Nairobi schools excel at regional music festivals

The sleepy town of Wote has been awoken by the sound of music and poetry recitals.

Participants in the Metropolitan Regional Music Festival were from Machakos, Kajiado, Nairobi and Makueni counties.

Nairobi County schools on Tuesday dominated the winners list on the second day of the event held at ACK Wote Township Primary School in Makueni County.

KBA School from Nairobi carried the day in the English choral verse category and was followed by Bidii Primary School also from Nairobi.

In the original composition category, KBA were the winners, followed by Westlands Primary School and Hospital Hill.

Rose of Sharon School won in the lower primary school verse speaking category.

KBA’s winning choral verse praises the Central Bank of Kenya for its role in shaping the country’s economy and impacting the lives of wananchi.

The verse was scripted by Anastasia Kigondu and directed by Felix Kariuki. Mumbe Academy won in the Kiswahili choral verse category with its piece that praises the bank during its 50th anniversary.

Central Bank is the sponsor of the 2016 Kenya Music Festival. Through this sponsorship, the bank seeks to promote financial literacy and demystify its role and mandate by enhancing engagement and connection with the youth.

Themes on environment marked the festival in a category sponsored by the National Environment Management Authority. Kahuho Road Primary gave a memorable presentation in this category with their choral verse, Lost Treasure.

The other category of items presented in the opening day was the “Own Poem Published”. In this category, where performers were to present any published poem, Hospital Hill, KBA, Makini School and Mumbe Junior had outstanding pieces. Other schools which thrilled the audience were Kiambani Primary from Makueni and St Joseph School from Machakos. Olchomo Primary from Kajiado and Moi Forces Academy from Nairobi also featured.

“Art portrays society and is a mirror of who we are. We should motivate the artists in our society in order to make them more productive,” said Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana while opening the ceremony.

Primary schools will be on stage untill Wednesday, when secondary schools will take over until Saturday. The winners will face their counterparts from other regions in the national festival scheduled for August at the Safaricom Stadium Sports in Kasarani.

Every person should be responsible for the disposal of the waste that they produce. This was the message that was conveyed in Kahuho Road’s Primary School choral verse, Lost Treasure, during the opening day of the Metropolitan Music Festival at AIC Wote Hall, Makueni County.

The verse portrayed how people dump garbage without caring about the environment, only later coming to complain when their surroundings are clogged up, stinking and unbearable. 

WASTE CAN BE RECYCLED

They blame government and county authorities for not doing their job yet they could have made it easier for all. The choral verse  was written by Juma Moses and it urged that waste can be recycled to provide a greener environment.

The same message was the theme in KBA School’s choral verse, ‘’Brother Mark’’ . The verse is about a boy who mobilizes his age mates to clean up his residential estate.

Whereas adults just ignore the garbage problem and blame authorities, the young people in the village clean up the mess and their parents, who are supposed to be their role models, express surprise at the sudden turn of events.

The environmental awareness category is being sponsored by the National Environmental Management Authority, NEMA. Other entrants in the category included Bidii Primary, Kinyambu Primary, Mumbe Junior, Kyaume Primary, Main Flow School, Mashimoni Squators and St Ituusya. The category aims to create awareness on environmental management.

Opening the regional event, county governor  Kivutha Kibwana said that there is need for performers and producers in the event to be given more incentives. He noted that items which are sponsored have more motivation and perform better pieces. Trainers should also be awarded appropriately, he said. Prof Kibwana is a playwright, poet and actor besides his governing job.

“Art portrays society and is a mirror of who we are. We should motivate the artists in our society in order to make them more productive,” said Kibwana.

Prof Kibwana said that he was impressed with the quality of the productions presented in the festival. He was also happy with the choice of the panel adjudicating the event, saying that they were renowned professionals. They include Fred Wesonga and Humphrey Kisia, both of who are judging the music and dance items.

Cosmas Ashioya is judging the Swahili verse category while Michael Kiguta, the veteran director and producer in Menengai High School is judging the English verses category. Wycliffe Indakwa of perennial festival winners Kakamega High is also in the panel.
The other category of items presented in the opening day was the ‘own poem published ‘, in which performers were supposed to present any published poem.

In this category, Hospital Hill, KBA School, Makini School and Mumbe Junior from Makueni were outstanding. Other schools which gave impressive performances were Kiambani Primary from Makueni and St Joseph School from Machakos. Olchomo Primary from Kajiado and Moi Forces Academy from Nairobi also featured.

The Kenya Parents Schools  Association Chairman Mr Jeremiah Mutua who was among the guests in the opening ceremony assured participants that security and other logistics have been well taken care of. 

Mr Mutua praised Makueni County for its preparations for the festival, which is held annually and involves schools from the Metropolitan Region. The region comprises of Nairobi, Kajiado, Makueni and Machakos Counties.