Jambo from Kenya

I have spent the last couple of weeks based out of Nairobi, Kenya.  Schools and school singing were the primary areas of focus for my visit to three primary schools, two secondary schools and St. Paul's university. I talked with teachers and principals about the music education options and resources for primary and secondary school students. 

Some schools have Pre-K children in playgroups, where they are cared for during school hours and are taught some fundamentals to help them prepare for the days to come when they become primary students.  Others, like this class at Hebron Educational Centre on the outskirts of Nairobi, have educational curricula similar to U.S. preschools.  These amazing children ages 3 and 4 years old talked with me in English about the pictures they were coloring , and I really enjoyed their polite introductions of themselves.  

You can see and hear the choir at one of the schools in Nairobi singing the song "Jambo" which means "Hello" in kiSwahili.  While there are over 40 official languages in Kenya, kiSwahili and English are used widely.  You may need to copy and paste the link into your browser if clicking on the youtube link here does not take you to the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JsolNsQOPg

My husband Dennis and I also traveled with my colleague Dr. Peter Okeno and his dear friend Benjamine through the countryside to his family's homestead in a village near the border of Tanzania.  Wonderful fresh fruits and vegetables accompanied the ujamaa experience with his kind and hospitable family and community (near Massai Mara, Migori County if you want to find it on a map).  Ujamaa is an East African concept of an extended family, as we all are part of, regardless of biological kinship.  

After returning from the village, I talked with students of music and theology at St. Paul's University on the subject of "singing across cultures." We talked about music education in the U.S. from Pre-K through adulthood in schools, churches and universities.  An important component of this lecture and discussion is that the university is in the beginning stages of expanding music course offerings, so administrators in attendance heard faculty, students and local ministers comparing notes and asking questions about the structures of formal music education in their respective institutions.  At the end, we all sang "Jubilate Deo" in three part round harmonies.  

Jubilate Deo, Alleluia!

Strong Spirits with Gentle Voices

Our public performance was a smash hit, with all the participants in the Mandela Washington Performing Arts Workshop demonstrating new teaching and performing skills showcasing traditional music and dance.

 The advert here explains our details, and the story of Nehoya, her younger sister Nkele, and the magic of the mirror that brings back Nehoya from the crocodile's house at the bottom of the river.  While the girls are fetching water, Nehoya is snatched by the crocodile, but returns at the end to the delight of her family and all the people in the village.

Our workshop and performance was held on June 30, at the College of the Arts in Windhoek Namibia.
The choir from the Spiritual Healing Church warmed up the audience with a selection from their repertoire.  There are many people in Namibia who are from China, conducting various business ventures.  So the choir here is singing a Chinese song.  I love the gentle voices of the singers, who are known for their strong and healing spirits.  

Then the entire community of teachers, college students and Police Force staff took the stage to tell the tale.  

Our village was quite unusual, as we had diverse cultural groups, including Oshiwambo, Kavango, and Otjiherero.  Our village happened to include a choir and a group of school children from Peoples' Primary School.  

 We sang our hearts out at the joyous return of dear Nehoya.  The song is called "Singahambayo Thina" (We are marching home), which is a South African freedom song.  I learned it from Carol Scott-Kassner and Pat Campbell's book Music in Childhood.  I have sung it with children, but this community harmonized it!  

So, I marched on, then Kapena and I celebrated the hard work we all accomplished by attending a choir festival led by Jeremiah.  You know me, I can't stay off the stage, so here was my goodbye with the Spiritual Healing Church choir, singing La Mmino, a song about music that Bhekani Buthelezi and Elene Cloete taught me in South Africa.  

Next time we touch base, I'll tell you all about Nairobi, Kenya, where Dennis and I arrived safe and well on Monday.  

Nehoya and the Crocodile

Using a Namibian tale as written in the children's book Nehoya & The Crocodile by Helvi Itenge, we are creating a musical drama this week with our primary school children.  We use a modified Orff-Schulwerk process to develop the story and present the performing arts.  

Musical Instruments hanging on the wall outside the concert hall, where the teachers are stretching out and the choir is practicing; all in preparation for this week's main event, which is teaching children grades 5-7.  The performance will include setting the scene for a Namibian Village, where the story of Nehoya and the Crocodile unfolds. 

   

Setting the scene involved many decisions about staging our story with music, drama and dance.  For instance, should it be a village from yesteryear, or should it reflect a more modern and familiar context for the children and the audience?  And, should the performers wear traditional African dress, or matching T-shirts or what?  And, should we use western instruments like the recorders we are learning to play, or stick to African instruments, like the drums and mbira?  

                                                                       

The drummer above here is Lahia, who's music creates the perfect rhythms for getting us moving and dancing.   

                                                                  
Photos by Ukumbuavi Muatjetjeja, whom we call Jeremia.

I have to get home somehow!