Changes in schools’ music festival calendar as Ruth Agesa takes charge
Students from Moi Forces Academy, Nairobi present a folk dance in a past Nairobi County Secondary schools music festival at Highridge High School. The dates for this year's performances have been changed in line with Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i’s directive on new term dates. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA
What you need to know:
- Ms Ruth Agesa takes charge of the Kenya Schools Music Festivals.
- The dates for the performances had to be changed in line with Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i’s directive on new term dates.
- Verse Speaking dominated the order presentations during the Nairobi Sub-county music festivals.
There is a change of both guard, and national events calendar at the Kenya Music Festival, with a new executive secretary appointed to succeed long-serving administrator Benson Abwao.
Ms Ruth Agesa, a former head of protocol at the Ministry of Education headquarters in Nairobi, and a music teacher herself, is the new face of the popular co-curricular programme for pre-primary, primary, and secondary schools, and colleges.
Speaking to the Daily Nation on Wednesday, Ms Agesa, who has already assumed duties in Jogoo House ‘B’ on Harambee Avenue, Nairobi, said the dates for the performances had to be changed in line with Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i’s directive on new term dates.
Ms Agesa said the dates for the regional level music festivals Group 1, consisting Nzoia Region, Mombasa, Northern and Nakuru have been changed from June 26th-July 3rd to July 3rd-July 10th.
Group 2 which has Metropolitan Region, Lake, Garissa and Aberdares will be held from July 10th to 16th.
Ms Agesa also announced the new dates for the Kenya National Music Festival, which will be held at the Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani, Nairobi County from August 8th-20th.
Meanwhile Verse Speaking was the dominant category during the Nairobi Sub-County Music Festival held at Highway Secondary School.
During the event secondary schools presented verses on various themes such as Citizen participation in security, a special category sponsored by Joseph Kaguthi’s programme on Community Policing, exams cheating and corruption.
The winners in zone A will meet the other winners in zone B and C during the Nairobi County Music Festival on June 14th-June 17th at Highridge Secondary School.
VERSE ON SPORTS BETTING
In Verse Speaking, the teams that dominated the day were Buruburu Girls, Kenya High, St Georges, State House Girls, Parklands Arya, Huruma Girls and Highway Secondary school.
Buruburu Girls presented a tragi-comical choral verse, “Papa Lolo”, in which a man is disowned by his family after he wastes all his savings in sports betting.
Humiliated and wrecked by guilt, he commits suicide, though his little children do not understand why.
Papa Lolo, written by Avulala Kevin, offers an insight into the negative effects of betting on the individual, family and the community.
The betting craze has swept the country like a storm, causing anguish to many families. The verse explores the phenomenon and ponders serious questions on the issue.
Parklands, Arya Girls presented another topical verse called “The Cyber Café” about cheating in examinations.
Buruburu Girls presented a choral verse “Panthers in the Dark”, a verse on community policing.
The verse, which was in a category sponsored by the Community Policing initiative, “Nyumba Kumi”, talks about how the community abets crime by failing to report suspected criminals in their midst.
Newcomers, Babadogo Secondary school dominated the folkdances.
