Fwd: NMS Newsletter - our Christmas Concert and other coming events

[Lucy Muthaura]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Valerie Kent <mvaler...@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Nov 17, 2015 at 6:18 PM
Subject: NMS Newsletter - our Christmas Concert and other coming events
To: Valerie Kent <ke...@africaonline.co.ke>

Nairobi Music Society

Dear NMS Members and friends,

As usual at this time of year, there is a feast of varied musical events for you!  You may need to be slightly more adventurous than usual: one event is at ISK and three events are at St Francis, Karen. St Francis has built a splendid new church which is to be consecrated by the Archbishop next week. It also has a new organ and there is to be a free organ recital there two days later by a visiting Austrian concert organist. The weekend after that the NMS Christmas concerts are to be held there. And the weekend following our NMS concert will see the Greenwood Singers performing in the old St Francis Church, in the same compound. 

Diary of events

Thursday, 26th November, 6.30 pm, International School of Kenya (ISK) String quartet recital in aid of El Sistema Kenya, admission free but donations requested

From Friday 27th November to Sunday 6th December - various dates and times, see last poster below. Aladdin, this year’s pantomime from Braeburn Players, Adults 700/-  Students (under eighteen) 500/-

Saturday 28th November, St Francis new church, 6.00 pm - Organ recital - free

Saturday 5th December 7.00 pm and Sunday, 6th December, 3.00 pm, St Francis new church

NMS Christmas Concerts, Adults 800/- Children and Students (with ID) and NMS members 500/-

Saturday 12th December, Greenwood Singers, old St Francis Church. Possibly Sunday concert also.

I don’t have full details yet - will let you know when I do.

Note: click on the posters below to enlarge them individually

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NMS Christmas concerts

We are delighted to be giving these concerts in the new St Francis Church, at the junction of Ngong Road and Karen Road (ie, where the old church still is also). It is a beautiful building and has plenty of room for our ever-growing choir, and Nairobi Orchestra's players won’t be poking each other in the eye with their bows or in a multitude of other ways risking injury to their fellow players by being squashed together. Lots of room for the audience too! We think it will be a great setting for these concerts.

The venue may not be familiar but our visiting conductor, Damian Penfold, will be known to many of you. He first came to Nairobi to conduct our NMS 2004 Christmas concerts and again for our 2006 Christmas concerts. Since then he has conducted Nairobi Orchestra several times, most recently in November 2014. He loves his visits to work with us all and he is an inspirational and highly knowledgeable conductor. 

We try to make every Christmas concert different from each other whilst also satisfying everyone’s  expectations of what a Christmas concert is all about. Like the world-famous service of Nine Lessons and Carols from Kings College, Cambridge, we aim to be both traditional and innovative. Nothing should be out of place, it should all feel right, and yet we will be introducing some absolutely lovely works never before heard in Nairobi . 

We asked Damian to choose the programme, with just two stipulations: we would like to include two or three items from Handel’s Messiah and also wanted to repeat the stunning orchestration of the carol Silent Night which Josh Harper wrote for us last year to commemorate Christmas 1914. Those of you who heard it cannot have forgotten it. Even without its First World War significance, it was the most appropriate rendering of the words that I have ever heard, swelling to its huge and glorious last verse. 

The whole programme has its roots in nine hundred years of words and music written to celebrate Christmas, and it succeeds in telling the Christmas story in a way that is traditional, beautiful and yet fresh. Oh, and you will have the opportunity to join in singing two or three familiar carols!

PS St Francis is easily reached via the Southern Bypass, for those of us on the other side of Nairobi

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String quartets for El Sistema Kenya

Most of you will have heard of the amazing musical training programme, El Sistema,  created in Venezuela for underprivileged children for their social as well as musical development. It has won international acclaim, their orchestra has travelled the world and, in addition to its value for all the participants, some of those who trained have gone on to do great things. 

Were you aware that El Sistema has now been set up in Kenya, currently working in two slums and about to start in a third? The founder of El Sistema Kenya is Karis Crawford, whom you may have seen leading Nairobi Orchestra in their recent concert, among the many concerts where she has been leader, including several with NMS. On Thursday next week (US Thanksgiving) she is joined by three other members of Nairobi Orchestra to play string quartets, hoping to raise money to help fund the project’s future development. There is no fixed admission price but they ask for donations instead. Although the suggested donation is 2000/- they are keen for people to come, enjoy and give just whatever they feel they can afford - and discover more about El Sistema Kenya.

See the poster below for details of the concert - and take a look at their website!

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International concert organist at St Francis

The new St Francis Church will host a fascinating organ recital the Saturday before our Christmas concert. A new Rodgers organ has just been installed and by all accounts it is a magnificent instrument. A fine Austrian international concert organist is here as part of the installation arrangements with Rodgers and he is giving a free recital on 28th November at 6.00 pm. An organ recital by an player of such standing is an extremely rare event in Kenya, and he promises to delight with an interesting programme and also some words on how the organ actually works! 

Click on the poster below to enlarge it

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It is pantomime season again! 

This time the Braeburn Players are doing Aladdin, directed by Joanna Garner, with musical director Allan Corbett.  With Simon Smithers, Terry Childs, Sam Mihailovic, Amy Johnson, Corrine Batty as well as the young talent of Skye McSorley and Luna-Belle Botes, it promises to be a very special performance.  Tickets to Braeburn pantomimes are always in high demand, so book early! 

For details of times and dates see the poster below