Nine students and three chaperones from Moi Girls High School in Uasin Gishu, Kenya, arrived in Arizona Tuesday evening April 5th. The students are serious musicians, and Arizona was their first stop in the US. The delegation stayed at the Comfort Suites in the Pavilions which was ideally located for their stay, and program at Scottsdale Community College (SCC). Megan Young coordinated the visits at SCC on Wednesday and Friday, where they toured, visited classes, and worked with the music faculty and students. Wednesday afternoon they visited Mustang Library for the Uasin Gishu Art exhibit, which included art from a dozen Moi Girls HS students. They also visited the Railroad Park to ride the train and carousel, as well as watering the tree planted by Uasin Gishu’s Governor in 2014. Thursday was spent at the Musical Instrument Museum, touring the exhibits, and participating in MIM’s African Drumming workshop, where they shared their culture and music. Thursday evening the delegation attended a jazz concert by the SCC and the Chandler-Gilbert CC jazz ensembles at the Nash in downtown Phoenix. Friday evening they attended an outdoor concert in DC Ranch, accompanied by a picnic dinner.
Thank you, thank you, thank you to all those who helped make the students’ visit so successful. Thank you to George Hartz for coordinating the visit, and Megan Young for the SCC programs. We thank our volunteer SSCA members who helped transport the delegation: Margaret Lehn, Mike Kuzel, Susan Salembier, Lisa White, Kathy George, and Donna and George Hartz. A very special, and HUGE thank you to long time SSCA members, Rachelle and John Traynor who stepped in to help with transportation, and at last minute volunteered to host the delegation on Sunday and overnight when flight snafus by the delegation’s Kenyan travel agent required the delegation to delay their departure until 5 am on Monday. A great time was had by all. - by Donna Hartz
