Youngsters on stage with Kiwi mod rocker

BEN CAMPBELL/Suburbans

BIG UKE OUT: Papatoetoe East Primary ukulele players are getting ready for the New Zealand Ukulele Festival at Mt Smart Stadium where they will perform in a ukulele orchestra alongside Ray Columbus.

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South Auckland primary school students are getting ready to jam with Kiwi pop legend Ray Columbus.

But they won’t be doing it with guitars – they’ll be doing it with a massed orchestra of ukuleles.

Papatoetoe East Primary students will join others from more than 30 Auckland schools in the orchestra called the Kiwileles at this year’s New Zealand Ukulele Festival on Saturday.

Andre Russkite, 8, thinks he knows who Ray Columbus is.

"I’ve heard of him."

Andre and the rest of the Kiwileles will perform She’s a Mod with Columbus at Mt Smart Stadium.

But unfortunately they won’t be playing Andre’s favourite song, Ukulele Heaven.

He loves playing the instrument and says he’s been practising 10 times a day.

"I think it’s so cool because I like music."

He’s nervous about performing.

"But I think I can do it."

Teacher Grace Saleupolu says the group had their first performance last week and it was well received.

"We played a few old songs and people sang along," she says.

Ms Saleupolu plays the guitar and picked up the ukulele three years ago. She thinks it’s a fantastic instrument for children.

"It’s good for small hands and encourages kids to sing along."

She also thinks it’s a good stepping stone to learning the guitar. And the instrument is more like its larger counterpart than you might think.

The ukulele’s four strings are the four bottom strings of a guitar but tuned differently, says Ms Saleupolu.

Ammaarah Kahn, 8, has been playing the ukulele for three terms and is a also nervous about performing on Saturday.

"But I think it’s going to be fun."

She has been practising at home for 20 minutes a day on one of the school’s ukuleles.

She likes the instrument because "you get to sing as well" and her favourite song is called Kiwi Ukulele.

Ms Saleupolu says the ukulele has become popular quickly.

"There’s a lot more recognition for the ukulele as an instrument. People I grew up with thought it was a toy."

- © Fairfax NZ News