Arts and Culture Uganda Project #28397

Supporting 20 talented students to study music

by Kampala Music School

Project Report | Apr 5, 2023
Easter from Kampala 2023

By Kiggundu Musoke | Executive Director

Jimmy practicing

As Easter approaches, there is so much news from Kampala Music School that we cannot give it all at once. So We are excited to bring you some information about 3 of our piano students, to begin with. These students have been working hard and making great progress in their piano studies.

First up is Jimmy, a consistent and dedicated student who has exhibited unwavering progress through frequent practice and attendance. Jimmy has worked his way through several grades and passed his exams with flying colours. He is currently exploring repertoire, intending to obtain a performance diploma, either the ARSM or the DipABRSM. He has also accompanied other instrumentalists and choirs to widen his playing experience. We are thrilled to see Jimmy take on teaching piano as well, which is both a valuable experience for him and a great asset to the KMS family.

Our next student, Benjamin, has made steady progress in his piano studies through regular practice and attendance during the school holidays. Despite the challenges of attending boarding school, Benjamin remains enthusiastic and has progressed from a beginner to ABRSM Grade 2. This has allowed him to learn a variety of music styles and improve his technical skills. Although his progress may have been slower due to his boarding school schedule, Benjamin has remained committed to learning and attending lessons as much as possible. We are excited to see Benjamin continue engaging in musical activities at school and church.

Finally, we have Maureen, who has been learning piano at KMS for a few months now. Despite initially learning by herself through beginner tutor books, Maureen has responded well to instruction. She has been meeting the required tasks given out weekly. These tasks include technical drills through scales and arpeggios, as well as exploring playing aspects and sight-reading. She is also a talented singer and performed at last year's anniversary celebration.

We are excited to continue working with Maureen and see her progress further in her piano studies. She is also a talented singer.

We are thrilled to see such dedicated and passionate students at the Kampala Music School. We look forward to their continued growth and success in their musical journeys.

We wish you a wonderful Easter and stay peeled for more news.

Kiconco in a piano lesson

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Nov 17, 2022
Kampala Music School celebrates 21 years. Part 2

By Kiggundu Musoke | Executive Director

Akena in lesson with Maureen looking on

KMS Celebrated her anniversary in late October with several concerts, with many students participating in a celebratory concert series. The concert series included Smooth classics on the hill, the Garden Party and the Gala event at the Sheraton hotel to cap it all.

The Garden party was a chance for many KMS students to participate and showcase their talent. In addition, those who are part of this project took part. The final concert saw the premiere of a concertina for Clarinet and orchestra by one of the bursary students, David, a violinist. He was one of the first students to benefit from this project, and his piece took centre stage in the main Anniversary event.

Akena, who is preparing to do his performance Grade 4 ABRSM exam, played a couple of pieces. His sister Atim too, performed. She has been showing an affinity for learning quickly and memorising. She showed this skill by performing some pieces, including a Bach Prelude at the Garden party, which is challenging to memorise. However, she has consistently demonstrated a side in which she is self-driven and eager to learn.

Ian is very energetic and determined and is currently working on a Haydn trumpet concerto. Performed this as a solo item at the Garden party to great acclaim. He would also later play with the Junior Orchestra and was very helpful in helping with the organisation of the events.

Joy, a voice student, continues to steadily improve her skills, with excellent forward strides in singing in a foreign language. She is preparing to do her Grade 7 Exam. Joy recently showcased her incredible performing skill in the Black History Month concerts by the US mission. She is currently helping out with students of Gayaza High School and Galaxy International school with vocal skills.

Preparing for her grade 5 exams, Irene was featured in celebration concerts for a retired performance professor Adolu Otojoka of Makerere University. She, like Joy, was a part of the Black History month celebrations by the US mission.

The eventful and colourful week drew to a close, and it was beautiful to celebrate students' achievements and see the future of the students featured in the events. It showed that KMS had achieved a lot, but more will be possible in the future.

We are therefore very thankful for your continued support. We hope you will join us on Giving Tuesday on the 29^th of November. Donations on that day will attract a portion of the Incentive Fund made possible by GlobalGiving, thus making your funds run further.

Jimmy plays Brahms Cappricio at the Garden Party

Jimmy playing in Brass section

Ian plays with the Junior Orch @ the Garden Party

David being applauded for his Clarinet Concertina

David plays viola in the KSO; Anniversary Concert

Immaculate in singing lesson

Joshua and Arthur now playing in the KSO V1 Sectn.

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Oct 17, 2022
Kampala Music School celebrates 21 years: Part 1

By Kiggundu Musoke | Executive Director

In March 2020, Kampala Music School opened its doors to the public. In the time leading to this, students were trained by a few volunteers; Fiona Carr and Ulrike Wilson led this charge with piano and Vocal Students. In addition, a few other students were taught violin and cello.

KMS is preparing to celebrate 21 years of existence in the coming weeks, and prudent to show how this legacy has grown. The bursary scheme was born, and the community here on this GlobalGiving initiative is a vital part of this KMS scheme in continuing to grow and develop talents. In this report, a few students are highlighted. However, much more directly benefit, and we shall bring them to the fore as part of our celebrations.

As 2022 progressed, the students started to come into their own. Some, however, have had quite a few challenges. There is so much to report and speak to that it would be impossible to send in one newsletter. Some of the students will be highlighted here, with more to come. Some will be making performance Debuts in the upcoming concert to celebrate the anniversary.

Benjamin, a piano student, is making steady progress through regular attendance for lessons during the school holidays. He shows enthusiasm, playing music from classical and contemporary styles. His commitment to learning is genuine and remains firm. He always reports for lessons during the holiday and continues to engage in musical activities at school and church.

Favour is quite an ambitious student, always ready for any opportunity to learn a new piece of music which he does quickly. Moreover, he does commit a fair amount of time to practise and listen to music. Therefore, always on the lookout for new challenges. In this respect, he does take on various challenges with relative ease and doesn’t seem to show much weakness.

He is currently working through the Grade 5 music theory, a requirement for performance examinations beyond the intermediate level.“Hopefully, in the upcoming school holiday, he could take a performance exam to underline his talent”, his teacher Mr Luggya Highlighted.

Athanasius is a highly committed student. Has shown unrelenting commitment through regular attendance for lessons, resulting in steady progress. This term, a lot of focus has been on developing technique, namely independence and strengthening of the weak fingers through part playing and melodic projection. Finger scales and arpeggios remain a crucial part of his study in the quest to check on his consistency in this area.

Jimmy has shown continuity in progress unrelentingly through frequent practising and lesson attendance on the advanced end of the spectrum. He’s worked through grades to the current level via examinations, for which he passed with excellent marks. Currently exploring repertoire with the aim of a performance diploma in mind, he also does provide accompaniment for other instrumentalists and choir. This is to help widen his playing experience and command of the instrument to prepare for the Diploma performance exam early in 2023.

As we continue the build-up towards the anniversary concert, we want to thank you for your gifts thus far. Still, as can be seen, mentioned in this report, we want to do more. So do let others know about what we are doing. We hope as we celebrate the 21^st anniversary, we will be able to get many more students to learn and gain a Music Education.

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