"Braeburn Students have a go at Opera" By Wanjiku Chege

Two amazing visitors from the project Opera for Change came to Braeburn to run a day of exciting workshops on Monday. Lucy, the Assistant Director of Music at Warwick University in the UK, along with Alan, who produces many live events in London, came to share some of their techniques with primary, IGCSE and BTEC Music students. Braeburn Students enjoyed experimenting with telling stories in song and accompanying their stories with exaggerated gestures, that helped to get their meaning across. It was good to get a taste of a Western Art form, not often seen in Arusha and to dispel the myths that opera does not appeal to teens! One student in her evaluation at the end, explained, “My views of opera have now changed and become more positive. “ Another described the workshop as ‘inspirational!’ We are all looking forward to their return. The group of singers and performers are planning to take a production of Mozart’s Magic Flute from Nairobi to Cape Town in 2014 and this visit was part of their preliminary preparation. They were meeting up with schools and music projects across Africa who want to be involved in telling their stories along the way. Our positive experience of the workshops has meant that we are really looking forward to seeing the final performance in two years time. The group explained that they, “believed the power of music and story telling can bring people together,” and this certainly seemed to be the case, for all of us here in Arusha.