Kiwi Kids Music, in collaboration with NZ Opera and the Auckland Philharmonia, is thrilled to announce EMERY GOODWIN as the 2025 winner of the prestigious Kōkako Award for Best Children's Performance. The Award was presented at the 2025 Aotearoa Children’s Music Awards on Sunday, June 29, 2025.
Now in its second year, the Kōkako Award celebrates outstanding live performance by a young artist in the field of children’s music. Emery captivated the judging panel with her performance of an original song, ‘Enjoy the Ride’, which was written by her mother, Amanda Goodwin. Emery’s performance demonstrated both technical skill and emotional maturity beyond her 11 years.
The judging took place at MoveSpace in Auckland, where the finalists received a 2-hour fun-filled workshop to enhance their live performance skills. All finalists then got to use the skills they had learned to wow the judges, in the hope of being crowned the 2nd annual Kōkako Award winner.
What an incredible group of finalists we had for this year’s Kōkako Award – five outstanding young performers, each of whom performed an original song. The talent on display was truly inspiring, making for a very tough decision. Our 2025 winner, Emery Goodwin, stood out with a performance full of maturity, vocal range, and expressive depth. On behalf of Kiwi Kids Music, NZ Opera, and Auckland Philharmonia, we warmly congratulate Emery and all of the finalists – we’re excited to watch all your musical journeys unfold.
The 2025 judges included musical director Rachael D’Aguiar, 19-year-old youth theatre star Katie-Rose Pemberton, Auckland Philharmonia arranger Yoonseo Shin, and award-winning children’s musician Chris Sanders.
Following the workshop, the children were then given a behind-the-scenes tour of the NZ Opera Studio, a tour that always proves a big hit with the kids when they get to see the thousands of props and costumes used by New Zealand’s Opera Stars.
The Kōkako Award was established in 2024 to recognise the next generation of performers who are contributing meaningfully to the world of children’s music in Aotearoa. It forms part of the annual, much-loved New Zealand Children’s Music Awards. It is a unique collaboration between Kiwi Kids Music, NZ Opera, and the Auckland Philharmonia, aiming to nurture young voices and celebrate creativity and live performance.
Our 2025 winner, Emery Goodwin, receives an incredible prize! She will have the song ‘Enjoy the Ride’ arranged by the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, and she will get to perform it with them on stage at the Auckland Town Hall and Bruce Mason Theatre later in 2025, as part of the Tunes 4 Tamariki Christmas with Suzy Cato concert. She also receives the Kōkako trophy and a $500 voucher to help further their music career.
We want to acknowledge our other Kōkako Award finalists, Aiden Gao, Naledi Mhuka, Sophie Jack and Yumi Chen who all performed incredibly during the workshop. We hope to see them back next year!
Watch Emery’s Performance in front of the judges here: https://youtu.be/LHPpOYPHtVc
