Sanguma

Sanguma was a Papua New Guinean musical ensemble active from 1977 to 1985. They combined music from the cultural traditions of Papua New Guinea with Western instruments and were one of the first Papua New Guinean music groups to perform internationally. Sanguma was formed at the Papua New Guinea National Arts School in 1977 through a training program called the creative workshop that valued learning in the real situation and the natural oral tradition ability of Papua New Guineans. Students were encouraged to share traditional music and culture from their local communities and create a contemporary arrangement of it. This was the initiative of Sandra Krempl-Pereira, who in 1977, was the Coordinator of the Music Department. It was Sandra Krempl-Pereira who directed the first Sanguma concert in November 1977 supported by Les McLaren, a fellow music teacher who also started in 1977. There were other contributing music teachers at the school at the time. Jeanette Richmond new in 1977, and continuing music teachers included Keith Stebbins and Dave Hall – all adding to a wealth of diverse music styles and knowledge for Sanguma to draw from. In 1978 Sanguma performed in schools around the country and began representing PNG at overseas cultural events. Sanguma was nurtured very closely from late 1979 by the Australian musician Ric Halstead.

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