On (Midge Marsden) Best Jazz Album: Freebass – Raw Bluespeak – Late Last Night Nairobi Trio – Through The Clouds Best Classical Album: Dame Malvina Major – Casta Diva NZ Symphony Orchestra – The Three Symphonies/ Douglas Lilburn Tamas Vesmas – Eastern European Piano Music Best Country Album: Al Hunter – The Singer The Warratahs – Big Sky Patsy Riggir – My Little Corner of the World Best Folk Album: Steve McDonald – Sons of Somerled Adam Bell – Summerland Beverly Young – It's Then I Wish Best Gospel Album: Stephen Bell-Booth – Undivided Woodford House Chapel Choir – Celebration Monica O'Hagan – His Love Andrew & Saskia Smith – The Gemcutter Polynesian Album of the Year: Pasifik MX – Manuiri Andre Tapena – It's Raro Mana – Mana Best Songwriter: Emma Paki – System Virtue Stephen Bell-Booth – Undivided Greg Johnson – Winter Song Best Cover: Brett Graham – Te Rangatahi Johnny Pain & Jonathan King – Drinking With Judas (Hallelujah Picassos) Chris Knox – Duck Shaped Pain and Gum See: 1994 in music Radio and television 4 March: Australian police drama Blue Heelers comes to New Zealand when the series begins screening on TV One. 4 April: US children's television series Barney & Friends first airs on TV2. 27 April: US science fiction drama The X-Files makes its New Zealand television debut on TV2. 19 July: Australian children's cartoon series The Adventures of Blinky Bill begins airing on TV2 in New Zealand (the same country where the author of the books Dorothy Wall was born). 4 September: British children's animation based on the books by Sarah Ferguson Budgie the Little Helicopter appears on New Zealand television screens for the very first time on TV3. It was also the very first British cartoon to air on TV3 as well as making the New Zealand the very first country outside of the UK to broadcast it. 8 September: Acclaimed British children's television series Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends screens on TV2 as a stand alone for the very last time. 3 December: Orange, a brand new general entertainment channel is launched by Sky. 3 December: Long running children's Saturday morning series What Now has its final broadcast for 1994 on TV2. TV 2 begins 24-hour/7-day programming. Newstalk ZB begins broadcasting nationwide. The Classic Hits brand is rolled out nationwide when heritage stations operated by Radio New Zealand are rebranded