Kenya: Boys Choir Rocks U.S. Audiences

Kenya: Boys Choir Rocks U.S. Audiences

The Nation (Nairobi)

22 August 2007
Posted to the web 21 August 2007

Anthony Njagi
Nairobi

Kenyan tunes are reverberating in the United States of America, with performances by a Nairobi choir group.

Members of the Boys Choir of Kenya practise in Nairobi before travelling to the United States. Photos/ANTHONY NJAGI

The Boys Choir of Kenya is giving Americans a taste of the rich repertoire of Kenyan music, which includes traditional folk songs, percussion and modern fusions from a variety of communities.

The members left Nairobi last Friday, bound for Las Vegas, Nevada, the first stop in their two-week tour. Their last performance will be on Friday, August 24.

Theirs is a long story. After hitting the air waves and getting rave reviews in local media, the choir performed at the home of United States ambassador Michael E. Ranneberger in Nairobi and a member of the audience, Mrs Pinto of Micato Safaris was greatly impressed.

She told her husband about the choir, and they both agreed that the boys would be a good marketing tool to their clients in the US.

Micato is one of the leading tour companies in Kenya and has a big customer base in the US.

The choir is performing before illustrious audiences of some of the leading luxury travel experts in the world, who have tremendous influence on wealthy travellers.

"It is our expectation that the Boys Choir of Kenya will inspire these travel professionals to persuade a great many travellers to visit Kenya," says Mr Dennis Pinto, the managing director of Micato Safaris.

Micato Safaris is bearing all the travel expenses for the group.

The company also collaborated with the Kenyan and US embassies to ensure that the boys get all the relevant travel documents.

The Boys Choir of Kenya members are drawn from various schools in Nairobi. Among them Pumwani Secondary School, Aquinas and Highway.

They were among participants of the recent schools and colleges national music festival in Nakuru.

The Pumwani school presentation at the festival thrilled the audience.

Their song, composed by veteran Benga musician Sukuma Bin Ongaro, titled Omukhasi, is among the songs the choir is staging in US.

In the song, the composer is complaining about his unfaithful wife. The song was conducted by Joseph Muyale, who teaches music at Pumwani Secondary School and Moi Girls High School, Nairobi.

"We want our shows to be perfect," said Mr Muyale, who is also the director of the Boys Choir of Kenya during an interview in Nairobi just before they travelled.

The team is composed of 22 boys. They include (tenor one voice) Patrick Kamau, Humphrey Oyoo, Michelle Ighombo, Joel Mwenda of Pumwani Secondary School and Francis Ndege from Aquinas High School.

Others in tenor two are Cliff Njuguna, David Kinuthia, Edwin Mutune, Sakwa Wesonga and Matete Makobi.

In the bass sound, there is Fredrick Masambaya Ndukwe, Milia Ntoipo, Wanjala Wekesa and Samuel Ngubia.

Also performing bass are Jeffrey Wekesa, Steven Ochieng, Raymond Ogayi and Daniel Njenga. Others are Chris Sakwa (Aquinas), Francis Dzoga, Joel Okwemba, Ian Lai (Pumwani) and Steve Annan (Highway).

Peter Nyambura and Andudha Ngonge play instruments. According to Mr Muyale, the choir is composed of young artistes who are in love with music.

They perform all kinds of music from cultural folk songs to gospel to zilizopendwa, and all of them are brought together by their love of music.

The director of culture, Mr Silverse Anami, said the group was organised as a performing outfit by the Culture ministry and they are excellent representatives of Kenya in the international arena.

Mr Anami says he has watched the group performing and he is satisfied it is one of the best choirs in the country at the moment. The culture boss is himself a choir director, musician and composer of renown.

The Boys Choir of Kenya was founded by Muyale three years ago.

The group plans to start a musical arts academy of Nairobi. The academy is registered by the Ministry Gender, Sports, Culture and Social Services.

The academy, according to Mr Muyale, will admit students from all over Africa.

"If resources are available we will equip the Musical Arts Academy of Nairobi with music recording studios," he said.

"As we move to USA we will also market our music and scout for sponsors of the academy project," he said.

"We are also packaging our Girls Choir of Kenya and Children Choir of Kenya," he said.

The group has made a mark as one of the leading music groups in the social entertainment scene in Kenya, rivalling such established outfits like Kayamba Afrika.