‘Eseriani’ (Peace)
Songs from Kenya & the Americas

Precious Blood Girls High
School-Riruta (Nairobi) Choir 2003

Conductor: Ken Wakia

Principal Mrs. Gladwell Mungai

Precious Blood Girls High School - Riruta's objective is development and academic empowerment of the girl child. Through the joint effort of parents, benefactors from overseas, donations from the public and friends, the school has managed to provide basic facilities to the 360 enrolled students.

Despite economic constraints, the school has tried as much as possible to serve bright students from less privileged families. It therefore has a good number of students whom, apart from getting basic facilities, cannot afford school fees for the maintenance of the same. For this reason a scholarship fund was started, to which the school's choir has been instrumental in building the financial base through annual benefit concerts.
All proceeds of this recording go towards the fund and as such, in purchasing this CD, you will be contributing in a major way to the education of a young Kenyan girl who could otherwise not access good education due to her financial background. Thank you very much. To donate to the schools scholarship fund, Please write to: Precious Blood High School-Riruta, P.O.Box 21283 Nairobi, Postal Code 00500, or call +254-20-566218, Telefax: +254-20-575494.

Fabian Nyorita -
Chairgirl of the 2003 school choir

Sr. Maria Pacis - The Superior of Precious Blood Rurita Convent and immediate former principal of the school.

She is the founder of the School’s Scholarship fund.

The School Choir - with a membership of more than 60 students, the choir has been undisputedly the best girls' high school choir in the Republic in the past many years, winning several first positions at the Kenya Music Festival. It has therefore earned a lot of public admiration. As such, the choir has been invited to various public, state and private functions. The choir has a repertoire ranging from Kenyan traditional music to western art music. The title of this CD - 'Eseriani', which is a Massai word for peace, is a testimony of the group's message to the world over that we can achieve peace through cultural exchange.

Conductor Mr. Ken Wakia

Ken Wakia - from Homa Bay in Western Kenya, Ken graduated from Kenyatta University in 1996 with a B.Ed (Music) degree. He is a familiar figure on the Nairobi and Kenyan scene, conducting a number of choirs and singing as a baritone soloist. He has performed in many Nairobi Music society concerts including Elijah in a production of Mendelsshon's Elijah in November 2002. Ken has been a baritone singer in the World Youth Choir touring with the choir in Japan (1997), Taiwan, Philippines (1998), Belgium, France, Netherlands (2000), Belgium and Italy (2000). Ken has been the winner of the award for Best Music Teacher in Nairobi Province Secondary Schools Academic Awards since 2000 having brought the Precious Blood School Choir to win top place at the Kenya National Music Festival more than six times, and all his students at the school to pass their music exams with an A average. Ken is also a composer and music arranger and his works have received first prize at the National Music Festival for the past decade. He is currenty the patron of African Nazarene University Choir. He has served as provincial adjudicator at the Kenya Music Festival and numerous other church music festivals and as facilitator in workshops for music teachers and choral conductors. Ken is this year's recipient of the pretigious Fullbright Scholarship to pursue a master's degree in choral conducting at the University of Miami, U.S.A. beginning this August.