The Kenya International Cello Festival is a pandemic success story. Faced with months of concert cancellations, American cellists Robert Howard and Rebecca Merblum began weekly Zoom lessons with three young men in Nairobi's Korogocho Slum back in 2020. Impressed with the tenacity and resilience of these young men, Robert and Rebecca became more and more engaged. Many late night/early morning sessions later, the idea of a cello festival arose.
Later this week, Cellists from all over the US will join teachers from Nairobi's Ghetto Classics program in presenting two Nairobi programs- at Tribe Hotel and the Braeburn School, Garden Estates. Then they will venture upcountry for programs with Nyeri's Mt. Kenya Academy and Thika's Mpesa Foundation Academy
The musical programmes offer something for everyone- both old standards and new premieres. In addition to classics like Tchaikovsky and Paganini, we will premiere works by Brazilian composer Clarice Assad and Dutch/American Anthony Green, who will join us live in Kenya.
We hope that you can join us for the event. To RSVP or would if you have any questions or queries please feel free to contact me through the phone number below or via email at [email protected]
