Episode 54: Josiah Birai and Elizabeth A. Andang’o

Joining Lisa in episode 54 is Josiah Birai, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Cheza Music School, a Nairobi-based in-home music school dedicated to helping children and families experience music in a joyful, structured, and confidence-building way. Josiah speaks about the way he and his colleagues support their students’ musicking and performing. Kenyatta University Senior Lecturer Dr. Elizabeth A. Andang’o responds with insights on music education in Kenya, emphasizing the importance of considering how music supports children’s identity and self-knowledge. Elizabeth also shares her research working with grandmothers in Kenya, highlighting the grandmothers’ deliberate use of music to cultivate relationships with their grandchildren as well as to pass along religious values.

Episode 54 shownotes:

Cheza Music School, Nairobi Web Page

Josiah Birai’s faculty page

Cheza Music School Facebook

Cheza Music School Instagram

Elizabeth A. Andang’o’s faculty page

Elizabeth A. Andang’o’s article, “The role of music in shaping children’s self-knowledge and identity: Perspectives from an African setting”