Meet mordern David and his harp

David Isindu, founder and director of Nairobi Girls Chorale and teacher of music at Makini School talks to us about striking a chord with choral music lovers.

You're the founder of a girls’ choir, why is this so close to your heart?

Yes, I am extremely passionate about music, more than passionate on advocating for the girls especially the ones who are gifted and those not gifted in class but have talent and had no means to further their education after high school.

By that time, there were no groups that took care of the girl child and I started the group like a joke with six members from various colleges in Nairobi. We specialize in choral presentation of African music, Negro-spirituals and topical compositions.

It's definitely not a joke any more, you were recently invited to perform in the US...

Yes we were invited to perform in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Washington DC and that’s a very big break for us. It exposed us to many directors who asked us to grace their festivals.

Empowering the girls through music... what lessons have you learned from the girls?

Wow! I wish I had come with one of them to this interview. They are confident and I actually do very little, the concert that was done in the USA, I never conducted. They just consult and carry out many activities by themselves. They are also going around schools mentoring young girls.

Has it been all smooth sailing?

Music is an ambiguous term, sometimes associated with all the negative vices, thugs, misbehavior, idlers and failures. If a child scored an A in school and decided she wanted to study music, many people would wonder why, not realizing music pays handsomely.

Besides, our chorale has many talented young women. Some of them are engineers, nurses and actuarial scientists. We have no idlers, and the music we perform is therapeutic. Some hospitals have introduced music to heal the mind.

Speaking of money, how do you as a group manage on finances?

The first time we talked to friends and did a fundraising so as to travel to the US. We have a few friends who have been partnering with us and now we have two girls who are studying in Chicago on full scholarships and five others who have got scholarships as well. I love the Bible verse, ‘You will wash your hands and eat with kings’. I decided to use this as the motto that guides us.

You have quoted the Bible, are you a believer?

That’s a tricky question, I am a practicing Anglican, by choice, by birth and I believe in one God. The group is built and founded on Christian values.

Any regrets?

Not regrets but lessons. We did not have a clear vision at the beginning since all of us were amateurs and we had only dealt with school choirs. When you’re just beginning, people don’t know you, so the money part was a bit hard.

Many people don’t want to do things that are not raising money. I wish that women, especially those in the industry, would come out to support their own because the industry is not friendly to the girl child. I would not do anything that would compromise the girls security and self-esteem. The songs we compose are meant to encourage and develop the girl child.