Mwambonu senior school learners from Taita Taveta county at Shimo la Tewa High School on Saturday / BRIAN OTIENO
Kinagoni Senior School learners from Kwale county at Shimo la Tewa High School on Saturday / BRIAN OTIENO
St Thomas Girls' High School from Kilifi county at Shimo la Tewa High School on Saturday / BRIAN OTIENO
Kenya Music Festival national chair Prof Fredrick Ngala at Shimo la Tewa High School on Saturday / BRIAN OTIENO
A new genre in the Kenya Music Festivals attracted crowds as learners battled it out to become Coast regional kings of music at Shimo la Tewa High School.
Karaoke was the main attraction at the Coast regional music festivals on Saturday as learners entertained music lovers.
“People watch karaoke in hotels and clubs, but here we have watched karaoke on stage. It was competitive. Our children are talented. And out of the six counties, there is no county that did not bring karaoke,” Elizabeth Ngare, the Kenya Music Festival Coast regional co-chair, said.
“At senior school level, the winner was from Taita Taveta County, a young boy from Voi Secondary, whom maybe nobody would have thought he was talented. But because of this stage, this boy has shown us his talent.”
Speaking at Shimo la Tewa High School, Ngare said the KMF is looking at sustaining the talents discovered in schools so they can be turned into careers.
“We are developing talent, and now we have pop talent being exhibited by our children. We are looking at ‘where is this child going with this?’ What is the package? Is it just entertainment? We know there is almost no work out there, so these talents will come in handy when developed,” Ngare, who is also a member of the National Executive Committee, said.
She called on parents to allow their children to express their talents freely, saying that could be their main breakthrough later in life.
The Likoni School for the Visually Impaired principal said such co-curricular activities go a long way to ensuring discipline and curbing school unrest and truancy because there are children who long to be in school, particularly for those co-curricular activities like football and music.
“When you put children in these activities, things like strikes in schools go down because they are busy and are longing to go out (of the school) to other places to perform,” she noted.
She said the festivals also encourage cultural integration, with different cultures being showcased in one place, helping the learners appreciate one another coming from different cultural backgrounds.
Ngare said this year’s show has been a major upgrade in terms of quality from previous years, expressing confidence that this time the region will do better at the nationals set to take place at Kibabii University in Bungoma from August 1 to 14.
“Our learners are conscious of talent. Nowadays we don’t just perform. We are looking at sustainability,” Ngare said.
KMF national chair Prof Fredrick Ngala said the festivals have been on for close to 98 years, having been established in 1927.
“The festival normally handles about 600 different competitive classes,” he said.
He said the Coast region is doing very well in terms of preserving culture through performance because it is rich in music and dance.
“One of the key objectives of KMF is to preserve culture through performance. In other words, by performing our cultural or traditional music, the children are able to not only preserve the same but also practice it,” Prof Ngala said.
Equity Bank’s Coast region personal banking manager Eugene Akoto said the bank has a special interest in not only education but also co-curricular activities related to educational institutions.
Akoto said this year’s music festival theme of sustainability resonates with the bank’s rallying call of sustainability in environmental matters.
“We have been advocating for sustainability, which is a key pillar in many sectors of the economy which we support. That is why we have been partnering with the KMF as the main sponsors,” Akoto said.
He said one of the key sustainability pillars which Equity Bank focuses on is that of the environment, where the bank has come up with various programmes to ensure environmental sustainability.
“As Equity, we will continue sponsoring students in education and support institutions in green energy,” Akoto said.
The KMF Coast regional co-chair Christine Ndara said this year’s show has been one of the best owing to the massive support they received from the regional director of education's office.
“We have never received such support. This is the first time we are receiving great support without any complications. It was smooth,” she said.
Ndara said the venue, Shimo la Tewa High School, has been one of the best with security and organisation.
“Children are enjoying and are playing all over without security fears. It’s a child’s festival. Chief Principal Mathew Mutiso has done a great job,” she said.
Ndara said they are not only targeting East Africa and not just the gala and the State Concert for the national winners.
INSTANT ANALYSIS:
The Kenya Music Festival is an annual national event showcasing music, dance and elocution by learners from pre-primary, junior, senior and tertiary institutions. It features county, regional and national competitions culminating in a winners' gala traditionally held at State House, Nairobi. This year’s national music festival will be held at Kibabii University in Bungoma County from August 1 to 14.
