Mari’s music about to percolate through London

Mari Ellingson was a PNG foreign affairs officer who now works for the Commonwealth Secretariat in London as Head of Planning. She is a regular contributor to PNG Attitude.

In an earlier life, though, Mari, who comes from Kwato Island in Milne Bay, was a popular singer/songwriter in a band called Salima. (Her album Lohia Tauna is still available from internet retailers.) And now Mari has not only written her first song for a choir, she’s busily recruiting that choir for an inaugural performance of it in December.

“I need 20 people and so far have been able to attract 15,” Mari writes. “We start practicing in October. I am now looking to hook up with a local musician/composer to notate the music so anyone can play it.”

Mari does not read music, so the choral number has been a major effort. “Writing songs is my nambawan hobby,” she says, “and something I love to do in my spare time.

“I am rather excited about this project and so are the colleagues who have volunteered to be in the choir. Most are the usual suspects - the ones I sing with at our Christmas services.

“God willing, inshallah, we will pull it off and I hope that the choir stays intact untilthe performance.

“We as a singing team will choose a name for our choir and that I think is a great option for good team building instead of me imposing a name on them.”

Mari has written elsewhere: “Culture is in the DNA of each and everyone. You don’t have to famous to make an impact and that is the underlying sustaining and resilient aspect of culture.” Mari’s certainly making a truism of that.

You can visit Mari’s blog here.