Kenya Update 10/12/09 - Time Flies!

I have had a seriously busy week and weekend! Last Thursday the ANU choir performed at the Nairobi National Museum at an event called a "Classical Evening" It was good fun. It is very interesting thinking about classical music in Kenya. There is a small group of dedicated musicians who have invested themselves entirely to creating a classical music culture in Nairobi. It does not even occur to most how incredibly fortunate we are in the United States to have music and art as a part of our public school curriculum. Trying to create a cultural infrastructure in a country without that foundation is very difficult, but they are making progress! I was asked to play a piano solo, which, if you know me at all you would know I was stressed out to no end! Anyway, the solo went well (ie. it could've been worse), and it was great to sing and play with the choir, and even better to spend some time with the students outside of rehearsal. Hopefully I proved to some of them that I'm not as boring as I seem in rehearsal (shrug)
Here is a link to some pictures and a poorly made video from the evening:

A Classical Evening

On Saturday, my involvement with the "fledgling classical music scene" in Nairobi continued as the NCC (Nairobi Chamber Chorus) sang for a big ol' fancy wedding in town. It was a Catholic wedding (ie. long and boring) in a HUGE cathedral. There were so many wonderful musicians there. Extravagant weddings like that are always offsetting for me - such displays of exorbitant wealth always makes me a little sad. It was fun, however to spend some time with my friend Joe, visiting his flat in Rongai and walking around the city. The more time I spend off campus (outside of the context of grocery shopping...) the more I'm starting to feel comfortable here in Nairobi. This is a welcome change, and I am grateful for my friends (like Joe and Immanuel) who have provided opportunities and support to make this trasition to feeling "at home" possible.
This week, we're learning about Medium Scale Integration ICs and programmable logic devices! Sounds exciting, doesn't it! Last week I was able to write my final exam and get it submitted by the deadline (Friday), but just barely. Thats an interesting story, I will tell you if you ask me :-P