The KROUMATA ensemble was formed in 1978 by the five current members ---Ingvar Hallgren, Jan Hellgren, Anders Holdar, Anders Loguin and Martin Steisner. All five members, then aged about 25, worked professionally as percussionists in Stockholm. All five had similar backgrounds : they had started on drums and progressed via pop and jazz to a proper training as percussionists. The name Kroumata was borrowed from the ancient Greek where it is considered to have applied to instruments of percussion in general. From the very start the ensemble has cooperated intensively with contemporary composers. Many have been able to work directly with the ensemble and thus to try out all the possibilities of timbre which the extensive instrumentarium allows. These instruments also make a concert with Kroumata to a visual experience. Since the start and particularly since Kroumata became a full-time professional ensemble under the auspices of the Regional Music Authority, the five members have toured extensively. They have participated in numerous festivals and appeared on radio and television .