Editorial: Honour well deserved

OPINION: The honours keep arriving for Nelson musician Richard Nunns – and they are deserved.

Nunns, instrument carver Brian Flintoff and the late Hirini Melbourne are responsible for something remarkable in both a New Zealand and world context – the rejuvenation of traditional music that was thought to have been lost forever. More than three decades of patient research, instrument making and performances across a huge range of music styles have ensured that this important part of Maori history and culture has been not only recovered but taken to the world in spellbinding appearances and recordings.

The latest accolade, being named this week as an Arts Foundation Laureate – with a $50,000 grant attached – follows being admitted to the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame in September, being awarded a Queen's Service Medal in June, and receiving an honorary doctorate of music from Victoria University in December last year. As before, it has been received with the great humility that is a hallmark of Nunns' character. It comes at a time when he is battling the debilitating effects of Parkinson's disease. "There are all sorts of limitations on what I can do with my hands now," he says, "But my brain is hard-wired to do the music thing." It is a cruel illness for anyone, let alone a musician, but as he fights on, this extraordinary man can rest assured that the music he has saved and taken forward will be guarded by a new generation.

- © Fairfax NZ News