Music to the ears as Kenyans plan for Obama’s fete

• Boys Choir already invited to perform as president-elect takes his oath of office

If there is anyone out there who still doubts US president-elect Barack Obama’s roots, who still wonders if his father was a Kenyan, still questions his love for the land of his ancestors, January 20 will be the answer.

For at that defining moment, after Mr Obama takes the oath office to lead the world superpower, Kenyan musicians will be there to entertain him.

And Kenyans will be the most beholden since the new US President has roots at Kogelo in Nyanza — now a vibrant village that has been awakened from slumber by the Obama magic.

Kenya’s Obama fans will be well represented. The trail blazing Boys Choir of Kenya, a group of 26 young men, will perform for Mr Obama and his guests in Washington DC during the inauguration.

They will present the song America the Beautiful a US national song and Jambo Bwana, which will be performed in choral rendition. Other songs will include a Giriama celebration folk song and Kalenjin heroes welcoming song.

World stage

Others who are likely to perform on the world stage are Tonny Nyadundo with Ohangla Luo music, Carol Nderitu with poetry and comedian Daniel Ndambuki.

The choir, which has travelled to the USA for performances three times this year, will hold Kenya’s flag high during the event.

The Boys have been invited by the US government through the Government of Kenya to perform during the auspicious event.

It will be the only African choral singing team to perform in the historical event where the first African American will be named President of the United States of America.

According to the group’s founder and artistic director Joseph Muyale, the group leaves for Washington on January 15. They have prepared a special repertoire of African choral music to remind Mr Obama of his African roots.

The group’s performance will accord Kenya a special mention by reminding the world that Mr Obama’s roots are in Kenya.

The group, which performs folk tunes in all Kenyan languages, is known as a choral group because they do not use any audio back up. Instead, they perform live music using their melodious voices and basic traditional African instruments.

The group was founded five years ago by Muyale, a music writer, composer, director and conductor. It is comprised of high school boys and a few university students.

The boys were drawn from various schools, and often perform at corporate events. The boys are in the cast of Peter Mudamba’s Christmas play, Prince of Peace, being staged at the Kenya National Theatre.

Muyale has trained winning music teams in schools such as Pumwani and Moi Girls in Nairobi, and scouts for talent in schools and colleges’ national music festivals.

The boys, most of them from poor neighbourhoods, use proceeds from their concert to pay school fees. Muyale says he founded the group to keep the boys active during school holidays instead of engaging in mischief.

His aim was to instil a Christian sense of morality among the boys, and his dream has been fulfilled beyond his expectations.

“It was initially an experiment,” he says, “but it has now become a professional group.”

On December 30 and 31, the boys will entertain 200 Canadian tourists at Save the Children before going to the Mara Serena to promote cultural tourism.

Muyale says his greatest ambition is to create great cultural and patriotic music. He trains the boys on weekends and public holidays at the Kenya National Theatre and Nairobi’s Arboretum. He also seeks the boys’ creativity.

“I can assure Kenyans that they will be well represented when Mr Obama is named the President of USA in January,” Muyale said.