Te Rauhii

Te Rauhii is a not-for-profit organisation that delivers inclusive and freely accessible music education to communities of high deprivation. Through group music-making, the programme seeks to empower, educate and enrich the lives of children, young people and their whaanau, inspiring them to be active citizens and agents of social change. Established in 2015, and formally named Sistema Waikato, the programme engages with tamariki and rangatahi each week, providing instrumental tuition in violin and cello and tuned percussion, in addition to choral ensembles and classes in musical theory. While the students gain confidence in their own abilities as they progress through their musical education, the ensemble aspect encourages the students to work collaboratively as part of a wider community. The environment fostered by Te Rauhii instills values of kindness, respect, and trust, actively contributing to the development of healthy and stable families, increasing community participation, pride in themselves and their community, and intergenerational learning.