Press - Reviews
22-February-08
Singing for positive changes
by Kaite Hansen, Akaroa Mail [thanks to Michael
at Akaroamail.co.nz]
Singer-songwriter Pene Kingsford is a multiple-talented woman who was once fondly dubbed “the singing Policewoman of South Auckland”.
Eleven years in the Police force, Pene was a youth education officer and successfully combined her passions of singing and writing songs and working with disadvantaged youth.
Classically-trained, she confesses to being a “bit of a crooner” with the ability to span the rainbow of music genres. It was this musical flexibility and skill which made her immensely popular with young offenders.
Pene’s musical experience is awesome.
She’s sung since the time she learned to talk, she was singing at school, winning talent contests and joined the Wellington Junior choir under the directorship of Judith White. At ten was awarded the coveted “Singer of the Year” competition with her
heartfelt rendition of ‘Where is Love’ from the hit musical,
Oliver.
Not only has she performed in Australasia in operas and operettas, but she can belt out a powerful beat or hold an
audience enraptured with her crystal clear jazz notes.
Pene reached the local youth through the bridge of music.
It was a powerful and lasting way to help troubled young people make a positive lifestyle change.
She toured New Zealand with various youth singers including the now internationally-acclaimed duo
Adeaze.
She took her youthful singers to shopping malls, to schools, did music videos with them, always encouraging, always
helping them to achieve their potential.
She became a prosecutor at the Otahuhu District Court for five years, later a Prison Sentence Planner helping prisoners
set goals.
She worked at the Mt Eden Men’s and Mt Eden Women’s
prison, the Auckland Prison, as a service manager in a high risk probation centre, then moved to Juvenile Justice Officer in Melbourne.
With a challenging career like that, you could understand if Pene lost her heart for singing and writing songs. In fact, the opposite happened.
Her musical career flourished, she performed at gigs both here and in Australia, writing songs and putting out CDs.
As her musical career gained national acknowledgement, she received a Radio NZ grant to record seven of her original songs. She was involved in many musical groups, including being lead singer in the all female Auckland band Freudian Slips.
She is currently a finalist in the prestigious American Love Song competition with her song “The Tale of the Blessed
Two” from her most recent CD.
She says that she wrote all the songs on this CD in a
creative explosion over two months last year.
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Pene is keen to have other musicians perform her songs, with a long term goal to achieve global recognition as a songwriter for other artists, for television and film.
Pene is now based in Little River and keen to perform locally, at restaurants, theatres, celebrations, weddings and special events.
Her latest CD “Flowers and Frolic” is already gaining enthusiastic airplay in Canada, the US and Australia.
It is available from the Little River Information Centre and can be ordered on
CDBaby.com where you can listen to her velvet vocals. |
Pene Kingsford in the gardens
of her Okuti Valley home. |
Pene is keen to meet local musicians with the aim of performing together and to have local, regular musical evenings.
She also has a full six-input PA system for hire.
THE AKAROA MAIL
Friday February 22 2008
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