Artist Spotlight: Q&A with award-winning author Tina Makereti

Ā mua is a groundbreaking new work commissioned by Chamber Music New Zealand for our 2026 season. Incorporating kupu (word), taonga puoro, and orchestral string instruments, it's an exploration of how the past, present and future intertwine and connect.

"Ki te Whai Ao, ki Te Ao Marama. Light comes into the world. Matter spirals into being. The history of humanity rolls out—longer and more fascinating and complicated than we can imagine, and you have lived many lives through it, coming into and out of being," writes award-winning author Tina Makereti (Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Rangatahi-Matakore, Pākehā), who collaborated with composer and multi-instrumentalist Riki Gooch to create Ā mua.

We caught up with Tina and had a chat about writing, her creative process and the experience of working with musicians.

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When you’re writing, what do you draw inspiration from?

The more you can be in a place of quiet, heightened, observation, the better. Paying attention to the sensory detail the world is putting out: sights, sounds, conversations, textures, smells. Maybe this is why autistic people make great writers! And anything off-kilter, anything that makes you curious or confused or conflicted. These are all great inspirations.

What’s your go-to drink in the morning?

Matcha - I know it's too fashionable right now, but damn it's good. Smoother than coffee - caffeine without the negative effects.

Who are your three most favourite writers?

This changes a lot - I'm a very unfaithful reader. Recently Kaliane Bradley, who wrote The Ministry of Time, was a revelation to me. George Eliot is just unmatchable. Who else? Kiese Laymon's Heavy is my favourite memoir.

What do you hope audiences will get out of seeing Ā mua?

Ā mua comes from a place of trying to figure out how to be hopeful. We live in undeniably dark times, but I hope they walk away with a sense of hope and awe, and a sense of time and humanity being much greater than this moment.

What have you learned from working with the Ā mua musicians?

That they're incredibly brilliant. It really is a different language of which I know nothing. I love just watching them do their thing. I'm incredibly lucky to be able to do this with them.

When you were writing Ā mua, did you imagine yourself reading the kupu? How is writing for live performance different from writing to be read?

Yes - I had to think about it entirely as performance. I probably thought about the audience taking it in more than me reading. It meant that I had to be more forthright. They have 45 minutes to take in the whole thing, rather than pages and pages and whatever time it takes to muse over it. This meant that some things are more impressionistic, and some are said outright in a way I wouldn't do on the page.

The performance of Ā mua is quite organic and has layers of structure and improvisation. Do you think you’ll be tempted to make any changes closer to the tour - or is it complete?

It does feel complete, but the performance also allows for change where it's needed. Hearing myself saying it over and over will inevitably cause changes!