Martin Curtis is a leading
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
folksinger and songwriter.
Biography
Born in Great Britain on 7 February 1944, he came to New Zealand in 1964. In 1976, he and his wife Kay went to
Wānaka
Wānaka () is a popular ski and summer resort town in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. At the southern end of Lake Wānaka, it is at the start of the Clutha River/Mata-Au and is the gateway to Mount Aspiring National Park.
...
in
Central Otago in the South Island to manage a youth hostel in the town for two weeks. They loved the place, and stayed. They now live in the
Cardrona Valley, near Wānaka. His love of the area is reflected in the large number of songs he has written about the district.
Martin runs the annual
Cardrona Folk Festival that takes place every
Labour Weekend. (New Zealand's Labour Day falls on the 4th Monday of October.) He is also responsible for organising tours of New Zealand by top folk musicians, mainly from Britain, but including
Eric Bogle
Eric Bogle (born 23 September 1944) is a Scottish-born Australian folk singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Scotland, he emigrated to Australia at the age of 25, to settle near Adelaide, South Australia. Bogle's songs have covered a variety of ...
from Australia and
Jeremy Taylor
Jeremy Taylor (1613–1667) was a cleric in the Church of England who achieved fame as an author during the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. He is sometimes known as the "Shakespeare of Divines" for his poetic style of expression, and he is fr ...
from South Africa.
He has produced a number of albums. His 1982 debut album, ''Gin and Raspberry'', is recognised by the New Zealand Recording Industry Association as the best-selling New Zealand folk music album. His 2008 album ''Sea to Summit'' was one of three contenders for the 2009
Tui Award for the best New Zealand folk music album of the year.
Discography
1982: Gin and Raspberry
1986: Back from the Hills
1990: The Daisy Patch
1994: Save the Wilderness
1996: Off to the Dry Cardrona
1998: Below the High Country
2000: Let's Sing a Kiwi Song (children's album)
2002: Beyond a Climber's Moon
2004: Otago, My Home (DVD)
2008: Sea to Summit
See also
List of folk musicians
This is a list of folk musicians.
Albania
*Eli Fara
*Fatime Sokoli
*Nikollë Nikprelaj
Andean
* Savia Andina
Argentina
* Huldreslåt
*Mercedes Sosa
* Eduardo Falu
* Jorge Cafrune
*Ariel Ramirez
* Los Fronterizos
Armenia
*Djivan Gaspar ...
External links
Martin Curtis Home Page: http://www.martincurtis.co.nz/
Cardrona Folk Festival: http://www.martincurtis.co.nz/cardrona.html
References
Folk musician's chance for glory, p. 48, ''Otago Daily Times'', 24 Jan 2009
1944 births
Living people
New Zealand musicians
People from Wānaka
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