Kenya’s music festival losing its appeal

Music and poetry occupy a central place in any society. This idea was explored by William Blake and Percy Shelley. According to Blake, poetry fetters the human race. Nations are destroyed or flourish in proportion to their poetry, painting and music. While Shelley in her defence of poetry declared poets the unacknowledged legislators of the world.

Poetry and music go beyond mere entertainment, from poems and songs we learn about human behaviour, politics, family values, education, humility, different cultures, science, technology, cohesion, animals and religion.

The world over, poets and singers are not only the authors of communication and of music, or dance and painting. They are the initiators of laws, and the architects of civil society.

They are the innovators of the arts of life, and the instructors, who draw into a definite solidarity with the appealing. Legendary German composer and pianist Ludwig Van Beethoven defined music as the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life. But the question we ought to ask ourselves as nation is: Are we, as Kenyans, doing enough to retain and safeguard our artists’ position in the society?

As students and pupils continue to entertain guests at this year’s annual music festival in Mombasa in a show scheduled to run for two weeks, questions must be asked concerning the tangible benefits students derive from such events.

First held in 1927, the Kenya Music festival, being an annual event ought to be celebrating fruits of the fete, which is a landmark on the calendar of the Ministry of education.

Mr Masibo Kituyi who has been the face of this event if articles in the media are to be used as a gauge, contents that music as a non-academic programme in school is concerned with awakening curiosity, development of proper interests, attitudes and values.

It is a tool that helps participants bond and learn to appreciate each other. He further states that economic and social objectives of education begin to be realised as opportunities in the world of music become available to them, yet we know very well that none of our celebrated Thespians, poets, singers honed their skills at such events.

I have had opportunity to listen to some thespians being interviewed on national television, yet none of them has mentioned music festivals

Rejected manuscripts

Many are self-actualised individuals who, over time, have had their manuscripts rejected and songs dismissed by producers. They did not give up and worked themselves up to stardom. Such people don’t understand the meaning of a music festival.

I think the event has been reduced to an annual ritual full of glitz, pomp and glamour meant to entertain politicians, guests and senior education officials. It has become a form of holiday. But is this event a means to an end or an end in itself? After performing at the music fete what happens next to the performers?

Another issue we must raise is, are our pupils from extremely remote areas accorded the same opportunity their counterparts from urban areas get during such performances?

Doris Lessing, British novelist, poet, playwright and writer observed that any human anywhere will blossom in a hundred unexpected talents and capacities simply by being given the opportunity to do so.

The ministry of education must develop ways of systematically nurturing and developing talent in our institutions outside the framework of National Music festival to make students successful after schools.