Grammy award winning Taonga Puoro Māoripractitioner/composer/artist Jerome Kavanagh Poutama (Puoro Jerome) hails fromthe iwi of Ngāti Maniapoto - Matakore, Mōkai Pātea, Kahungunu, Ngāti Rangi -Awa Whanganui, Tūwharetoa (Māori) as well as Caomhanach (Irish) clan. 

Jerome is a featured artist, co-writer and lyricist on thetwo-time Grammy award-winning album Calling All Dawns for his track "KiaHora te Marino" recorded at Abbey Road studios, with the London RoyalPhilharmonic Orchestra. Some of his collaborations include Christopher Tin,Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Stan Walker, Moana and the Tribe, DanielBeddingfeild, Hayley Westenra, Joler Gaan (Bangladesh), Kevin Mark Trail (TheStreets) UK, Small Island Big Song, Lachlan Anderson, Drax Project, LouisBaker, Ria Hall, Salina Fisher & Auckland Philharmonic and NZ SymphonyOrchestra.

Most recently Jerome has taken on his first role as main composerfor "I am the River The River is Me'' (2024) a Dutch/Norwegian productionwhich partnered with the Iwi of Awa Whanganui to celebrate and highlight thefirst river in the world to gain human status. This is the first ever featurefilm in history to have exclusively Taonga Pūoro as the score. He wasco-composer for The Dead Lands Series (2020) [Shudder USA/TVNZ] and Rūrangi[Hulu/USA] which received an International Emmy Award in New York for BestShort-Form Series (2022). 

His albums include ORO ATUA - Tangaroa a Roto (2023) and ORO ATUAPuoro Māori (2017). In early 2022 he released ORO ATUA KI TE AO a podcast onthe healing practices of Taonga Puoro in modern times. 

Jerome has taken Taonga Puoro to the world representing Aotearoaat some of the world's most prestigious music venues. He has performed at NewYork’s Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Sydney Opera House and the BritishMuseum. He has toured with Small Island Big Song playing at mega festivalsthroughout Spain, Germany and the Czech Republic and was a selected member ofthe New Zealand Art Delegation at the 11th Festival of Pacific Arts in theSolomon Islands.

Jerome has developed and brought innovation to the world of TaongaPuoro as the creator of the “ORO ATUA”. This utilizes and revives the RongoāMāori ancestral practice of sound therapy in response to generational traumafor his people in a modern time. He has shared the ORO ATUA extensively aroundAotearoa in marae, wānanga, schools, universities and for team building/hauoraevents within businesses. Jerome has also toured the ORO ATUA throughoutAustralia, Europe, UK, Indonesia and the USA. 

Currently he and his partner Ruiha Turner are delivering the OROATUA throughout Aotearoa, New Zealand and gathering research into the healingeffects of Taonga Pūoro. This will be the largest body of research for TaongaPuoro as Rongoā to date.

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