Being raised in the Methodist church and singing as a choirboy led to a career abroad as a classical singer for Te Oti Rakena. Now he's using his skills in a different way, as a voice trainer for kapa haka to make them champions.
Dr Rakena is a music schooldirector at the University of Auckland. His exceptional skills led to an invitation to train with Te Matatini kapa haka champions, Ngā Tumanako.
"Kapa Haka is getting people around them because in many ways kapa haka is a team sport and you want to make sure that you optimise the voice as much as you can. I'm glad that people with really well-trained voices are coming into kapa haka to guide it because it needs to be done by people inside."
As a lecturer, he works with a diverse range of students.
"It's really important that you think about them holistically. I think about where they come from, what they bring, their prior learning, where they source it from, so basically their values. You build these relationships and you love these kids, you love and respect them and you want to guide them to do their best not only on the performance platform but also I have many at PhD level going into teaching, many going into the community and teaching as well. It brings me great satisfaction."
Rakena is also in the running for the Prime Minister's Supreme Award on September 21. He has been nominated for the National Tertiary Teaching Achievement Awards for sustained excellence in Kaupapa Māori and assistance for Pacific learners.
"This was unexpected because it brings together the strands of my parents, education and patrol care. Your students are the ones who give subjective measurements, the ones who give feedback. Your reading, your student feedback, your hearing what they say about you and you go 'oh they got it'. They got what I was trying to do and they are successful human beings and they're happy."
And that's what Rakena says he aims for, making others shine in their own right.
