Initiated in France in 1982, Fête de la Musique has been a tremendously popular event, free and open to all. Its purpose is to celebrate lively music and showcase a variety of musical customs and genres. The theme chosen this year for the 35th edition by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication reminds us that “music is stronger than …” anything that might divide us.
In Uganda, Fête de la Musique goes by the name of World Music Day and is a hands-on, collective, festive event for the public organized by the Alliance Française de Kampala, in collaboration with the Embassy of France in Uganda, the Bayimba Cultural Foundation, Kampala Music School and the Uganda National Cultural Centre.
‘Music in the Streets’ 2:00 – 5:45PM
World Music day will be comprised of two parts this year. For the first part the organizing partners decided to bring back ‘Music in the Streets’ where live, acoustic, classical music performances curated and performed by the Kampala Symphony Orchestra and the Kampala Music School will be taking place in different venues in Kampala city.
‘Music in the Streets’ will kick off in the French Embassy Gardens. For the first time ever, the Embassy of France in Uganda will be opening its doors to the public to provide the attendees with enjoyable classical music pieces from French composers.
Afterwards the performers and attendees will be invited to walk to the Constitutional Square where a second performance will begin at 3pm. The third performance will take place at the corner of Colville and Kampala Road at 4pm followed by the fourth performance which will take place at the IPS building at 5pm. Lastly all the musicians and audience will congregate at the National Theatre by 6pm to begin the evening program.
‘National Theatre’ 6:00 – 12:00 AM
The evening program line-up will be comprised of the full Kampala Symphony Orchestra at 6PM followed by Brass for Africa at 7PM, then Okello Lawrence at 8PM, Ruyonga at 9PM and lastly by Kojack from Kinshasa DRC. The festival has been a smash success from the beginning, and in 2014, over 1000 people gathered to listen to concerts on the streets of Kampala and at the National theatre where the main performances were staged. Starting in France, Fête de la Musiquehas grown to over 120 countries and 700 cities around the world, transforming the event into an iconic international music affair. Kampala city is also recognized in this network as a city that takes part in the ‘World Music Day.
