One of the slightly crazy things about putting on a musical by yourself is that you end up becoming not just the director but acting coach, lighting technician, sound man, stage manager, publicity department and any other job that needs doing! I'm especially discovering this in the build up to our first performance on Friday. Last weekend we finally received our costumes, which thankfully were worth the wait. Our brothers are now a colourful bunch, our Pharaoh worthy of Elvis and Joseph the owner of a beautiful new dreamcoat. We also received, thanks to the school, 4 new head microphones for the main characters. I spent almost the whole of Sunday's rehearsal messing around with mixers and microphones trying to work out why we were getting annoying feedback and deciding how loud everything should be. I guess this is why people pay sound guys.
Publicity also went into overdrive this week. We have two huge banners over main roads in Nairobi, have written to over 40 schools inviting them and also have Nakumatt, the main supermarket chain, advertising in all of their branches. We had a photographer visit at the weekend for Kenya Classics magazine, I'm hoping me and Rob will be the stars of the next issue!
In addition to musical preparations, we are also rehearsing intensely for the Provintial rounds of the Kenya Music Festival, starting the week after the musical. I certainly can't say I have nothing to do.
This weekend I got to do something I like to experience in different countries...go to a football match! It was a vital African Cup of Nations qualifier for Kenya and we managed to get our hands on some tickets, a bargain at 300 shillings (about 3 pounds). It makes you wonder whether England are really worth 30 quid a game.... Anyway, our opponents were the mighty 'Mambas' of Mozambique. Now I have to admit to a certain ignorance about the relative qualities of African teams however luckily we had a big Kenya fan with us in Njane Mugambi, a well known musician in Nairobi. So armed with our Kenya bandanas, we fought our way through the miles of traffic and made it with minutes to spare. It was a great atmosphere and you could hear the noise inside as you approached the stadium. As for the match, it wasn't of the highest quality however Kenya won 2-1 with a penalty on near 90 minutes and the crowd went completely crazy. I actually almost lost my voice later that evening! So Kenya's cup dream lives on. Bring on the next match!
Looking back over the last couple of weeks, there's been a few fun events. We had a day at the races thanks to the Starehe Old Boys and Geoffrey Griffen Memorial Day. Ngong Racecourse is a classic colonial setting and a glimpse into a world I don't often get to see. Located out near Ngong Town on the outskirts of Nairobi, the racecourse has fresh air (very welcome!) and a rather up market audience. As the school choir and band had been invited we tagged along for the day. It was rather unsucessful on the betting front (2 bets, 2 losses!) however we did get to have a VIP lunch on the table next to Raila Odinga, the Prime Minister of Kenya.
On the musical front, time is counting down, only 1 1/2 weeks to go now! In fact, this morning I talked to reporter front the Daily Nation, Kenya's biggest newspaper. We're also hoping to be interviewed on the radio and welcome a TV crew next week. The advantage of having well educated old boys is being able to call in favours from almost anywhere you need! As for costumes, microphones and other rather vital items, we seem to be following the time honoured tradition of the 'last minute fix'. I'm hoping to see some costumes this weekend, at our last rehearsal! As for the boys and girls, they are doing rather better, and after months of practicing, I'm starting to see things come together. It certainly is all go at the moment as the day after the musical finishes, the provintial heats of the the Kenya Music Festival start. I guess I'd be bored with nothing to do...!
Finally, as I promised, some photos from the Nairobi National Park. And we actually saw lions!
Hello people! I know I haven't been around for a while but I do at least have a good excuse for the last 7 days. I have been slightly inconvenienced recently by a small case of malaria. I guess it was bound to happen at some point and there have been more mosquitoes around during the rainy season but still, it's not something I would care the repeat. I'll spare you all on the lovely details but it certainly put me out of action for a while. Thankfully, they're pretty experienced with malaria over here and I'm back on my feet now and just about raring to go.
Musical rehearsals are still going well, despite the almost superhuman efforts of various people to make things difficult for us! I'm starting to despise the 'committee' system used for everything here in which every decision seems to take about a month longer than it should do. Hmmmm....
Anyway, it's a national holiday here today so Rob and me are hitting Nairobi National Park to see some animals! Exciting! I promise there will be photos....
The new term is upon us and it's looking like being a busy one for the music department at Starehe Boys. The musical is now in full swing after some hardcore rehearsing during the holidays. On top of that the next couple of months will see the provincial and national finals of the Kenya Music Festival, traditionally ending with Starehe bringing home a sackful of medals. Finally, in July there's also the small matter of Founders Day, this year celebrating the 50th anniversary of the school.
