Ōtepoti Ukulele Jam #1 hosted by Tahuna School

Ōtepoti Dunedin has been Ukulele Jamming since 2010, in collaboration with MEO. Music Education Otago.

Their first Jam for 2026 was held this week at Tahuna Intermediate and a FAB time was had by all. The Uke Jam Band were on stage to bring the rockstar vibe and were joined by guests from Turama Ite Ara (Cook Islands Performers). They were also delighted to have songwriter Hiliako Iaheto & friends perform his Kiwileles Songbank song, Home, along with a horn section made up of four students from Tahuna (Emerson Rocchi and Braeden Power on saxophones, Thomas Foster on trumpet, and Oliver Fitzgerald on trombone), and two students from Concord School on vocals.

The Dunedin Public Art Gallery educators created another collaborative artwork with the kids and also judged the Uke Art competition (which gets harder every year!)

Big thanks to funders Ara Toi Ōtepoti (Dunedin City Council) and the Otago Community Trust, and to prize sponsors Tūhura Otago Museum, Lan Yuan Chinese Garden, Dunedin Modern School of Music, DCC Moana Pool, Warehouse Stationery and Woolworths Supermarket.