By George Orido

The venue was the outgoing US Ambassador Scott Gration’s residence in Nairobi’s Muthaiga. The event was celebration of US Independence Day –  July 4.

A group of young musicians were ready to belt the first sounds to herald the celebrations of this important day in the calendar of American citizens.

The group, Nairobi Chambers Chorale (NCC), started by singing both Kenyan and American national anthems.

The chorale is used to singing before political and corporate leaders – and they never disappoint. And they were fresh from entertaining royalty in Britain.

 “The group is fresh from a major tour of the United Kingdom where they performed at the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee pageant in Windsor,” announced Mr Haynes Jones, the Chancellor of Public Affairs at the US Embassy in Nairobi, and the audience applauded.

In the presence of the Queen, the choir of 28 performed Narudi Mashamabani by David Zalo.

“We Kenyans feel like we own the Queen,” says a jubilant Charles Njonjo, who had accompanied the group in a pre-pageant concert organised by the Kenyan Society in Berkshire, Slough. In a way, Mr Njonjo is right. The then Princess Elizabeth became queen while visiting Kenya in 1952 after the death of her father, King George.

Before the performances at the Queen’s ceremony, the choir joined other groups at the Castle ballroom where Queen Elizabeth shook the hands of the chorale members and said, “I remember that day.”

Truly real

The Kenyan delegation felt so much at home and assured.

“It was a surprise because I didn’t expect to meet her personally and the experience of holding her hand and our eyes meeting. She was truly real!,” exclaims Maureen, a member of the troupe.

At the Queen’s fest, the group performed together with the Royal Marine Orchestra, the Lion King director and cast, as well as British pop star Joss stone.

“Working with the Lion King musical director was heavy with heavy dancing and South African footwork,” says Stella Mogure, who reckons the experience was challenging and fun at the same time.

Ken Wakia says the group conductor and director, one of the most fulfilling encounters was a workshop with 500 school children at the Assembly Hall in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, where he taught English children some African rhythm and rhyme.

The exciting part was that while the children are used to melodic English tunes, here was a rich menu of African rhythmic renditions to learn.

Mark Onyango, a chorale member, says his most memorable experience was performing with the marine band, because of the level of musical professionalism “that I had never seen anywhere else”.

Onyango says the band members were always punctual and  followed instructions quickly.

Whenever something went amiss they maintained serene composure.

 

Enriching experience

For Gerrishom Talei the experience of meeting people from different backgrounds was enriching.

 “I‘ve always wanted to meet native Americans them for I love their dress, singing, and their history and I found them at the pageant,” he says. Talei also discovered that people in the UK are polite, courteous warm and hospitable.

“People obey rules whether a police officer is watching or not. The police are also polite, calling you ‘sir’ is the norm.

Stella met Eskimos, Haitians and Zulus saying she got the true meaning of the phrase, “a melting pot of cultures”.  

The youthful group also reahearsed and performed with the famed Ildivo from Italy, Canadian Tenors and David Garret – a violinist from the USA.

Wakia says his choir, the only chorale that performed at the pageant, is greatly honoured and will not disappoint.