We've had a hectic last week of the holidays as all the boys involved in the musical came back a week early for some serious rehearsing. It's starting to come together and we are now able to run through the whole thing without too many mistakes. It's certainly had it's challenging moments but also a lot of laughs, particularly some cultural differences. There was a particularly entertaining afternoon with me and Rob trying to describe what Elvis, not as easy as you think! We did end up with a very fine dance though, involving the whole cast twisting along to rock and roll. It made me laugh out loud so I'm hoping the audience will enjoy it! While the singing is going really well, it has been a challenge to get a group of teenagers to act. This is especially the case in anything which involves a hint of girls and boys being romantic. In the 2nd act our group of 'adoring girls' refused point blank to run onto the stage and stare lovingly into Joseph's eyes. We finally managed to convince them that it was OK and that's what you have to do when you're acting. Thank goodness we're not doing a story with a major romantic theme!
The Kenya Music Festival Finals are taking place in Mombasa this year, which means a trip for us and the boys to the coast for a week, something which I'm really looking forward to. It's brings together all the schools in Kenya in a bewilderingly array of categories ranging from solo voice to full choir plus instrumental classes, traditional dances and even public speaking! Starehe Boy's Centre always enters everything they possibly can and this year is no exception. It is taken very seriously here and boys that are involved in the musical too will be rehearsing every night of the week until July!
Finally, the main event taking place this term will be the potentially huge celebrations for our 50th anniversary. The president is rumored to be attending Founders Day, which will up the ante even further. I arrived back from holidays to find that one of the trees on campus had been chopped down to make way for a monument consisting of busts of the three founders of the school. The event won't just be music, every society and club in the school will want to be involved. However, I have a feeling that we will have a lot of work to do leading up to the big day!
I'm back from my first real trip outside of Nairobi, a short trip to the coast and the towns of Mombasa and Kilifi. Me and Dave (an Irish guy travelling in East Africa) decided to take the overnight train, a journey lasting 16 hours! Luckily, the trip is taken in relative comfort as the train retains many of the features from it's colonial days, including a very civilized dining car. I was interested to finally get to travel on the infamous 'Lunatic Line' that I had read about in the Nairobi Railway Museum. These days things are a little safer and there haven't been any incidents of man eating lions in Tsavo for a good few decades. We set off at 7pm and found our way to our compartment which would be home for the night. At about 7:30 the train manager came round and personally introduced himself, wishing us an enjoyable journey. A nice touch I thought :) The train winds it's way through the outskirts of Nairobi giving an interesting view into the way in which the majority of its residents live. As we passed though, most people were settling down for the night and fires were the only light illuminating the many shacks and houses. Inside the train (feeling slightly guilty), me and Dave were settling down to a 3 course dinner, accompanied by a chilled bottle of White Cap. There was an interesting variety of people on the train and we shared our table with a family from Tanzania, taking a holiday to the coast. After a nightcap of Ugandan sherry we decided to retire to our beds.
I woke up early and, bleary eyed, went to have a look out the window. I guess I probably had a huge grin on my face for the next half an hour as I realised that we were passing straight through Tsavo National Park and a classic African landscape. Wildlife was less forthcoming, possibly scared by the train, but I did see a buffalo standing watching us go by.
We finally pulled into Mombasa at 11am and the first thing that hit me was the heat and humidity. Nairobi is a pleasant, mild climate compared to the coast, which gives you a taste of real African heat! The second thing that struck me as we walked through the town was how different Mombasa is in character to Nairobi. Whereas the capital is barely 100 years old, Mombasa has a facinating history stretching back to the 9th century. The people living here are a genetic melting pot of African, Arabic, Portugese, Omani and others, a result of the coastal trading industry. This Arabic feel is most apparent in the Old Town, which is covered with traditional Swahili carved doorways, Arabic coffee sellers and is home to Mombasas oldest mosque. I've always found Arabic countries exciting to be in and I loved wondering along the narrow alleyways as the call to prayer rang out. Even better, we managed to find a coffee shop that sold sheesha pipes. As we sat and smoked, the sea salt smell in the air, I think I was the most relaxed I've been since I came to Kenya.
Besides the culture, the other thing the coast is famous for is beaches. On our second day we headed out to a beach called Tiwi, supposedly much more isolated than the resorts further up the coast. We weren't dissapointed. After a ferry ride across to the mainland, a matatu drove us further out of town and dropped us off by the roadside. From there a taxi drove us down a bumpy dirt track until finally we arrived at a stunning beach with about 10 people on it. The sea was like stepping into a warm bath and the surroundings were pretty amazing. Check out the photos!
We spent the final day of the trip in Kilifi, a small river estury town further up the coast, about 1 1/2 hours from Mombasa. The main attraction of the town, beside standing and staring at the stunning view from the bridge, are the Mnarani Ruins. After some intense bargaining with the boda boda drivers we finally ended up at a beautiful secluded site set amongst a forest. The ruins were from a town of about 2500 people dating from the 14th century. It was a very peaceful place and a relaxing change from everyday life in Kenya.
