Renowned music composer takes the final bow

• Dr Arthur Mudogo Kemoli contribution to Kenya’s choral gospel music renaissance was immense.
• He was not only a composer of anthems, including one for the African Union (AU), the University of Nairobi anthem and even the unofficial anthem of the Nyayo era, Fimbo ya Nyayo, he also played an integral role in what’s been deemed “the Golden age of Kenyan choral music”.
• The departed don first formed the Kariokor Friends Church Choir (which later became the Kariokor Nyayo Choir) and the University of Nairobi student choir.
• But some critics also accuse Dr Kemoli of promoting musical sycophancy during the Nyayo era since he, like Mganga, Mbela and Zake, also composed choral gospel songs that helped to shape the political praise genre which grew after the attempted coup against the Moi regime in 1982.
• Dr Kemoli was also a senior lecturer in Literature at the University of Nairobi as well as a scholar.
• In 1998, Dr Kemoli was awarded the Order of the Grand Warrior of Kenya (O. G. W.) for his dedication to Kenya’s cultural development through music and for his extensive experience of teaching and researching Kenyan music and oral literature.
• Dr Kemoli was also an accomplished pianist and vocalist who sang in choirs throughout his academic studies.
• In 2002, Dr Kemoli received an Honours Award for distinguished service to the University of Nairobi. In 2009 he retired from teaching.

The death on Sunday of one of Kenya’s most esteemed composers and beloved choirmasters, Arthur Mudogo Kemoli, marks the end of a musical era.

Often linked with other East African musical maestros who died in the recent past, namely Boniface Mganga who founded the Muungano National Choir; Darius Mbela, choirmaster at St Stephens Church and Senoge-Zake, an active musicologist during the Kenyatta era, Dr Kemoli’s contribution to Kenya’s choral gospel music renaissance was immense.

He was not only a composer of anthems, including one for the African Union (AU), the University of Nairobi anthem and even the unofficial anthem of the Nyayo era, Fimbo ya Nyayo, he also played an integral role in what’s been deemed “the Golden age of Kenyan choral music”.

The departed don first formed the Kariokor Friends Church Choir (which later became the Kariokor Nyayo Choir) and the University of Nairobi student choir.

He went on to attract international attention to Kenyan choral music, not only because he performed with these groups in Asia, the Middle East and other parts of Africa, but also because his exuberant style of conducting was so exhilarating and filled with joy that he captivated audiences—charming them with his infectious music.

But some critics also accuse Dr Kemoli of promoting musical sycophancy during the Nyayo era since he, like Mganga, Mbela and Zake, also composed choral gospel songs that helped to shape the political praise genre which grew after the attempted coup against the Moi regime in 1982.

Nonetheless, his creativity was irrefutable; so was his indefatigable sense of humour and love for conducting choral music.

That love of music and choir mastering was apparent during his early days as a student at both Kakamega and Alliance Boys High Schools. It was internationalised when he led the Madrigal Group as a graduate student at Sussex University in the UK where he got his doctorate of philosophy in 1973. 

He was also renowned among the Kenyan student population countrywide since he often gave exhilarating performances during the annual Kenya Music Festivals. And in 1980, he conducted the Kariokor Friends Church Choir at the inauguration of the Vihiga Cultural Festival which has been held annually ever since.

In addition to his being an immensely popular choirmaster, Dr Kemoli was also a senior lecturer in Literature at the University of Nairobi as well as a scholar.

His research on Kenyan oral literature is published in numerous journals and books, including Voices of my Ancestors, Asio, a collection of Luhya initiation songs and Awendende ( Luhya wedding songs) as well as Sacrifices for Africa, a commentary on Caribbean Literature. 

Dr Kemoli also recorded many sound tracks, reflecting his research on Kenyan oral literature. He also recorded numerous television programmes promoting African culture for the then Voice of Kenya, the Kenya Institute of Education and URTNA. 

He also supervised some of Kenya’s most imminent scholars in oral literature, including the late Jane Nandwa, Prof Arthur Luvai, Dr Kavetsa Adagala and Prof Helen Mwanzi.

In 1998, Dr Kemoli was awarded the Order of the Grand Warrior of Kenya (O. G. W.) for his dedication to Kenya’s cultural development through music and for his extensive experience of teaching and researching Kenyan music and oral literature.

Dr Kemoli was also an accomplished pianist and vocalist who sang in choirs throughout his academic studies, first at the University of East Africa, then at Durham University and  at King’s College, Cambridge in UK, and finally, at Sussex where he got the Ph.D. He also acted in University of Nairobi productions, playing leading roles in Wole Soyinka’s Kongi’s Harvest and Joe de Graft’s Muntu.