Talofa Lava! My name is Grace Ikenasio and I am a New Zealand born Samoan residing in Avondale, West Auckland, New Zealand. Music for me has been a very big part of my life since I was young. It has always been my desire to become a successful singer/songwriter/artist/musician. With each passing day, I am learning more about myself and one day in the near future I hope to attain a name for myself in the music industry. At the moment I am currently doing a lot of gigs but these are mainly cover gigs. What I would really love to do though is put out my own album and get the help I need to be recognized internationally. Since the age of 14, I have been writing my own material ranging from pop to hip hop, to rnb, to gospel and so much more. In 2011, I was awarded the Most Promising Artist at the Polynesian Blue Pacific Music Awards and this has really encouraged me to write more originals.
Many of my musical influences include people like Alicia Keys, Beyonce, Stevie Wonder, John Legend, Mariah Carey, Lauryn Hill, Jill Scott, Norah Jones and so much more. Along with these artists, I am also highly inspired by a lot of gospel artists. Growing up in the church, I was exposed to people like MaryMary, Kirk Franklin, 4th Avenue and a lot of others who I would say were the reason why I got into music in the first place.
Currently I am in a covers band called ‘Allegro’. We are a 5 piece band that consists of 4 vocalists who are also instrumentalists. We have a drummer, bassist, guitarist and keyboardist. We play a range of styles of music to suit different occasions.
In 2005, I completed all 8 grades of classical solo piano through Trinity School of Music and was awarded first place for music from year 9 to year 13 at Avondale College, Auckland, New Zealand. I have also completed studies towards a Bachelor of Music and a Postgraduate Diploma in Secondary Teaching Music at the University of Auckland.
As well as performing, I now teach music at my old intermediate school. I have been working here since the start of this year and am loving it. Sharing my own musical experiences with these wonderful young minds has been exciting and I am continuously blown away by the amount of talent that I come across everyday.
Below is a blurb which was written up by one of my friends who has been looking after me with my gigs…
“Grace comes with high recommendation. She has been singing and performing since she was young at various corporate (including Air NZ staff functions with Allegro, Citizenship ceremonies for Auckland Council/Mayor Len Brown etc) and private gigs (weddings, birthdays, openings etc). In 2011 she was the opening act for Stan Walker at his Christchurch concert and also did some backing vocal work with him during the Rugby World Cup season. She has also worked with Erakah, toured in NZ alongside Fiji/Lost Coast Boys and has also performed at Pasifika Festival in Samoa Village, Miss Samoa NZ pageant, Selective Sounds (WOMAD) with Malcolm Lakatani, Parachute Festival and many other events. She even featured on Hyundai Code and Homai Te Pakipaki (both screened on Maori TV) as a special guest.”
