30 May 2018

The music behind kindness

From Upbeat, 1:00 pm on 30 May 2018

Interactive online story book Oat the Goat teaches Kiwi kids about kindness, empathy, tolerance and acceptance.

Behind the important message is a stunning soundscape composed by Wellington-based Tane UpJohn-Beatson and performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra alongside taonga pūoro.

Oat the Goat

Oat the Goat Photo: Supplied

The performance was conducted by Hamish McKeich and recorded by RNZ’s Graham Kennedy.

The acclaimed composer - who has worked on films, game designs, theatre and art installations – was described by Weta’s Sir Richard Taylor as having skill at “weaving an emotional state and journey completely enthralled and amazed me”.

It’s that skill he’s applied to Oat the Goat, an initiative from the Ministry of Education, aimed at four to seven year olds as a way to discourage bullying.

Hamish McKeich

Hamish McKeich Photo: Tracey Valerie

 Tane drew on some of his own personal experiences. “[In] my childhood I was taught… to stand up to bullies; be aggressive and staunch, he says. “Here we are promoting behaviours from bystanders… [the] best thing you can do is diffuse it.”

He came onboard with the project after the animation had been completed, and had a short turnaround to create an adventurous soundscape. “The mere factor the music is there helps put us into the story,” he says.

Balancing the musical story with the visual can be a challenge. “When you write music you have to balance the idea of the emotional state …with the technicalities,” he says.

David Fane receives the senior Pacific artist award from Creative New Zealand, 2016.

David Fane receives the senior Pacific artist award from Creative New Zealand, 2016. Photo: RNZ / Daniela Maoate-Cox

Each scene in which Oat the Goat (voiced by David Fane in English and Piripi Taylor in Te Reo) appears has a different soundscape. Each helps push the narrative along, but Tane’s favourite is the action scene. “My favourite part is ‘Freefall and Capture’,” he says. “The theme of the story is the power of kindness and what it achieves… [This is an] action cue. I filled the Michael Fowler Centre with action.”