The visit by the Samoan musicians is part of a tour of the Croatian-New Zealand folklore ensemble "Kralj Tomislav" (King Tomislav), which has been part of the Croatian Cultural Society in Auckland for the past 22 years and has been one of the biggest promoters of traditional Croatian culture in that country, which has a large Croat emigrant community.
The ensemble has around 100 members and includes a tamburitza orchestra, a choir, a female vocal group and three folk dance groups.
Aside from performing on its own, Kralj Tomislav also cooperates with the local Maori population as well as with the Samoans.
As part of their tour of Croatia, the ensemble will perform in 12 towns, including Zagreb and Dubrovnik, where they will present Croatian audiences with a part of New Zealand's cultural scene that has been united by Croatian songs.
The tour will include performances by the Samoana klapa singing group, which consists of Samoan lovers of Dalmatian a capella homophonic singing, established in 2011.
They perform traditional Croatian songs with an a capella style characteristic of Samoa, which combines different a capella styles from all over the world.
During the tour, two film production companies from New Zealand will film three documentaries about Croatia, the Samoana band and the 150 year-long friendship of the Croatian and Maori peoples.
The tour will be held under the auspices and sponsorship of the State Office for Croats Abroad.