Armand turns DRC citizens into stars of classical music. He has been conducting the Kimbanguist Symphony Orchestra for 30 years. Together they have survived the ups and downs of life in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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00:00From pilot to high flyer in classical music, this Congolese is a true pioneer.
00:13Let's find out what makes Armand the agenda, the African Beethoven.
00:19The inspiration came from my father. One day, I played him a piece that we had recorded.
00:28He told me, listen my son, I would like you to welcome people from other choirs or musical groups in the church and allow them to join you as well.
00:4330 years later, his orchestra Symphony Kimbanguist is still the only one in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
00:51What is it really like to learn and play classical music here in Kinshasa?
00:57Many people in Kinshasa face hard economic times, including members of Armand's orchestra.
01:04Being part of the orchestra has hardly saved them from economic difficulties.
01:09On the contrary, being a musician in the DRC presents very special challenges.
01:15When we get to play somewhere, we earn something. The money is not meant to go into our pockets.
01:21But it is used to help those who are going through challenges.
01:27There might be a musician who is sick and needs money to go to the hospital.
01:34And another one might need to get married and needs our support.
01:37We might also need to buy instruments.
01:39That money always ends up meeting the needs of our community and not putting it in our pockets.
01:48As everyday life can be tricky in the DRC, Congolese are pretty good in improvising.
01:54They make do with what they have. And this counts also for musicians.
01:59Improvising is key.
02:01But what happens when you're not able to find playable instruments?
02:06A lot of the instruments we initially used were ones we sourced locally.
02:10There were people who received instruments as gifts from expatriates.
02:18For example, someone who had lived here for a long time but was now leaving.
02:23So we would later learn that this person was working with an expatriate who gave him a violin as a gift.
02:29We would go up and down and we also had to find scores.
02:34That was indeed the primary obstacle.
02:38We even had fun replicating a trumpet because we were looking for a trumpet in the key we wanted.
02:46We had a challenge gathering the tools.
02:49We started fixing handles and other instruments such as guitars, violins, double basses and other repairable instruments.
03:00But to make instruments from scratch, we need more tools.
03:04Which now we have.
03:06So we are in the process of starting to make our own instruments.
03:14Amid the tides of war, the DRC is preparing for a new era of improvisation.
03:20We are in the process of starting to make our own instruments.
03:28Amid the turmoil and difficulties of everyday existence,
03:32the world's first all-black symphony orchestra shines brightly, providing hope to many.
03:43Many of its members are self-taught musicians.
03:46Do they enjoy coming for rehearsals every time?
03:51It's a privilege for me.
03:53It's not given to everyone.
03:55In fact, to be part of a symphonic orchestra throughout the world,
04:00people go through tests, go through competitions, through a lot of work.
04:05But for me, I can say it was easy.
04:09They just registered me and today I am part of a big symphonic orchestra in Central Africa.
04:16For me, it's a privilege.
04:18It's an honour.
04:21After months of practice and passion for music, this orchestra is ready.
04:29While most of DRC's news that reached the West is negative,
04:33the African Beethoven and his orchestra are here to prove Nesieh's wrong.
04:38And they are up to their next objective, to construct a Congolese conservatory.