DoghouseTunes (Doug Stenhouse) began his musical journey at age 7 playing piano, eventually trading in Mozart for some Scott Joplin at age 11, which grew into some Buddy Rich and his first drumkit at age 13.
Formal qualifications beckoned and after gaining his New Zealand Certificate of Data Processing in Computer Programming he went on to complete a Music Degree at Victoria University, Wellington, majoring in Composition, Arranging and Electronic Music.
Doug is a member of the Australasian Performing Right Association and has written, produced and engineered music for television, radio, theatre and electronic publications. He has performed in a diverse mix of bands (dGare, Lotek, Scallywags, Cloak & Dagger, MINT) playing an eclectic mix of genres at venues in New Zealand, Germany and Japan, as well as online (www.secondlife.com). A highlight of his journey was touring New Zealand as Musical Director for the Australian production of “Cinderella” with Windsor Davies (It Ain’t Half Hot Mum”, “Doctor Who”, “The Onedin Line”, “Terrahawks”).
More recently, Doug has been writing and arranging music for children with his song “I Love Life”, co-written with award-winning children’s songwriter Kath Bee, winning the APRA NZ Best Children’s Song award for 2020.
He has just finished producing a ten-song album with Kath Bee called, “Children: Our Voices IntertwineD”. The album was inspired by children’s experiences of the Covid-19 lockdown, including titles such as “Uncertainty”, “So Quiet”, “I Want To Scream!””, “Ko Tātou Tātou Nei – We Are All One” and “The Teddy Bear Team”.
Other awards include:
- APRA NZ Children’s Music Awards CD in 2018 with “Make Someone Smile”
- Australian Songwriting Contest 2018 5th Place with “Make Someone Smile”
- APRA NZ Children’s Music Awards CD in 2016 with “Welcome To New Zealand”
He continues to pursue anything and everything creative, from producing music videos to writing apps for mobile devices.