Pianika “Polly” Duncan
Pianika “Polly” Duncan, a mother of two, is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She was born and raised in Ngaruawahia, New Zealand.
The 26-year-old singer-songwriter comes from a musically inclined family and has been writing music for as long as she can remember. She is on a mission to bring “goodness” to the world through her singing. She says, “Music is my absolute passion. I love to write inspirational music and I love listening to anything that moves my heart and soul.”
Polly was nominated for Best Māori Female Solo Artist for the 2017 Waiata Māori Music Awards. For Māori Language Week, she released her first music video, “Bring Mana to your name,” directed by Rhys Duncan. She explained, “’Mana’ means pride, strength, power and respect. It’s about bringing those qualities to your name by knowing who your ancestors are and where they come from.” She says, “the song is about inspiring powerful change.”
The song, “Bring Mana to Your Name,” was inspired by her love for family history and is sung in both her native Maori language and English. She told LDS Liviving.com, “I wrote this song to inspire people to live up to their potential, to make good and careful decisions as the choices we make in this life reflect the names of our ‘tupuna; (ancestors) and our descendants to come and to be proud of who they are and where we come from.” The inspiring song won third place in the E Tū Whānau song competition.
Polly says that her biggest source of inspiration is her love for the Savior, Jesus Christ. She told pacific.lds.org, “Music is one of the biggest tools to help us feel the Spirit. I gained a real love for writing music growing up. I studied music at Wintec. Writing is very therapeutic and it’s my outlet. . .. Everything I write is inspired by Heavenly Father. ‘Bring Mana to Your Name’ is based on Church values and choosing the right.” She continued:
A lot of us have names, especially our last names, that comes from our ancestors. How you are remembered is the decisions you make in life. Everyone in your family is like a link to a chain but everything starts with you. I’m just trying to inspire people to make good decisions.
Polly lives in Temple View, New Zealand, with her husband Jeremy and two daughters. She hopes to one day produce an album of gospel music. Her dream is to “be an example of good and praise Heavenly Father through singing.”
Follow Pianika “Polly” Duncan
Recent Posts
Enliven Create New Arrangement to Offer Consolation to Teen Who Suffered Brain Injury
Within the text of King Benjamin’s timeless address as recorded in the Book of Mormon, is found the profound question, “For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and...
Junior Maile’s Power Ballad “Counting Stars”
This week’s “Video Find of the Week” features the melodious music of popular singer/songwriter Junior Maile who is originally from St. Petersburg, Florida. His genres of music include R&B Soul, Reggae, Country, Gospel, or as he says, “anything that sounds good to...
Stuart Edge – An Ingenious Way to Celebrate Valentine’s Day
In a new YouTube video, actor, writer, musician, and Utah YouTube sensation, Stuart Edge, shares his ingenious way of celebrating Valentine’s Day. Known for his pranks, magics, and flash mob videos, in this video, a giant teddy bear and hands out roses and teddy bears...
Nathan Pacheco Ascribes BYU Talk to His Decision to Pursue Music Career
World-class, award-winning, classically trained tenor, Nathan Pacheco, owes a great deal of his decision to pursue music as a career to a talk that he heard given by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of...
BYU Noteworthy, Vocal Point Receive Award for Their Spectacular Videos
Brigham Young University’s a cappella group Noteworthy which is based in Provo, Utah, is comprised of nine female members, all of whom are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Per BYU Performing Arts Management, their melodious voices “deliver a...
Nathan Pacheco and the Power of the Song “Forever”
Nathan Pacheco is an opera trained tenor who “sings with the warmth of the great pop artists.” He is a native of Washington, D.C., of Brazilian descent. With the passion of a poet, Nathan who is an accomplished television and recording artist expresses his love of...