Born and educated in Aotearoa, Gillian Whitehead (DNZM, MNZM), is of Ngai Terangi and Tuhoe descent. She lived and worked as a freelance composer in Europe and Australia for 15 years, then taught at the Sydney Conservatorium during the 1980s before returning to Aotearoa to resume her career as a free-lance composer.

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Her music, written for orchestral, vocal, choral, chamber, operatic and solo forces, sometimes involves taonga pūoro, te reo Māori or directed improvisation. In 2018 she became an icon of the Arts Foundation of New Zealand, and in 2021 received a Ngā Tohu ā Tā Kingi Ihaka/Sir Kingi Ihaka Award, recognising her lifetime contribution to ngā Toi Māori.

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📸 Gareth Watkins