Kenya Trip Fundraiser Reaches New Heights!
Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we have met our original goal of $5,000 toward this July's program-building trip to Kenya! We are now poised to further amplify the impact of this journey by increasing our fundraising target to $7,000. This will allow our work with students and teachers alike to be even more robust, as SCS Founder and Artistic Director Nina Stern, SCS Board Member Nancy Jo Snider, and SCS Teaching Artist Ruaridh Pattison prepare for the voyage. Donate today to keep this crescendo of support going!
Ruaridh—affectionately known to his students as "Mr. Ru"—will be leading professional development for the music teachers in Kibera. Ru's main objective is to empower his Kenyan counterparts to use music notation software, namely Musescore. This is especially important because all competitors in the Kenya National Music Festival—like the award-winning SCS/Crossing Thresholds ensembles—are required to submit written sheet music of their performance selections. Often, our Teaching Artists (TAs) in Kenya create their own arrangements by ear; up until now, the process of making sheet music has required outside help.
This summer's professional development will not only cover how to use Musescore, but it will also support further developing crucial music literacy skills so Kenyan TAs can comfortably create and transcribe their own scores. In addition, Ru will provide hands-on training on how to use a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), which can be used to generate practice tracks for students.
Ru recently shared: "I am hoping that these new skills allow our partners more creativity and ownership over their work. I am excited to see my Kenyan friends again. It's been five years since our last trip, and this will be my fourth. I am also hoping I have time this trip to see some different neighborhoods of the city and some live music!"
With everything that Ru, Nancy, and Nina have planned, there is no doubt that beautiful music, dynamic learning, and warm fellowship are all in store this summer!
Your contribution will support these impactful professional development workshops for teachers, student performances at Village Market in Nairobi, and student participation in the Kenya National Music Festival.
Help us meet our new goal today!
