Leading telecommunications firm Safaricom has opened the 2021 application window for the popular Safaricom Youth Orchestra. The Safaricom Youth Orchestra is a musical project that was launched by the late Safaricom chief executive officer Bob Collymore in April 2014.
The orchestra brings together 70 children aged between 10 and 17 years. In this year’s applications, aspiring applicants should be aged between ten and seventeen years on or before December 2021. A small window has also been opened for applicants who may be over the age of 17 but still in high school.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW AND DOWNLOAD THE APPLICATION FORM
Applicants are required to fill in the form and return it, duly signed by the parent or guardian and the applicant by March 31 this year.
The orchestra draws 45 per cent of its students from public schools, 30 per cent from the Ghetto Classics programme, and 25 per cent from private schools. It aims to provide the necessary skills to become Kenya’s next generation of professional musicians.
Peter Ndegwa: How Starehe boy became world renowned business leader
“We understand the fundamental role music plays in our daily lives, and it is our promise that we shall continue to support the lives of the young people with initiatives such as the Safaricom Youth Orchestra,” says Peter Ndegwa, the chief executive officer at Safaricom.
Auditions for the orchestra are held annually with the aim of discovering and launching the careers of young promising musicians from different social backgrounds. The successful candidates are selected by the music directors and tutors through a combination of theoretical and practical tests. The orchestra has seen 120 of its members graduate from its programme.
Patricia Murugami: This is how I built my successful business and career
In 2020, members of the orchestra received their music lessons through e-learning using 4G-enabled mobile handsets from Safaricom, as the firm moved to comply with health protocols aimed at curing the spread of the ongoing corona pandemic.