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Posted 13 days ago By Chris Sanders 2 Minute(s) to read

NZ Childrens Music Award 038 T Hamill please credit Thomas Hamill Photography

Kiwi Kids Music, NZ Opera and Auckland Philharmonia are so excited to announce the recipient of the inaugural Kōkako Award.

Presented for the first time at the 2024 NZ Children’s Music Awards, the Kōkako Award nurtures our young performers in their endeavours and was won by 10-year-old Lydia Clark.

Lydia will have her song ‘Of Love We Are Made’ arranged by the Auckland Philharmonia and will get to perform it on stage at the Auckland Town Hall and Bruce Mason Theatre with the APO later this year at Tunes For Tamariki Concert.

The Kōkako Award was presented by Emerson D’Aguiar-Sanders and Ava Grace Fickling, 2 children who have both had the opportunity to record and perform with the APO. 

Lydia loves to sing and play ukulele and piano. She won the Kōkako Award with her song ‘Of Love We Are Made’ co-written with Finn Clark. She is also a keen roller-skatre, dancer and painter. Lydia’s dreams are to one day become a professional singer who writes songs, bringing lots of joy to people around the world. And her journey has already started, she is in a choir and performs gigs around her hometown of Napier in her big brother's band.

Of Lydia’s performance, the judges said “Our inaugural winner, Lydia Clark, is a performer who showed an array of vocal skills and gave a performance with a colour and depth beyond her years. On behalf of Kiwi Kids Music, NZ Opera and Auckland Philharmonia we congratulate Lydia and all the finalists and look forward to seeing your successes in the future".

As the Kōkako Award winner, Lydia also takes home the Kōkako Award Trophy, a certificate and a $500 contribution to support her future endeavors in the music industry.

We would like to congratulate all our Kōkako Award Finalists, Iisha Harris, Aria Clarke, Talia Perkins and Tiahuia Wara for their outstanding performances and incredible talent. 

We look forward to announcing details about the 2025 Kōkako Award in the near future so make sure you join us on this website or on one of our partner social media pages listed below

 

Kiwi Kids Music

Insta: https://www.instagram.com/kiwikidsmusic/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/KiwiKidsMusic

 

Auckland Philharmonia

Insta: https://www.instagram.com/aklphil/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/aklphil

 

NZ Opera

Insta: https://www.instagram.com/nz_opera/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/nzopera

 

Photography courtesy of Thomas Hamill - click here to view website