2016 APRA SILVER SCROLL AWARD - will be announced tonight

Moana Maniapoto is inducted into the 2016 APRA Hall of Fame.

Maniapoto was born in Invercargill, New Zealand and attended St Joseph's Māori Girls' College in Napier. She is said to have paid her way through law school by singing covers in the highly competitive Auckland club circuit.
In 1987, Moana released "Kua Makona", as part of an effort to promote moderation to young Maori. The song was produced by Maui Dalvanius Prime and featured in the RIANZ Top 50 singles chart.
In 2002, Moana formed the band Moana and the Tribe which consisted of a large group of musicians and performers with a passion for Maori culture. Since their formation, the band has performed hundreds of international concerts, cementing their reputation as one of the most successful indigenous bands to emerge from New Zealand. Prior to 2002, Moana’s former band, Moana & the Moahunters released two albums, Tahi and Rua. Their feminist anthem Black Pearl reached no. 2 on the national charts in 1991, earning Moana her first gold.

Moana won the grand prize at the 2003 International Songwriting Competition with her song "Moko".

Moana has developed a high international profile, being described as ‘brilliant’ by The Beat (USA, 2004), ‘New Zealand's most exciting music export’ (Marie Claire, 2002), ‘music of great depth and beauty’ (New Zealand Herald, 2003) and gaining rave reviews from one Germany's more critical columnists in its largest daily newspaper (Süddeutsche Zeitung 2002, 2004),
In the 2004 Queen's Birthday Honours List, Moana was appointed Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit. She is also a Life Time Recipient of the Toi Iho Māori Made Mark and received the 2005 Te Tohu Mahi Hou a Te Waka Toi Award from Te Waka Toi (Creative N.Z), in recognition of her outstanding leadership and contribution to the development of new directions in Māori art. Moana received a Music Industry Award at the Maori Waiata 2008 Awards, also for her positive contribution to Māori Music.
In 2006, Moana and the Tribe completed a 25 gig tour of Europe and had the distinction of being the first New Zealand band known to have performed in the former Soviet Union - playing at a private party hosted in Moscow's First Club, then at Le Club.

Moana released her fourth album Wha in May 2008. She toured in 2008 and 2009 Germany, Australia, Netherlands, Turkey, New Zealand and performed at the opening of the Biennale in Venice / Italy in June 2009. Moana & the Tribe launched songs from their 5th album "Rima" in 2014 at Womad NZ, in a performance described in the NZ Herald as "the most powerful, enjoyable and important act on the mainstage at this years Womad in Taranaki."

In 2014, Moana and her band formed the Boomerang Collaboration with Scottish band Breabach, Shellie Morris, Casey Donovan and Djakapurra, playing concerts at Womad NZ, Sydney Opera House and HebCelt (Scotland). "Rima" was a finalist at the 2015 Vodafone NZ Music Awards and the song "Upokohue" was a finalist in the APRA Maioha Award. It won 2nd place in the World category at the International Songwriting Contest.
Moana is one half of an award-winning film-making team led by her partner and band member Toby Mills. Their documentary work includes Guarding the Family Silver, which screened in the National Geographic All Roads Film Festival and The Russians are Coming, which played at the Sydney Opera House during the Message Sticks Indigenous Film Festival in 2012.

She is also a regular writer for the Maori and Pacific online weekly newspaper e-tangata.

FULL LIST OF FINALISTS – 2016:

2016 APRA SILVER SCROLL AWARD
Lydia Cole – ‘Dream’ – Lydia Cole
The Phoenix Foundation – ‘Give Up Your Dreams’ – Samuel Scott, Lukasz Buda, Conrad Wedde, William Ricketts, Thomas Callwood, Christopher O’Connor
(Native Tongue Music Publishing)
Thomas Oliver – ‘If I Move To Mars’ – Thomas Oliver (Mushroom Music Pty Ltd)
Street Chant – ‘Pedestrian Support League’ – Emily Littler, Billie Rogers, Alex Brown, Christopher Varnham (Arch Hill Music Publishing / Native Tongue Music Publishing)
Tami Neilson – ‘The First Man’ – Tami Neilson, Jay Neilson

APRA MAIOHA AWARD
Rob Ruha feat. Tiki Taane – ‘Kariri’ – Rob Ruha
IHI – ‘Mana Whenua’ – Thomas Rawiri, Mokoia Huata
(Woodcut Productions / Waatea Music)
Kirsten Te Rito – ‘Tamaiti Ngaro’ – Kirsten Te Rito, James Illingworth, Joseph Te Rito

SOUNZ CONTEMPORARY AWARD
‘Piano Trip’ – Kenneth Young
‘Rainphase’ – Salina Fisher
‘Viola Concerto’ – Chris Cree Brown

APRA BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC IN A FEATURE FILM AWARD
Hunt For The Wilderpeople – Samuel Scott, Lukasz Buda, Conrad Wedde
(Native Tongue Music Publishing)
Mahana (The Patriarch) – Mahuia Bridgeman-Cooper, Tama Waipara
The Art Of Recovery – Tom McLeod

APRA BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC IN A SERIES AWARD
800 Words – Karl Steven (Native Tongue Music Publishing)
Jiwi’s Machines – Age Pryor
The Brokenwood Mysteries – Tami Neilson, Jay Neilson