The next day was a gruelling 12 hours bus journey back to Nairobi, right in time to get ready for the Interhouse Singing Gala, photos on the way!
Well the blog has been a little quiet recently, time seems to fly by here and there's always things to keep you busy. It's been a good couple of weeks and we are well into Joseph rehearsals now. Having the boys and girls together each weekend is great as the songs start to sound like they are meant to. One area in which I am not quite as qualified is acting, my experience being limited to the 1991 Somerton Pantomime. Not exactly expert status. We are doing our best though, stealing ideas from wherever we can and I reckon the end product will turn out pretty good. The other area we've handed over the girls is the dancing. Anyone who knows me can tell you that my enthusiasm is not matched by my talent!
I also met with the lady making the costumes yesterday and spent about 2 hours going over all the various things that we need. I'm looking forward to seeing the 'dreamcoat' when it's finally finished! It's amazing the volume of things that need organizing once you start getting into the practicalities of putting on a performance.
Last Friday we had some visitors from England who I was able to meet with and spent a while chatting. They were teachers and heads of schools in Norfolk, where a scheme called 'The Starehe Way' is being run, trying to use some of the ideas from here in English schools. In fact, it's very rare that a week goes by where we don't have visitors from somewhere. Lots of them come to visit Starehe to study it in the hopes of setting up similar things in their own country. Anyway, our English visitors were important guests and every club in the school wanted to give a demonstration of what they do. On Friday afternoon we had a show from the fire squad (very refreshing!), a tour around the Scouts camp and a first aid demonstration. I also got to hear the school song for the first time, sung with much gusto and accompanied by the school band for the last verse!
This weekend I'm taking a short trip with friend to Mombasa and Kilifi, both on the coast. I'm really looking forward to actually seeing the Indian Ocean and swimming in the sea. Hopefully some good photos are on the way!
Well I'm back from what has been a rather hectic couple of weeks! This weekend were the Nairobi Orchestras two concerts for this term. Over the last few weeks we have been busy with extra rehearsals, led by a conductor specially flown over from England by the orchestra. Nice work if you can get it! After many hours of counting bars rest (I now remember exactly what it's like playing trumpet in an orchestra!) the hour of reckoning arrived. Our concerts were taking place in two different places. On Saturday evening we were at the Visa Oshwal, a huge religious centre in Westlands, a relatively wealthy area of Nairobi. The centre is pretty amazing with lush grounds, conference hall and beautiful auditorium. On Sunday afternoon we played at the theatre at Braeburn School, one of the posh private schools in the city. It's a little strange as the school is very well equiped and new but is literally next door to a huge slum. Nairobi definately is a city of contrasts.
Our Saturday concert went well with a pretty big audience. In fact I was pretty suprised at the number of people until you realise that something like an orchestra concert in Nairobi is a pretty special and unusual event. The Nairobi Orchestra is the only orchestra in East Africa and actually probably one of only a very few in the whole continent. I really enjoyed playing our programme, despite the rather large ammount of rests to count. For classical music buffs out there we started with the Tragic Overture by Brahms and concluded the first half with the Katachurian Violin Concerto which is a particularly interesting piece. The whole of the second half was taken up with Dvoraks 2nd Symphony.
On Sunday we had managed to get 15 free tickets each for Starehe Boys and Girls Schools. They were excited about coming along, not least because it meant the chance to talk to members of the opposite sex! Any concert/play/film in Kenya always has to start with the National Anthem which at first I found vaguely amusing but when you see how seriously everyone takes it you can't help but be impressed. Our concert started with the orchestra playing the National Anthem and everyone in the hall standing up for the duration. I guess it's one of those Colonial reliques that you still see persisting here sometimes. Anyway, the concert went well up until we started the 4th movement of the symphony. About 10 bars the entire hall was plaunged into darkness as one of the regular power cuts hit the area. The orchestra bravely continued for a bout 5 bars before our conductor stopped us. When the lights came back on we restarted the movement almost as if nothing had happened. Almost as impressive was the fact that the audience were completely unperturbed and acted as if nothing unusual had happened. Nothing really suprises you here!
Anyway, Joseph rehearsals have also been progressing well and this weekend we have out first joint rehearsal with girls and boys. I'm hoping to try and film some of it and post it on the blog so keep reading!
I'm leaving the grey skies of Great Britain to spend a year teaching music at Starehe Boys School in Nairobi, Kenya. My stay here is made possible by the kind support of the Martyn Donaldson Music Trust (www.mdmt.org.uk)
