As an educational institution, we strive to nurture the creative talent in children as well as the staff. The school therefore offers opportunities to develop further in playing music instruments and theory. The atmosphere of composing, production and performance are the core of the Department’s life.
We have dedicated teachers in the Department who work on a one-to-one basis and offer professional help in learning to play orchestral and jazz band instruments as well as produce music using Technology in a conducive and friendly atmosphere.

Music expresses our innermost feelings it speaks volumes in melody, rhythm and beat. Music relaxes the mind, calms our spirits and motivates us to achieve greater things. From early childhood to late teenage, Greensteds children interact with music both in and out of classroom. Curricular and extra curricular music activities are offered in the school.

Currently the Music Department has two offshoots: The Music and the Music Technology Departments. Each of these Departments offer wide choices for future career development in the music field.

Academic curriculum

Music education in Greensteds covers all the Key stages of the curriculum. CIE curriculum is offered for IGCSE, AS and A2 Level Music while Edexcel is offered at AS level for Music technology.
There is emphasis on the need to link theory and practice, thus every theory class is supported by a practical lesson. Students are always encouraged to explore which helps them discover their musical abilities. Because of this, the department has seen growth in the number of candidates taking Music as an IGCSE and A Level subject. The pass rate in these exams has been 100% every year.
We, as a department pride ourselves in being the first school and one of the very few schools to offer Music Technology as an A Level subject in Kenya. This is in our bid to provide the best and offer more opportunities to students who are interested in moving on to the world of Music making and production. We teach composition, arranging, recording, mixing and mastering unto the final level of Cd pressing. At the heart of it all is a fully equipped recording suite, which offers opportunities for students to make their productions.

The Music Technology Suite

The Department promotes and supports creative endeavors from both the students and staff into the use and application of technology in Music. There is an enabling environment for the community to compose, arrange, record and produce music to the highest standards possible. The music technology suite has been designed and soundproofed to the highest standards possible. The suite is attached to the Performing Arts Department (PAD) and houses professional standard acoustic and recording facilities, for Educational and experimental use.
Plans are underway to introduce surround sound recording in both visual and audio media such as movie effects course, 5.1 surround and ambisonics.

The music and music technology departments are still growing and many renovations are taking place in both buildings. Three new practice rooms have been added to the music area and the studio is being upgraded with new recording gear both hardware and software. We as a department have experienced growth in the number of students taking both music and music technology which is proof that the course is gaining popularity.

Software

These include Reason 4, Reaper, Sonar 8.5 producer, Cubase SE, Nuendo 4, Ableton live 8, Sibelius 6 among others.

Music Tours 

The school has been very active in organizing music tours to the UK. Our 3rd music tour was a huge success. The two weeks were absolutely amazing with performances ranging from schools to churches. The first week was a camping experience and the second week the team stayed in Plymouth University halls of residence. The final two days were spent in Heathrow inn where the group had an opportunity to travel and sightsee London and its environs.

This year (2011) marked our fourth tour to England. The group visited the previous venues in the south and North of England. The party took 35 musicians including staff. They  departed on the 4th of July and returned on the 19th of July 2011. Performances included the Kenya High Commission in London as well as a visit of the University of York, various schools and churches. They did a joint workshop with Torpoint High (Estover Community College) and Callington Community College and a performance with Rame Peninsular Male Voice Choir! The party had an opportunity to do lots of shopping.

The Music Tour Ended on a High Point

The tour was very successful with most venues registering good attendance. There was a lot of support from the audience. Many were impressed by the level of discipline displayed by our students and commented how pleasant and friendly the students were. There was ample shopping time despite the number of concerts the group had. At one point, the team performed two concerts in one school, Callington Community college, where they had a morning assembly, midmorning workshop (Japanese drumming and classroom attendance, sharing their experiences with music students), and an evening concert for parents and the rest of the students. In Estover community college, now known as Torpoint High, they learnt to play the steel drums. It was a very enjoyable workshop as many students interviewed attested. They also got the opportunity to perform with other music students from the school.

During their time in Plymouth, the team also had the opportunity to perform for and with the famous Rame Peninsular Male voice choir (RPMVC) who also awarded them with memento as a token of appreciation for the performance. Mr Bentley used to be a member of the RPMVC many years ago!

It was amazing to see how much publicity had been given by the local media in both Plymouth and York as the local papers had articles on the team and their performances. A number of people in the audience were so impressed that they tried to invite the team to perform in other venues. However, this was not possible as the programme was too full.

The Highlight of the tour was the final performance at the Kenya High commission where the team performed for the High commissioner and the Kenya High commission staff as well as a few parents. It was a great opportunity for the team to interact with the staff. Some of the performances for the tour can be seen on Youtube under Greensteds KHC London. The dvd of the tour is being worked on and should be out soon.

During the tour, the team managed to raise funds for Cherish Exchange Foundation, an organization which rehabilitates and nurtures children from the slums and streets including those who had been affected by the PEV in 2007/2008. They managed to raise Kshs. 165,500/= from donations and proceeds from the sale of their compilation CD Chapter 2.

The music Department is currently working on a new CD entitled 10 commemorating the ten years since they started working on music production. The CD has ten songs, some from the past ten years and some totally new material. The sounds are fresh and the CD should also be out soon.

The team has been quite busy ever since they came back from the tour as some students have left notably: Neon and Baraka, who had a great impact in the band and Choir. New students have joined the team and preparations are in place for Variety Show night (14^th October), International Week (Early November) and Christmas carol concerts in Early December.

