Music lovers were treated to a night of great performances by Monica Manaker, an Argentinian born Israeli singer and song writer on Thursday at Goethe Institut.
Music lovers were treated to a night of great performances by Monica Manaker, an Argentinian born Israeli singer and song writer on Thursday at Goethe Institut.
The musical night, which started off on a low note, thanks to heavy rain and a power cut later picked up and the audience was taken on a spell bounding journey that saw the singer weave through trove femme (Latino music) and a blend of Ethiopian and Isreali music
Manaker, who was being assisted by Rwandan musicians Bill Gate Mulumba (Bassist) and Christopher Dekilo (Percussionist) took her audience through 13 songs including Ze Maguie, Asi Asi and Shimbalaie among others. The audience included Belaynesh Zevadia, the Isreali Ambassador and Peter Fahrenholtz, the German Ambassador to Rwanda.
She closed the show with the song Hallelujah to which the house sang along.
Patrick Gashirabacye, a local film producer who attended the show was impressed by the performance.
"This lady is good. She really knows what she is doing. Even if the rain tried to ruin things, it was perfect. She played like she wanted everybody to enjoy and we did enjoy, "he said
After the show, Manaker told this writer that all her songs are drawn from personal experiences and directly from the heart.
"The lyrics and music come together. It’s like the song is written somewhere and it comes out through me. Everything is a blend of my life from the countries that I have lived in, "she said
Besides being a professional singer, Manaker is also Israeli Embassy’s Cultural Director in Ethiopia.