Music grant recipient to showcase up and coming musicians

Mount Aspiring College Year 12 student, Toby Mills, has been selected as the 2025 recipient of the Kurano Music Event Grant.

Established last year by Queenstown-based arts executive and musician Rakuto Kurano, the grant offers an opportunity for a MAC student to plan and present their own music event, supported by $400 in funding and mentoring from Kurano.

As the 2025 recipient, Toby will present his own music event, developing valuable skills while making a meaningful contribution to the cultural life of Wānaka and the wider Otago region.

Toby plans to hold his event at Rippon Hall in Wānaka next year.

“Being awarded the Kurano Music Event Grant means a lot to me. Using the grant, I'll be able to put on an event that showcases some of the amazing talent that is coming out of MAC, while bringing the community together in a really special location,” he said.

“With the grant, I’m going to put on a gig that encourages the Wānaka community to get out and experience some of the amazing up-and-coming musicians from MAC.”

While in the first year of his music degree at the University of Canterbury, Kurano recognised the importance of event management in the arts and began creating and running his own concerts and tours.

“Discovering the importance of event management during my university studies was truly a turning point for me. Creating and running my own concerts and tours gave me experience that has shaped my career path, and I am now eager to share it with other ambitious and enterprising young students.”

Since then, Kurano has curated and led more than 70 events across New Zealand, ranging from chamber music concerts and educational workshops to nationwide tours, establishing his reputation as one of the country’s most enterprising young arts leaders.

• Rakuto Kurano recognised the importance of event management in the arts while at university.

Kurano visits Wānaka frequently as the Artist-in-Residence at the Aspiring Village and as General Director of the Magic Carpet Music Trust, a music organisation he co-founded with local music patron Lyn Milne MNZM in 2022.

Speaking about his experience at MAC, Toby said the school’s music programme has been a huge influence.

“The music course at MAC has helped to shape who I am, and many other people, both as musicians but also as people. Mr Doyle and the Arts Department have created an incredible space and community that supports each other and allows us to write and play music with extremely good equipment and mentors."

This year’s grant selection panel comprised Kurano, Jack Sheng Li, Founder of outbound sales firm Tridence, and Professor Mark Menzies, Head of Performance at the University of Canterbury School of Music.