Graphic design: Emma Brigaud
Lack of rehearsals and performances as social outlets provoked anxiety, depression, and other symptoms
By Niccolo Bechtler
In mid-2020, as the pandemic began to force people into isolation across Congo, young Congolese musicians found themselves yearning for the community of their choirs and orchestras.
For many, the lack of rehearsals and performances as social outlets provoked anxiety, depression, and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress common to impoverished countries like Congo.
As an organization, Operanauts is dedicated to using music to help heal the symptoms of the ongoing cycle of violence and poverty in Congo.
Central to this mission are the tenets of community-building, opportunities for music education and performance, and earned financial support.
The pandemic had fractured Kinois musicians’ performance opportunities, livelihoods, and communities. With its mission in mind, Operanauts proposed a solution: The Opera Music Fête.
Held in December 2020 and March 2021, the Fêtes were an opportunity for young musicians to gather with relative safety to eat, drink, and listen to selections from a Mozart opera sung by talented Operanauts Opera Fellows with accompaniment from a string quartet and horn. Singers included Juliana Tshibola, Junior Yakusu, and Samuel Niaty.
A video recap of the Fête shot by local videographer Joslin Lebela shows the joy of being in the room.
The event was a success, funded entirely by generous individual donors as part of the 2020 Operanauts Match Challenge. It provided both community-building and a performance opportunity to young Kinois musicians, as well as respite from the pandemic.