Cultural Dynamism in Process: The Kenya Music Festival

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Periodical article

Title:	Cultural Dynamism in Process: The Kenya Music Festival
Author:	Kidula, Jean
Year:	1996
Periodical:	Ufahamu
Volume:	24
Issue:	2-3
Period:	Fall
Pages:	63-81
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Kenya
Subjects:	festivals music Architecture and the Arts
Abstract:	This paper focuses on the Kenya Music Festival, an annual event that takes place between May and October under the auspices of the Ministry of Education. The festival plays an essential role in shaping, articulating, promoting and reinforcing modern music practice in Kenya. On the one hand, it is an institution and agent for preservation and creativity. On the other hand, as Kenyans seek to articulate their cultural heritage, it is shaped and expanded by the very practices it seeks to conserve. The festival has a European and an African section. Since independence, additional classes have been added to the African section. The festival officials encourage the participants, mainly students, to experiment by using alternative playing techniques and contrasting them with traditional styles. The Festival, which is in a continuous process of transformation and expansion, has in many ways transformed music practice within the Kenyan education system. Notes, ref.