International Week: Celebrating Diversity  3rd -9th November 2011 

The International week is an annual event that celebrates the wonderful variety of cultures that make up the Greensteds community.  For three years, the school has enjoyed playing host to this event that brings students, parents and staff together for a week of good food, fun and entertainment. This year the International week runs from the 3^rd of November until the 9^th of November 2011.

As our school has grown, so has the celebration of cultures. The music department in conjunction with other departments came up with innovative and amusing performances and games that will keep the community busy throughout the week.  While the children play games, the adults enjoy a variety of regional cuisines lovingly prepared by some of our students as well as our school catering staff. To complement the culinary experience, the entertainment this year includes acts by the junior school, the school prefects’ creative opening ceremony dance, the Music technology students’ composition among others. The highlight of the closing ceremony will be the colourful display of flags, the playing of various countries anthems as well as a wonderful fashion show by both the staff and the students.

In Greensteds School we have very supportive school staff that lends a hand in terms of helping out with activities. This year the junior school will hold a separate international week which will run concurrently with the senior school one. However, the theme as well as the countries represented everyday will be the same throughout the week. There will thus be a lot of activities the whole week for students, interested parents and staff to get involved in.

The event of celebrating diversity of cultures has grown to be a phenomenal event that the school looks forward to every year.   However, the event does require an incredible amount of manpower to plan, set-up and run.  The event committee are thankful for the support of the music department, headed by Nick Mwashimba, Benjie Armide, Rachel Garry and other supporting staff and students. The school would also like to acknowledge and thank all the parents, students and school staff who have volunteered their time and effort to put on this memorable event.

This event is an important event on the school calendar not only because it is a great way for the community to come together at the start of the school year but it also educates, entertains and informs people on many cultural aspects.

For all of us involved in planning the event, the best part is bringing the School community together for an entertaining week. We hope you all enjoy the week.

Annual Carol Concert 3rd and 4th December 2011

It has been a tradition of the Greensteds International school community to have a Christmas carol concert of joyous, breath taking celebratory performances which take place on weekends where the students in the school choir and band, go to a church/ cathedral and perform a variety of musical pieces both instrumental and vocal.

This year, the music department- as well a number of other staff and students- who are and have always been in charge of this event have decided to do a concert for the school as well, on the first Saturday in early December, the rest of the Greensteds community that do not engage in the schools musical activities will enjoy an evening of the fervently practiced, excellent performances that the school choir and band have been preparing since the beginning of the first half of term. This year the music department is aiming to make it the most magical Christmas carol concert ever. Parents are also encouraged to come and enjoy the performances as well as support their children who may be performing over the weekend .  More details will be posted as the event comes closer.

Extra curricular activities

The department boasts an active 30 student senior band/orchestra which is involved in tours both nationally and internationally. It also hosts a 40 student choir which travels with the band/orchestra. The group has traveled around the country several times, been to Uganda, Tanzania and visited the UK thrice before, with the last tour being July 2009.

Furthermore, we pride ourselves in being the only school music group in Kenya to have ever had consistent tours once every two years, traveling abroad, performing arrangements of authentic Kenyan tunes on orchestral instruments. We have therefore lifted the banner high as cultural ambassadors and forged long lasting friendships around the world.
The students are encouraged to form their own groups and currently there are small ensembles, vocal duets, trios, quartets and solo performers.
Students are also encouraged to explore and work with various genres of music ranging from classical right through to contemporary styles.

We as a music department have had a very busy year with many performances in and out of the school. Last July we bid goodbye to our very dedicated musicians both in the band and choir as they headed off to various universities around the world and wish them all the best in all they do. They have been a huge contributing factor towards the growth of the department and we hope that they will carry on developing their musical skills among other things.

As they left us, we experienced change of guard and the new members of choir/band are very enthusiastic and determined to take the department to even greater heights. Rehearsals in preparation for this year are ongoing and there seems to be no slowing down on their part.

Many activities are slotted in the calendar for the year starting with the School fair on 26th September 2010,

annual Naivasha horticultural fair, Christmas carol concerts in early December, recording of the School CD, inter house music competitions, international week and the 4th UK Music Tour for July 2011.There are also school visits and other performances in and out of Nakuru including a Coast tour.

Most of these musicians have been involved with previous performances including the past school shows and inter-house music competition which was held in March 2010.

We as the music department pride ourselves in producing the best and helping students realize their potential. Currently we have many former members of the band and choir who have gone on to make a name for themselves in the music circles.

Namtero Mdee, a former choir member and an active music student is currently based in Nairobi. She works as a radio host for Homeboyz radio as well as TV presenter with KTN’s Str8up show. Her younger sister, Vanessa Mdee, another former very active student in the Department works for MTV as a VJ.  She is currently based in Dar-es-salaam.

Frank Mutta, based in California pursued the Music line and is currently a successful hip-hop producer in the USA. Ausar Amon made history by being the youngest and most talented pianist and violinist Greensteds has so far had. He is currently on a scholarship in one of the most distinguished music schools in Manhattan, NY. Richard Waitumbi, another talented musician and an all rounder is currently on a scholarship in one of the Ivy League universities (Dartmouth) in the USA. He plans to combine Music and Engineering.

Many students who have made an impact in the music sphere have been inducted in the Greensteds ‘Wall of Fame’.

Scholarships

These are offered to high fliers who attend tester days. Requirements include the ability to sight read, play at least one instrument and should be at least grade 3 ABRSM level for middle school while the senior school should have above grade 4 level ability on at least one instrument. Testing also involves an interview based on general knowledge as well as performance on specialized instruments.