suzanne Porter, TAFT Chief Executive.
This year's perfomers come from as far apart as the USA, India, Mali, Russia, South Africa, France, Spain, Australia,
Scotland and Tajikistan and fuse a dizzying array of influences into highly distinctive styles.
After the speeches we were those present were treated to a preview of the diverse artists scheduled to appear this year:
from home-grown talents such as the Aotearoa National Maori Choir, Ahoribuzz and Mihirangi, to David Kilgour and the
Heavy Eights.
The preview video showed a range of styles ranging from the soulful, such as Amparo Sanchez of Spain to the hauntingly
emotional, such as Salif Keita of Mali to the irreverent and energetic such as Australian-Russian band Vulgargrad; and
then, of course, there is the legendary Jimmy Cliff as the headline performer.
The key theme, expressed by the various speakers and particularly emphasised by both Dion Tuuta's opening remarks and
Drew James' closing remarks, was the importance of sharing experiences as a defining principle of WOMAD.
Speakers in order were:
Dion Tuuta, Trustee of TAFT
Hon Jonathan Young, National Party MP for New Plymouth
Drew James, WOMAD Artistic Director
Suzanne Porter, Chief Executive of TAFT
Rob Jager, Country Chief of Shell New Zealand
Paul Moore, CEO of Todd Energy
Kevin Murphy, Chief Executive of TSB
Mayor of New Plymouth, Harry Duynhoven
Drew James, Artistic Director, TAFT, WOMAD
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Click a link to play audio (or right-click to download) in either
MP3 format or in OGG format
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Launch Videos
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Dion Tuuta and Jonathan Young MP
Suzanne Porter, Chief Executive of TAFT and Rob Jager, Country Chief of Shell New Zealand;
Paul Moore, CEO of Todd Energy and Kevin Murphy, Chief Executive of TSB
Mayor of New Plymouth, Harry Duynhoven and Drew James, Artistic Director
ENDS