Denys Nizeyimana Nyituriki was born to sing. When you hear him sing for the first time, you are astonished. The way he holds the microphone and raises his voice high, with vigour, is intriguing. It would be so indifferent of you, not to develop goosebumps upon hearing him hit the high notes. The 26-year-old vocalist has certainly caused a prodigious impact on classical music. He is not only a singer, but also a pianist, violinist, guitarist, organist, song composer and choir conductor. He developed the ardour to sing at the age of six, as he was inspired by the late Mike Brant, an internationally popular France-based Israeli singer and songwriter. “I remember the first time I tried to sing in front of a large audience, I was with my father’s orchestra in Muhanga. They used to do their rehearsals at our home that I got stirred by the way they played instruments and sung sweetly,” he stated. Before long, Nyituriki was selected to pursue his studies in the Minor Seminary of Kabgayi (Petit Séminaire St Léon Kabgayi), where he was skilled in music especially classical music. This kept his fire for music burning. Nyituriki is great as an artiste and talented as a violin performer as well. He carried out personal research to be instilled with more knowledge about this music genre. With time, he started his own compositions, professional singing lessons, piano training, and choir conducting. The songster didn’t stop at that, having accomplished his secondary school, he joined some choirs and orchestra to advance his calling in music. In 2016, he joined Chorale de Kigali, and in 2017 Chorale St Paul Kicukiro. He still sings with Chorale St Paul Kicukiro, most known for Rayon Sports, APR FC and Gasogi United anthems, as their president and choirmaster. The singer is also in the Bright 5 singers’ group. He sings in quite a number of languages like French, English, German, Italian, Latin, Kinyarwanda, Spanish, Kiswahili, and so forth. Some of the songs he has composed and released are; “Ni we gisubizo”, “Ndakugarukiye”, “Ndinda ishyari”, “Mpora nibaza urukundo”, “Rukundo wanjye”, “Rwanda horana ibyiza”, “APR FC (Gitinyiro) anthem”, “Rayon Sports FC (Gikundiro) anthem”, “Gasogi United FC anthem”, “Turirimbe Noheli”, among others. “My dream is to achieve more and assist others to raise their knowledge about music, which is why I am looking forward to starting an Art studio to provide lessons to people about singing and playing modern musical instruments. “My whim is to develop classical music in Rwanda and raise it to a higher level like it is in other continents such as Europe,” he noted. He also stressed that ever since he followed his passion, he has never looked back because he has come to notice that when one follows their passion, they are filled with joy, their dreams come true, have a sense of purpose and it shapes their character. The singer further explained that following one’s passion enables them to come up with better ideas, no obstacles will hinder them from achieving success, opportunities follow them, they develop creativity, and gain confidence. “Whatever anyone is good at, they should keep going because even the sky won’t limit them,” Nyituriki said.
