Peponi School Music Festival

The Braeburn school orchestra got an opportunity to perform at the Peponi School Music festival on 5th March 2024. This was the second time the festival was held and the first that we participated. Our mainly string ensemble has been working hard to learn various pieces of music in various styles and it culminated in this opportunity to present them at the festival.

Each institution is required to prepare three pieces in various categories such as orchestra, concert band, choir, etc. We prepared a wide variety of music, ranging from Bach's Minuet no. 2 to Habanera by Gustavo Sbaco and a wonderful rendition of the Interstellar Movie theme written by Hans Zimmer and arranged by G. Suleiman.

The members of the orchestra are:

• Dhara Shah and Francilia Arumchach (1st Violin)
• Ambar Joshi and Megumi Hayashi (2nd Violin)
• Grace Nangabo (Viola)
• Debora Odongo (Cello)
• Darya Burgess (Percussion and Keyboard)

I must commend the students for a great sense of responsibility and discipline, because they of their own initiative requested to go and practice before the performance. They also gave each other helpful feedback to improve their performance.

After performing, we received some positive feedback from the judges who thought that our performance and overall sense of musicianship was very good. We also received a certificate of participation.

Here is some feedback from the students:

Dhara Shah:

As quoted by Shakespeare - “ If music be the food of love, play on!” My experience at the Peponi Music Festival was a melting pot of emotions, experiences and melodies. Each note played and every performance seen has created melodic memories in my mind.

With patience, my friends from the senior orchestra, Ms Nangabo- our music teacher and I awaited our turn. In the meantime we were mesmerised by other performances. So much to learn! My brain started taking notes on what we can do next time. Currently we’re only playing strings, but it would be nice if we can have other instrumentalists join us like percussion, wind and brass. We got so caught up that we didn’t realise our turn was next. Adrenaline rushed through my veins. I stepped on stage with my friends. We were in the spotlight. But as soon as I adjusted my violin and started, I poured my heart and soul into it. It was a breeze! And we did it! We played Habanera, Minuet in G and Interstellar. The applause and cheers from the audience said it all.

Beyond the performance itself, I cherished the opportunity to reconnect with friends from various music events, bonded with my senior orchestra friends and music teacher, Ms Nangabo, and made new friends who share the same passion for music.

Debora Odongo

I loved how different schools from around Kenya gathered together to play a variety of orchestral instruments. It was an exceptional display of the different genres of music from classical to cultural. I especially loved the orchestral performances because they mostly featured my favourite composer, Dvořák.

Megumi Hayashi

I liked how the orchestral instruments and performances were diverse.

Their (and my) unanimous appeal is to students who play instruments to consider joining us so that next year we can send a larger group of students and hopefully perform even more diverse music.

We would like to thank the school for giving us the opportunity to go out to these festivals to perform, connect with fellow musicians and see areas we can work on. We look forward to even more opportunities soon.

Thank you.

Ms. Grace Nangabo

Head of Music