Allied Arts a success

School winning big.
Gateway School put up a well polished vocal act resulting in them being the biggest winners of the night and walked away with four gongs while Hellenics School picked the second position with three awards.

Director of the festival, Nicky Hammond, expressed satisfaction and applauded well-wishers whom he said contributed immensely to the success of the event since it is a non-profit organisation staffed by volunteers under an Executive Committee.

“It takes time and hard work to come up with an event as big as this. We are grateful to our sponsors whom without none of this would have been possible,” said Hammond.
The festival celebrated 100 years of the National Institute of Allied Arts in music, dance and drama as the instruments that unifies over 15 senior and junior schools from Zimbabwe including Government schools and a host others from around the world.

Schools from as far as Marondera and Bulawayo made it to the finals, complementing well with a host of other schools from Harare. The schools demonstrated their knowledge of music of different genres from African to Western music.

St John’s’ Gateway, Hellenics, Eaglesvale, Heritage, Roosevelt, Chisipite Senior, Dominican Convent completed the panel of the most outstanding schools at festival.
Hammond also hailed the schools that made it to the finales particularly solo performers who light it up the stage with their amazing talents.

“Everyone who participated tonight did us (committee) proud and the nation at large not forgetting all music teachers who played a pivotal role by moulding all the students participated,” he said.

The National Institute of Allied Arts was established in 1913 and this year marked its 100th anniversary since the days when the then Society for the Advancement of Music and Art organised a one-day festival in Bulawayo.