The Nyayo Falsafa

A composition for solo piano by Erick Odiweric

Developed through the 2025 Summer Composing Mentorship

Mentored by Soheil Shirangi

Piano:Qin Lan Zhang

Published by Zang Records in August 2026

The Nyayo Philosophy is a Kenyan Philosophy that is defined by three pillars; Peace (Amani), Love (Upendo)
and Unity (Umoja). This piece paints the dramatic picture of how Baba interacted with this Philosophy
I) Amani Kaskazini
Amani is the first section from ”Nyayoism” . It’s written to paint peace using various piano techniques, articulations and ornaments to bring about the peace in place, while thespiritual ambiguos chords indicate
”beyond logic” , resonance and silence for peacethrough space and low D7b9 for grounding tension gently
resolves into stillness
II) Kinetic Love Canairo
This part is expressing love kinetically through various amazing playing styles on the piano
Here, the tempo increases while the time signature also changes to 4/4 from 3/4. This part brings about the taste of a very lovely Modal Jazz chord progression with very complex but
enjoyable rhythms and melodies
III) Gen-Zed Umoja
The final section (Gen-Zed Umoja) has a slower tempo
Soft pedal, finger cluster (front of the piano), keep the pedal light
The repetition of the first bars of this section brings about that sense of unity since after a series of activities
going on, there emerges the theme again thus unifying the whole ideas again.

Erick Odiweric is a Kenyan composer based in Rongo and Nairobi whose illustrative music draws on nature, beauty, freedom, justice, and simplicity. With a background in Industrial Chemistry, Erick transitioned to pursue his passion for music and has since developed a diverse portfolio of instrumental and choral works. His music has been featured through the Castle of Our Skins Concert Series, JACK Studio Reading, and Fifteen-Minutes-of-Fame. He is currently collaborating with classical guitarist Maja Radovanlija and participating in the Soheil Shirangi Summer Mentorship Program.