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.
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