International quartet thrills Kenyans at Nairobi concert

Russian musician, Evgeny Sokolov, strums his balalaika, a stringed instrument popular in his country while his fellow group member My-Leen Rut Fidel Formento sings a Filipino children’s song.

The other two members of the Singers of United Lands are Marie Jose Quevedo Diaz from Guatemala and Irishman John Kennedy. The group is set up in such a way that whenever one of them sings, the other three play back-up instruments.

This group of singers arrived in Kenya on April 19 this year for a four-week countrywide tour of performances and music workshops hosted by the Kenya Conservatoire of Music.

Known globally as S.O.U.L, this is an organisation that was first registered in 2002 in the US, and seeks to develop international and cultural relationships through vocal music from around the world.

Kennedy, 29, works as a singing butler at banquets in Galway, Ireland, while Formento, 30, teaches music theory, sings, plays the piano and leads an acapella group in Manila. Diaz, 22, teaches music in Guatemala City and Sokolov, 32, of Omsk —in southern Siberia — is an artist with the Omsk State Russian Folk Choir and dance company.

S.O.U.L. is a unique quartet of professional young adult singers - each from a different country and continent.

Every year, a new team of four singers representing high-quality vocal musical skills, geographical diversity, and enthusiasm for sharing their respective cultures, is formed to take performances throughout the US. and beyond.

They perform songs that are native to their home countries and give interactive workshops, presentations, performances, and lessons for audiences of all ages. Since 2004, there have been 40 singers from 39 different countries represented in S.O.U.L.

Kenyan singer Corrine Towett who is managing the tour of Kenya by the current group of musicians was herself a member of S.O.U.L in 2009. She is now also the Executive Director of the Conservatoire of Music in Nairobi.

The Conservatoire of Music partnered with the S.O.U.L programme and introduced it in Kenya in 2012. Last year’s group, comprising of singers from India, Bolivia, Poland and Namibia, had an African Tour that premiered in Kenya.

For two weeks, the group visited a selected number of schools, colleges and other venues and interacted with the audiences in Nairobi and Mombasa, sharing various aspects about life in their respective countries through workshops, songs and concerts. The rest of that tour took the group on a similar programme of events to Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The S.O.U.L 2013 has been visiting various schools and institutions and participating in workshops including lessons in language, geography, culture and music. “I think it is a very good opportunity to show your culture and learn new things,” says Maria.

She adds: “I feel proud to represent my country and share some of my experiences with different people.”

The group has spent six months on tour through communities in the U.S: Detroit, Chicago, Nashville, Washington DC, before coming to Kenya.

Their performances in the last two weeks have already been well received at the Braeburn Theatre, The Conservatoire Ballet Studio and their final show will take place at the National Museums of Kenya, Louis Leakey Auditorium, on Thursday May 16 at 6.30 pm.

Tickets will be on sale at the venue at Sh500 and Sh300 for children and students. After their Kenyan tour, the group will head back to the US to end their tour in June.

In July this year, the Nairobi Chamber Chorus whose repertoire ranges from arrangements of African folk music to western classical music, will tour the US for two weeks as guests of the Singers of United Lands (S.O.U.L)