The Manukau Institute of Technology Lifetime Achievement Award will be posthumously awarded to Her Majesty Late Queen Sālote Tupou lll on Thursday night.
Her grand-daughter, Princess ‘Ofeina ‘e he Langi Fakafānua, will accept the award at this year’s Pacific Music Awards.
Queen Sālote has been described as a gifted composer who expressed love, loss and culture in her work. He composed more than 100 songs, lullabies, laments and dances.
“The Pacific Music Awards acknowledges Her Majesty Queen Sālote’s huge contribution to the preservation and creative use of the Tongan language and recognises her as a celebrated writer of poetry and song,” a spokesperson for the award said.
“She possessed unrivalled knowledge of genealogies, traditions of Tongan customs and a strong sense of duty and love for her people of Tonga, which also meant strong connections and responsibilities to the South Pacific region.
“Her compositions of Tongan music continue to inspire a new generation, now aware of our rich past and to our shared futures.”
Her music is still played all over the world.
There will be a special tribute performance to Queen Sālote on the night.
The awards ceremony will be held at the Sir Woolf Fisher Arena Vodafone Events Centre, 770 Great South Rd, Manukau City, Auckland from 6.30pm on Thursday, May 23.
The main points
- The Manukau Institute of Technology Lifetime Achievement Award will be posthumously awarded to Her Majesty Queen Sālote Tupou lll on Thursday night.
- Her grand-daughter, Princess ‘Ofeina ‘e he Langi Fakafānua, will accept the award at this year’s Pacific Music Awards.
For more information
Pacific Music Awards
www.pacificmusicawards.org.nz
