‘Kids always give their best’

school pupils to get an opportunity to serenade multitudes of local and international art enthusiasts who were in the country for Hifa.

The group made up of enthusiastic, young and energetic pupils delivered a polished act that impressed the cosmopolitan crowd.
This was their second time performing at the arts fete.
Hundreds of arts lovers were treated to a number of dances and topping the list was Alick Macheso’s, “Zora

Butter”, which took fans into delirium, followed by “Mota”, “Baskets” and the popular Botswana dance “Chika”.

They sang a number of songs including “Apo Neapo”, Shakira’s 2010 World Cup song “Waka Waka”, “Jobo” and “Bosvo” from local gospel artiste Sebastian Magacha.
The show, which was a medley of museve, rhumba, gospel and several contemporary African beats, really showed that if given the right training and mentoring, kids can give out their best. Their performance revealed a high level of ingenuity, which is rare among that age group.

It was clear that the kids were well prepared, as they were always solidly together with tight rhythm, unusually good intonation and sparkling percussion.
Balances were in place, and nuances of tempo were conducted and executed with expertise.
Among the pupils were daughters of well-known personalities Dr Paul Chimedza and Harare City Council public relations officer Mr Leslie Gwindi.
Ten-year-old Danai Chimedza, who has been playing hosho and marimba for the past two years, could not hide her joy following her inclusion in the ensemble.

“I am very grateful to be part of the band and it has been very exciting all the way right from the moment we started practising,” she enthused.
She added: “I have learnt a lot through playing marimba, and I can easily get on stage to play for hundreds of people, without fear,” said Danai.
Mupiwa Gwindi (10), who is doing Grade Six and plays soprano and bass marimba, said: “Each time I play I feel very energetic and it is always fun.

“The first time that I played, I was very nervous but through experience I have gained confidence and I want to be a professional mbira player and a teacher as well,”  she said.
Speaking after the performance, Dominican Convent music teacher, who is also a musician in his own right, Mr Richard Matimba, urged parents to encourage their

children to take up programmes they are good at.
“Kids always give their best, when they do something they enjoy. They can attain their dreams and have the potential to become the world’s greatest, if given the necessary support,” he said. Dominican Convent Primary School has not only earned accolades in the academic area, but has in the past few years, maintained pole positions in both sports and the arts. The school is the current holder of the Kutinya Marimba Cup Challenge, and 11 of their girls got prizes, albeit at different levels in the mbira category at the Eisteddfod competitions.

One of their students, a Grade Seven pupil, Jessica Chitombo, has for three consecutive years been winning trophies in the annual piano competitions.
On the other hand, Dominican Convent High School choir last year got an honour at the Allied Arts Competition, where they beat seven other schools to clinch the award.

However, despite their achievements in the arts, Dominican Convent High School does not take part in many competitions, but take music as one of the school activities.