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Posted on Thu, Apr 14, 2011 : 5:55 a.m.

Partnership with Ann Arbor teachers brings resources, passion of music to Kenya

By Andrew Turner

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Students in Meru, Kenya, practice the violin as part of a partnership that brings equipment, instruments and teachers from Michigan to Africa.

Courtesy of Larry Dittmar

When Larry Dittmar was first approached with the idea of traveling to Meru, Kenya, to help Bishop Lawi Imathiu start a concert band program, he politely declined, citing his many other commitments. 

Refusing to accept no for an answer, Bishop Imathiu sought the help of a mutual friend to obtain an invitation to visit and speak at the First United Methodist Church of Ann Arbor, which Dittmar attends.

“I knew 10 minutes after listening to this man talk that I would be going to Africa,” Dittmar said.

And so began a relationship that would lead Dittmar to visit Meru eight times in the next four years as he worked to establish the only secondary school band in the country of Kenya.

Not sure what to expect on his first trip, Dittmar said he believed he might be in over his head when he arrived and found that, rather than working with school children, he was working with adult students, none of whom could read music or tell the difference between many of the instruments he had brought.

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Larry Dittmar, back row with no hat, with a group of volunteer teachers on a January trip to Meru, Kenya.

Courtesy of Larry Dittmar

To help introduce the concepts of music to the students, Dittmar and his assistant, Elaine Shaw, used recorders. As soon as students showed an understanding of reading music, they were switched to band instruments.

After six days of training nearly eight hours a day, the Thiiri Band was born. A 24-person band with flutes, clarinets, trombones and more, the band was able to play a concert for the community featuring songs such as “Mary Had a Little Lamb.”

The Thiiri Band would become the springboard for Dittmar to return to Meru and start bands at the Bishop Lawi Imathiu Primary School (BLIPS) and the Bishop Lawi Imathiu Secondary School (BLISS).

Boniface Mutugi, a student from the Thiiri Band with no prior musical training, found a passion for music when Dittmar and his team visited for the first time. After being taught flute for the band, Mutugi taught himself several other instruments after Dittmar left: trumpet, clarinet, trombone and violin. Now he is the band teacher while Dittmar and his teams are back home.  

During his eight trips to Meru, Dittmar has seen a tremendous change in the community.

“We’ve established a relationship between Ann Arbor and Meru unlike anything else in the country,” Dittmar said.

Hesitant to accept much of the credit, Dittmar said he prefers to think of himself only as a conduit to bring help to Meru.

“It’s just unbelievable how people have stepped up to help,” he said.

A retired music teacher of 29 years, Dittmar was able to take advantage of the connections he’s made over the years. He started the program from scratch, and since then, hundreds of music books, stands, and more than 150 instruments have been taken to Meru since his first trip. More than 2,000 people have contributed something to the program, he said.

And he’s never had to ask for any of it.

“We’ve received donations from literally around the country,” he said “We’ve gotten instruments from as far away as Boise, Florida, and Texas.”

When the BLISS band was invited to perform at a conference in Nairobi, Kenya, last year, the members wore band uniforms from Dexter High School. The uniforms were donated to Dittmar when the school got new ones.

“Every time I turn around, another door opens or a window opens,” Dittmar said.

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The Bishop Lawi Imathiu Secondary School Band in Nairobi, Kenya, before a concert. Their jackets, embroidered "Dexter," were donated by Dexter High School.

Courtesy of Larry Dittmar

To help handle the overwhelming support he has received, Dittmar helped establish the Kenyan Urithi Education Fund in 2009. Since then, the organization has continued bringing volunteer teachers to Meru to help with the bands as well as providing funding for a new band and orchestra rehearsal room because they have outgrown the facilities they are currently using.

In January, a team of string instrument teachers spent two weeks in Meru teaching the students violin. To support the trip, Shar Music donated 50 new violins to the group.

Andrea Yun, a strings teacher who runs the Ann Arbor Cello School, went on the trip in January. It was her first time, but it won’t be her last. She already has plans to go back for two months in the summer to continue the work she helped start with the violins.

When the training was finished in January, the kids performed a concert for nearly 350 members of the community after only six hours of hands-on training.

“It was great to see that the community was so enthusiastic when the kids were playing,” said Yun.

Dittmar points out that none of their work would be possible without Bishop Imathiu. But while Dittmar would rather highlight the contributions of others, the people of Meru have honored his contributions with one of the most significant gifts they could: They gave him his own African name. Muguna, or “great benefactor,” is what he is called when he visits.

When Dittmar and his driver were stopped by the police on a recent trip, the officer, who Dittmar had never met, noticed the Muguna nametag hanging from his neck, apologized for delaying the men and sent them on their way with a smile.

“It’s a very special situation that I feel honored to have been asked to participate in,” said Dittmar.

Andrew Turner is an intern for the Community Team at AnnArbor.com. Have a neighborhood news tip? Email community@annarbor.com.

Editor's note: This article was updated to clarify Dittmar's role in the Kenyan Urithi Education Fund.

Comments

Aaron Wolf

Thu, Apr 14, 2011 : 7:14 p.m.

I find this whole article and situation really problematic. The casual ethnocentrism is so blatant. The people in Kenya couldn't "read music or tell the difference between many of the instruments he had brought." Well, how good would any of us be at identifying and understanding the musical traditions of Kenya? They learned "Mary Had A Little Lamb" ?!, they got violins, flutes, trumpets etc.!? The basis of learning music was learning the Western notation system and getting books and music stands?! They started with recorders... Certainly the situation is more complex than this article, but the impression here is one of white American, Western classically-trained musicians thinking of their particular background as all there is and feeling so proud of themselves for bringing culture to these poor Africans who have no "music." The article does nothing to even address the idea of what music to play, how it is presented, how patronizing and condescending it is to show up in some foreign land to teach the poor foreigners about our superior culture... There are so many problems here, the first of which is how the article doesn't seem to notice any of the myriad problems.