Artist Spotlight: a Q&A with composer and multi-instrumentalist Riki Gooch

For our 2026 season, Te Hiringa Oro – The Experience of Sound, we commissioned a work called Ā mua, combining kupu (spoken word), taonga puoro, cello and viola.

A collaborative creative endeavour by award-winning author Tina Makereti (Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Rangatahi-Matakore, Pākehā) and composer, conductor and multi-instrumentalist Riki Gooch (Ngāti Wai, Patuharakeke, Ngaati Maahanga), it's a unique and intimate journey through time and space, blending Māori futurism and universal human stories in an intimate and evocative performance.

What are you most excited for in the upcoming Chamber Music New Zealand Tour for Ā mua?

I’m genuinely excited about the creative possibilities that lie ahead. Touring offers a unique environment – full of unpredictability and discovery – that often inspires fresh musical ideas and elevates the overall performance to new heights. Most of all, I’m thrilled to share the stage with my dear friends and my son, Kiva.

You play a lot of instruments. Do you have a favourite?

The drum kit has always been my primary instrument – it’s where I do most of my creative and professional work as a musician. Yet, I still approach it with the mindset of a lifelong student, always learning and refining. When it comes to other instruments, I’d describe myself as an enthusiastic hobbyist, driven by imposter syndrome and curiosity, mostly.

What’s your favourite thing about performing in front of live audiences?

I’ve never been entirely comfortable performing in front of an audience – which is why the drums appealed to me when I first started out. Still, I like to think of performing as an invitation for the audience to join you on a musical haerenga, sharing in every twist, turn, high, and low along the way.

How does collaboration shape your creative process?

Collaboration lies at the heart of the Rangatuone/Conduction methodology, where both musician and conductor engage in a series of gestural and musical exchanges to shape a shared narrative – an arc, a story. Through Rangatuone, or “the weaving of gestures”, I invite musicians to respond to the directives I offer as a conductor. The process relies on each individual’s unique musical experience to contribute to a collective imagination.

What do you hope audiences will come away with from Ā mua?

That they leave with the sense that they’ve experienced something truly new – something authentic on the emotional and spiritual level – and that their hard-earned money was well spent.

What was your process for devising the music for Ā mua?

Over the past five years, I have been developing the Rangatuone method through wānanga, performances, and workshops. In approaching Ā mua and shaping its concepts, I sought to bring together all facets of my practice and research into a unified writing process. Tina’s pūrākau serves as the golden thread that has guided and inspired my creative decisions, particularly in crafting the sonic world I aim to provoke.

Ā mua will be performed in Wellington, Christchurch, Gisborne, Nelson and Auckland in 2026. You can book this, and more, through our 2026 Season pre-sales.