Prof. Frederike Meinl from the Vocal Faculty at the Academy of Art in Szczecin realized a successful research and teaching stay at Kenyatta University in Nairobi in March 2024.
Prof. Meinel realized a series of masterclasses with the students at Kenyatta University, working on old Italian arias as well as bel canto arias and songs by Kurt Weils, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Michael Head. The students performed the results of masterclasses at Kenyatta University on the 25th of March 2024.
In Nairobi Prof. Meinel gave also a recital of German, Polish, and English Romantic songs at the National Theater in Nairobi on the 23rd of March 2024. She performed works by Franz Schubert, Carl Loewe, Frederic Chopis, Edward Elgar, and Johannes Brahms. She was accompanied on the piano by the pianist George Waihenya from Kenyatta University. The concert was a great success and the audience was enthusiastic and demanded several encores. In addition to the guests from Kenya, this concert was also attended by numerous colleagues from other universities, such as the Rector of the Stuttgart University of Music (Germany), a Professor of Music & Aesthetics from the Complutense University of Madrid (Spain), and a musician from Cyprus.
On the 30th of March 2024, Prof. Meinel was able to become for a moment the part of the great “Ghetto Classic” project. Beforehand, she had organized on her own with the personal support of the main coordinator of the project a charity concert at the Evangelical School in Berlin Frohnau, where she raised 2,000 euros for the “Ghetto Classic” project in the Korogocho slum in Nairobi, which will be used to buy musical instruments for the children and implement music and dance projects.
The last week of her research stay in Kenya, Prof. Meinel dedicated to participation in the Multi-Disciplinary Conference and Innovation Week at the Technical University in Mombasa. There, on the 31st of March 2024 she gave the keynote speech on “Innovative pedagogical concepts in music and singing: Developing interdisciplinary, transformative thinking – Career opportunities through cross-artform networking”, which was very well received by the audience.
Within the conference, Prof. Meinel gave also singing workshops for the students of the Technical University in Mombasa working on songs and arias by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Aaron Copland, and on works by Kenyan composers. The results of the workshops were presented on the 3rd of April 2024 at the Mombasa Beach Hotel, a highlight of the international conference and a great success.
https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1ApsOiH1kEIWtJG0VBCNbwUEwsvxotvYT