Youth Orchestra of Namibia News

The following are news updates from Youth Orchestra of Namibia:

Our first two concerts of the second school term were at retirement homes. The first concert was on 29 June at Susanne Grau Heim and the next one was on 18 July at the Katutura Old Age Home. Because 18 July was the birthday of the late Nelson Mandela, we chose to celebrate his centenary by giving our music, time and small gifts to the elderly residents.

Another first for us was to take a smaller group of children to perform by invitation at an event. On 2 August the YONA Quartet performed at the inauguration of the new offices of Down Syndrome Association of Namibia. We had to get special permission for the children to miss a few hours of school for this event. However, the learning experience made up for the time lost. The four girls came away with greater confidence, having learned a lot about appropriate behaviour and respect.

These same girls were then also invited to perform on 4 August at a ladies’ breakfast hosted by one of our main sponsors, Rand Merchant Bank. On 7 September the main YONA orchestra performed at  the bank’s annual result announcement. Both of these events were challenging to coordinate because they happened at 7 o’clock in the morning! Transport had to be arranged to pick up YONA children from their homes. So after a long route from Katutura, through the North, West, East and South of Windhoek, the children arrived on a dark and cold morning to perform at a very classy event. Again, the learning experience made it worth the effort. Lessons about tenacity, discipline and team work were learned, and the bonus was a yummy snack pack for every child!

Date Published: 29 November 2018