NZ Ukulele

21/04/2026

Always good to hear from our contributing artists, in this case the fabulous Jeremy Hantler and Ryan McIntyre from the Harmonic Resonators!

Have you registered yet for the Kiwileles programme in 2026? 502 schools have ... lets make it 600!

www.nzukulele.org.nz/login

20/04/2026

With ANZAC Day this weekend, and Matariki approaching at the end of this term, NZ Ukulele's Kiwileles Songbank has you covered with two newly added songs that your tamariki will love.

For ANZAC Day, check out Marian Burns' moving and thought-provoking song - Beautiful Soldier.

For Matariki, we are delighted to add Mānawati a Matariki, by Te Whānau Mānihera & the Harmonic Resonators (including our great friend and Kiwilele Jam host Jeremy Hantler).

You can still register for 2026 for FREE - our songs can be used for assemblies, choir, Kapa Haka, class and school singing, and ... ukulele of course!!

Register at www.nzukulele.org.nz/login

18/04/2026

Alongside a plethora of other issues, the draft Arts Curriculum shifts music education away from joyful, collaborative singing and playing towards individual instrument skill development, with the ukulele barely mentioned and no guidance on how to teach it.

If you have not already, we urge you to make a submission. It can be brief! Should you complete the form, you will be given the opportunity to comment on the purpose, the learning area structure, the introduction and teaching sequences, and the overall feedback and support materials.

If you don’t wish to engage with the Ministry’s questions, you can skip these boxes and head to the “attach a document” section to provide your own feedback.

There is fantastic support for how to do this below - we have until 24 April to do so.

The Arts Years 0–10 Learning Area Click the links below for everything you need to participate in the consultation on The Arts Year 0–10 learning area. Snapshot summary of key issues in the draft Arts View the Learning Area Link to the consultation survey document

14/04/2026

Education Trustee Ali Caldwell was absolutely thrilled to visit Titikaveka College in Rarotonga last week and meet their talented students. She and her sons were treated to a performance from the Senior Drum Group, then were invited to join in with the Junior Drum Group. Finally, it was off to the music room to meet the year 11 music class as they practised for NCEA performance assessments.

The college was badly vandalised recently and had many of their vital resources (including ukuleles) destroyed. Click on the link below to hear more about it and perhaps consider making a small donation to get this awesome school back on its feet. They would be incredibly grateful.

The NZ Ukulele Trust has given the college a login for our Kiwileles programme and we are proud to have our resources being used on one of our beautiful neighbouring islands.
Kia manuia!

https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/vandalism-in-paradise

26/03/2026

We're excited to have the winner of the 2026 Wild Dunedin NZ Festival of Nature Songwriting Competition in our Kiwileles Songbank!

Written by one of our fantastic Kiwilele Jam hosts, Amanda Goodwin, and performed by Amanda and her daughter Emery (who perform as Em & Me), its a cracker of a song that reminds us to look after our superb natural world her in Aotearoa.

You can sing it, strum it, there's even a recorder part! If you're in Dunedin on Sunday 12 April you can even head along to the Nature Dome event at Forsyth Barr Stadium and hear its first public performance (along with a concert by our good friend Suzy Cato).

https://nzukulele.org.nz/songbank/wild-otepoti/

14/03/2026

NZ Ukulele are approaching our 500th registration!! That's 1/4 of schools/kura in Aotearoa who can access our awesome Songbank and other online resources.

You can still register for 2026 here: https://nzukulele.org.nz/join-up

Trustee Ali Caldwell is running an online workshop for anyone who is new to ukulele teaching (or new to ukulele) on Wednesday 18 March (7pm), and again on Thursday 26 March (4pm) so you can find out how to get your ukulele journey started.

email [email protected] for more info!

03/03/2026

03/03/2026

Find out who won the Chicago Red Kala Tenor Archtop with built in pickup valued at $595 - kindly donated by our good friends at Lyn McAllister Music. So excited to have 460 schools/kura registered this year! Kia rere te ukurere!

23/02/2026

FANFARE please (on ukulele AND recorders!!) - our 400th school registration rolled in today from Taieri College in Ōtepoti (one of our awesome Kiwilele Jam hosts).

We'd love to get to 500 before the end of term, so sign up now if you haven't already. IT'S FREE and you can use our songs/waiata for school singing, kapa haka, choir, reading/writing/maths hour, staff meetings ... and ukulele sessions of course!!

Register at: https://nzukulele.org.nz/join-up

We've just received this fab video from our good friend Mr Gray (the legendary Music With Mr Gray) in the UK. He thinks you should ride the ukulele wave too!

Kia rere te ukurere!! 🤩🥳🤩

14/02/2026

Our tamariki need to hear and sing songs & waiata that are written 'by us and about us'! The NZ Uke Trust is delighted to support, and be supported by, awesome Kiwi artists like the superbly talented Jenny Mitchell who recorded a special version of her song 'Sister' for our Pop Songbank.

Kids around Aotearoa LOVED singing and playing it last year, and you can access it by signing up for our FREE KIWILELES PROGRAMME in 2026: https://nzukulele.org.nz/

Here's Jenny's message to our Kiwilele Jammers!