Thrice-weekly rehearsals take place when everyone has finished work, often going on late into the evening – but, then, for many players, the OSK represents a nurturing family. “My grandfather used to say that to sing was to pray twice. But what inspires me even more is that my grandfather’s message was universal, a message of peace and love, of reaching out to others and bringing people together. And not just in Kinshasa. We want to be a bridge between the African and Western worlds.”