Accoustic spirit bringing music to Poutasi Village

22 April 2017, 12:00AM

Acclaimed musicians Peter Skandera and Dave Maybee from Acoustic Spirit, New Zealand are in Samoa.

They are here to run a series of village-based workshops to help with the development of music in the village of Poutasi and wider Fale’alili District. 

This was announced by the Poutasi Development Trust and Sinalei Reef Resort & Spa yesterday.

 “We are extremely excited about this initiative because it means offering proper musical opportunities to men, women and children that may have never have been given the chance before,” says Peter. 

“As we have seen on previous trips, the people of Samoa are blessed with natural musical talent and we would love to see that talent prosper.”

The duo are on island for a two week trip, to further develop the musical arm of the Puotasi Arts Centre, that aims to preserve and share the traditional and modern forms of Samoan art with people from near and far. 

“I think what the village of Poutasi is trying to achieve, through their Arts Centre, Ukulele school and now music workshops is something we are honoured to be a part of,” says Dave. 

“It is great because on one hand the Arts Centre is a place where Samoan village talent can be polished and showcased whilst on the other hand it is a place that that enables the people of this community to earn an additional living and support their families doing things that they love. Nothing would give us more pleasure than to see this project continue and prosper into something much bigger than what you see today.”

Peter Skandera and Dave Maybee are acclaimed guitarists, musicians, composers and educators. 

They are music graduates who have spent the last three decades in both tertiary and secondary NZ music institutions, teaching a wide variety of contemporary music, with special focus on composing, arranging and performance of music. 

Both have had extensive experience in recording and live sound reinforcement, having jointly written over thirty educational standards in this area for N.Z.Q.A, the New Zealand Qualifications Authority).  

They released their debut NZ Music Awards nominated album “Acoustic Spirit” in 1994 and are currently in production with two follow-up albums - “Latenco” with its ’Latin & rumba-flamenca blended grooves’, plus “blue grit & rhyme” a ‘bluesy-country-folksy roots music’ collection.   

Both albums are composed of mainly original compositions, and feature acoustic guitar landscapes with wide ranging influences from the classical, blues, country, and Spanish traditions. 

Catch Acoustic Spirit LIVE at Sinalei this Saturday 4-10pm and enjoy FREE Entry, BBQ buffet & Cocktail Bar on the Maninoa Beach – plus a crackling bonfire under the stars! Happy hour drink specials from 4-6pm. 

Contact Sinalei for more information and fantastic sleep over options for what promises to be an awesome night. Sinalei Reef Resort & Spa at 25191 or [email protected]

22 April 2017, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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