Chineke! Orchestra Explained

Chineke! Orchestra is a British orchestra, the first professional orchestra in Europe to be made up of majority Black & ethnically diverse musicians. The word Chineke derives from the Igbo language meaning "God".[1] The orchestra was founded by musician Chi-chi Nwanoku CBE and their debut concert was in 2015 at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London.

Background

Nwanoku, the orchestra's founder, coined its name from the word "Chi" in the Igbo language,[2] which refers to "the god of creation of all good things", or "the spirit of creation".[3] She was inspired by the use of the term in the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.[4]

Nwanoku has acknowledged that inspiration for founding the orchestra came from a conversation with Ed Vaizey, then the UK Minister of Culture, who noted to her that she was one of the very few musicians of colour on stage in a classical orchestra.[5] She also took inspiration from attending a London concert of the Kinshasa Symphony, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the orchestra was all black, but the audience was almost entirely white.[6]

History

The Chineke! Foundation was established in 2015, and its parallel orchestra followed in the same year, with the express purpose of providing "career opportunities to young Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) classical musicians in the UK and Europe". The ensemble debuted at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre in London in September 2015, conducted by Wayne Marshall, and highlighting works by Black British composers, such as Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Ballade for Orchestra and Elegy: In memoriam – Stephen Lawrence by Philip Herbert.[7] The orchestra for its first two concerts comprised exclusively black, Asian and minority ethnic musicians, but it has since included white musicians. Chineke! became a resident orchestra at the Southbank Centre in 2016. The orchestra made its debut at The Proms in August 2017, conducted by Kevin John Edusei.[8]

In 2017, the orchestra made its first commercial recording for the Signum label, conducted by Edusei.[9]

In November 2019, the Chineke! Foundation became the first-ever recipient of the Royal Philharmonic Society's Gamechanger Award, presented to an individual, group or organisation who in unique and contemporary ways has done inspirational and transformative work breaking new ground in classical music. [10]

An organisation with the same purpose as The Chineke! Foundation, and one supported by a member of the orchestra, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, is Black Lives in Music.[11]

Premieres

Chineke! has given world premieres of new works by black composers including:

Discography

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Jessica . Duchen . Jessica Duchen . Chineke! Europe's first professional orchestra of black and minority ethnic musicians launches . The Independent . 2015-09-01 . 2017-09-15.
  2. News: Chi-chi Nwanoku and Imogen Tilden . Chi-chi Nwanoku: 'I want black musicians to walk on to the stage and know they belong' . The Guardian . 2015-06-02 . 2017-11-01.
  3. News: Michael Church . Review: Europe's first professional BME orchestra offers flashes of brilliance . The Independent . 2015-09-14 . 2017-09-15.
  4. News: Ginanne Bronwell Mitic . She Was the Orchestra's Only Black Musician, Until She Formed Her Own . The New York Times . 2017-04-24 . 2017-11-11.
  5. News: Ivan Hewett . Inside Chineke!, Europe's first black and minority ethnic orchestra . Telegraph . 2017-08-16 . 2017-11-11.
  6. News: Cristina Burack . Chineke! champions black and ethnic musicians in classical music . Deustche Welle . 2017-09-15 . 2017-11-11.
  7. News: George Hall . Chineke! Orchestra/Marshall review – the beginning of something culturally inspiring . The Guardian . 2015-09-14 . 2017-11-01.
  8. News: Martin Kettle . RSPO/Oramo/Chineke!/Edusei review – rounded, exquisite, played to perfection . The Guardian . 2017-08-31 . 2017-11-01.
  9. News: Kate Molleson . Dvořák: Symphony No 9; Sibelius: Finlandia review – tasteful restraint and explosive dynamism . The Guardian . 2017-07-06 . 2017-11-01.
  10. Web site: 2019: Gamechanger. Royal Philharmonic Society.
  11. Web site: Black Lives in Music . 2023-02-07 . Black Lives in Music . en-GB.
  12. Liner notes for NMC album Spark Catchers
  13. Web site: Proms 2017 Prom 62: Chineke!. BBC. en. 2018-12-05.
  14. Web site: Daniel Kidane's 'Dream Song' is premiered by Chineke! at the reopening of the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Rayfield Allied. en. 2018-12-05. 2018-12-06. https://web.archive.org/web/20181206054720/http://www.rayfieldallied.com/news/2018/chineke-performs-world-premiere-of-daniel-kidanes-dream-song-at-the-queen-elizabeth-hall. dead.
  15. Web site: Chineke! and Wayne Marshall at Queen Elizabeth Hall – Julian Joseph premiere, Stewart Goodyear plays Rhapsody in Blue. ClassicalSource. en. 2018-12-05.
  16. Web site: Music Inspired by Bristol Civil Rights Campaigner. Bristol247. Morton. May. en. 2019-05-17. 2020-02-26.
  17. Web site: Three Songs from Ethiopia Boy. ethiobeauty. en. 2019-06-08. 2020-02-02.
  18. Web site: Orchestral creation inspired by iconic protest moment . BBC News . 20 October 2020 .
  19. Web site: Black Legacies . Southbank Centre . 20 October 2020 .
  20. News: For Joan Armatrading, Classical Music Is Just Another Genre. The New York Times. 12 November 2023. Hugh. Morris. 25 November 2023.
  21. News: Joan Armatrading’s first classical symphony to be performed at Queen Elizabeth Hall. The Independent. 25 April 2023. Isobel. Lewis. 25 November 2023.

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