Doesn't take long to adjust to playing 7,000 miles away from home!
At a Mall in Nairobi, I saw a flier for a group performing Christmas Carols that evening. Thinking it might be a violin teacher with students playing, I thought it would be enjoyable for Zoe as she loves the violin. It turned out to be a lovely ensemble of two violins, cello and bass, all musicians from the Nairobi Conservatory or the Cathedral. I introduced myself and found we had a mutual friend in common - a former youth orchestra student of mine, Gillian, who had started a string program at a school in Nyeri, Kenya, as part of her PhD dissertation. She had played in the Nairobi Symphony and met a lot of musicians. The leader invited me to play a few carols with them, which I did. Zoe was delighted. The cellist in the group is a suborganist of All Saint's Cathedral in Nairobi and invited us to attend the Christmas Eve service of Lessons and Carols, which we did. It is a very comforting thought that, wherever you go in the world, even if you do not speak the language, if you play a string instrument or are an Anglican, you will find people to play with and a church to go to. I have played chamber music in many countries and not been able to speak the language, but have had marvellous musical experiences. The furthest church I have attended was Wellington Cathedral, on my way to play chamber music in the South Island of New Zealand.
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