Crescendo, a social enterprise mentoring rangatahi and commercial studio specialising in sound recording and music production, has moved into Te Puna Creative Hub, the physical hub at the heart of Te Puna Creative Innovation Quarter, Te Kōpua Henderson.

Te Puna Creative Hub, located at the former Whoa! Studios building on Henderson Valley Road, is currently undergoing refurbishment, transforming it into a space for collaboration, innovation, and upskilling initiatives, offering creative businesses and the local community access to world-class resources and training opportunities.

Cat Percy, CEO of Crescendo, says the team was excited to join the fledgling Te Puna Central community in October, drawn to the opportunity for greater impact through a shared kaupapa with Tātaki Auckland Unlimited and Te Kawerau ā Maki, the mana whenua authority for west Auckland, to uplift the economic, social and cultural wellbeing of the area’s people.

When looking for a new space, it was important for Crescendo to find a community where we would be supported in our mahi to empower rangatahi by helping them to realise their potential.

“Te Puna Creative Hub will expose our programme participants to myriad pathways in the creative industries through Crescendo programmes, Te Puna Creative Hub initiatives and direct engagement with industry professionals working from the hub, ultimately, expanding young people’s career horizons.”

Along with a shared kaupapa, Te Kōpua Henderson was also a drawcard for Cat and the Crescendo team, which consists of 14 members, including sound recording and music production professionals.

“Our team has always been west Auckland-based and we love the area’s unique creative flair and flavours. Creativity is always welcome in west Auckland – it’s a place where you can come as you are, be yourself, create, experiment, learn and grow,” says Cat.

Crescendo is looking forward to continued collaboration with other creative spaces in west Auckland and across the region such as Te Pou Theatre, Corban Estate Arts Centre, Auckland Libraries and New Zealand Maritime Museum, as well as growing its service offering in podcast production, video editing and automated dialogue replacement (ADR) at Te Puna Creative Hub.

Crescendo Trust was founded in 2012 by Marcus Powell following the success of his award-winning band Blindspott. All Crescendo profits go towards funding youth music mentoring programmes for young people aged 15 to 24.

Over the past decade, the Trust has mentored more than 3000 rangatahi and supported their pathways into further education, employment and internships. It also offers one-to-one mentoring and classes for community, schools and alternative education groups.

Cat believes Te Puna Creative Innovation Quarter provides an opportunity to “shake up” the creative industries sector for the better.

“Te Puna Creative Innovation Quarter, with Te Puna Creative Hub at its core, provides Crescendo with an incredible platform for collaboration. For more than a decade we’ve been working to build on the opportunities the creative industries offer young people, and now we can see that change happening at pace, because we’ll be doing it together.”

Jasmine Millet, Head of Creative Industries at Tātaki Auckland Unlimited says Te Puna Creative Hub is delighted to welcome Crescendo to the whānau.

“The core mission of Te Puna Creative Innovation Quarter is to drive growth in Auckland’s creative industries by supporting innovation and entrepreneurship and providing training and employment pathways into highly skilled and highly paid jobs. One of the ways we do this is through community, partnership and shared values.

“The Tātaki Te Puna team is thrilled to have Crescendo join Te Puna Creative Hub’s community and looks forward to realising a shared vision for the creative industries sector in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.”