The Nairobi Water Choir opened its summer program Saturday night with a new work built from the sounds of the northern reservoir belt: pump motors, valve clicks, rain on polymer roofing and the voices of technicians calling pressure readings across service yards.

What began five years ago as a memorial for families affected by drought has become one of the city's more unusual cultural exports. The ensemble combines professional singers with community members from neighborhoods connected to new water infrastructure, and its concerts often include short explanations from engineers and historians.

This year's program is less mournful than earlier versions. Composer Amina Odede said the group wanted to acknowledge that managed water is now part of ordinary urban life, not only crisis memory. Children in the audience laughed when a bass section imitated an old leak alarm that many apartment residents recognized instantly.

The choir will tour Mombasa, Kigali and Rotterdam later this year, where it is scheduled to perform alongside an exhibit on water management history. Organizers said ticket sales from the Nairobi run will fund music classes in two schools near recently completed treatment ponds.