Chinyere Adah "Chi-Chi" Nwanoku (; born June 1956) is a British

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

ist and professor of Historical Double Bass Studies at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

. Nwanoku was a founder member and principal bassist of the

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE) is a British period instrument orchestra. The OAE is a resident orchestra of the Southbank Centre, London, associate orchestra at Glyndebourne Festival Opera Artistic Associate at Kings Place, and ...

, a position she held for 30 years. Of Nigerian and Irish descent, she was the founder and Artistic Director of the

Chineke! Orchestra 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". The orchestra was founded by m ...

, the first professional orchestra & junior orchestra in Europe to be made up of a majority of Black and ethnically diverse musicians.

Jessica Duchen Jessica Duchen is a British music writer, novelist, playwright and opera librettist. Life Born in London, Duchen studied music at Cambridge University. She was a classical music correspondent for ''The Independent'' for 12 years. She has written on ...

"Chineke! Europe's first professional orchestra of black and minority ethnic musicians launches"
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 1 September 2015.

Early life

Nwanoku is of

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

and Irish descent and is the oldest of the five children of her parents,"Our founder, Chi-chi Nwanoku MBE"
Chineke! Foundation. Dr Michael Nwanoku and his wife Margaret (''née'' Hevey).Ed Keazor
"Chi-chi Nwanoku: A Classical legacy and an African heritage"
''Music in Africa Magazine'', 25 November 2014. Her younger siblings are her brother Gus Nwanokwu, sister Ijeoma Nwanokwu, brother Obinna Nwanokwu and sister Kelechi Nwanokwu. Nwanoku's mother, Margaret, was disowned by her parents due to having an interracial relationship, however Margaret's mother secretly travelled to London three months after the birth of Nwanoku. Nwanoku was born in

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

, London, and before reaching school age she lived in

Imo State Imo () is a States of Nigeria, state in the South East (Nigeria), South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by Anambra State, Rivers State to the west and south, and Abia State to the east. It takes its name from the Imo R ...

, Nigeria, where her family went for two years. Nwanoku attended Kendrick Girls' Grammar School in

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, England, and the county town of Berkshire. It is the United Kingdom's largest town, with a combined population of 355,596. Most of Reading built-up area, its built-up area lies within the Borough ...

. At the age of seven she began her education as a classical musician, first piano, and at the age of 18 bass. Nwanoku subsequently studied at the

while undertaking training as a 100-metre sprinter but had to end her athletic career following a knee injury.

Career

Nwanoku is the founder of the

, Europe's first classical orchestra made up of a majority of black and ethnically diverse musicians, with whom she regularly performs. The orchestra, made up of 62 musicians representing 31 different nationalities, first performed in 2015 at the

Queen Elizabeth Hall The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, England, that hosts European classical music, classical, jazz, and avant-garde music, talks and dance performances. It was opened in 1967, with a concert conducted by ...

and in addition to her work with the Chineke! Orchestra, Nwanoku has worked as principal double bass of the ensemble Endymion, the

London Mozart Players London Mozart Players (LMP) are a British chamber orchestra founded in 1949. LMP are the longest-established chamber orchestra in the United Kingdom. Since 1989, the orchestra has been Resident Orchestra at Fairfield Halls, Croydon. History Begin ...

, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, the

English Baroque Soloists The English Baroque Soloists is a chamber orchestra playing on authentic performance, period instruments, formed in 1978 by English Conducting, conductor John Eliot Gardiner, Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Its repertoire comprises music from the early B ...

, the London Classical Players and the Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique. Her academic appointments include Professor of Double Bass at the Royal Academy of Music and Visiting Fellow at

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Jesus College was established in 1496 on the site of the twelfth-century Benedictine nunnery of St Radegund's Priory, Cambridge, St ...

. Besides playing and teaching bass, she has been active as a broadcaster, as in BBC Radio 3 Requests and in BBC TV Proms and as a member of BBC's ''Classical Star'' jury. In 2015 Nwanoku presented the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

programmes ''In Search of the Black Mozart'', featuring the lives and careers of black classical composers and performers from the 18th century, including Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges;

Ignatius Sancho Charles Ignatius Sancho ( – 14 December 1780) was a British Abolitionism, abolitionist, writer and composer. Considered to have been born on a British slave ship in the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Sancho was sold by the British slave traders in ...

; and George Bridgetower. She has also presented an episode of the

Sky Arts Sky Arts (originally launched as Artsworld) is a British free-to-air television channel offering 24 hours a day of programmes dedicated to highbrow arts, including theatrical performances, films, documentaries and music (such as opera perfor ...

TV series ''Passions'', on the life and work of British composer

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (15 August 18751 September 1912) was a British composer and conductor. He was particularly known for his three cantatas on the epic 1855 poem ''The Song of Hiawatha'' by American Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Coler ...

. Other positions held by Nwanoku include being a former board member of the National Youth Orchestra, Tertis Foundation, London Music Fund,

Royal Philharmonic Society The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) is a British music society, formed in 1813. Its original purpose was to promote performances of instrumental music in London. Many composers and performers have taken part in its concerts. It is now a memb ...

(Council), and the Association of British Orchestras board. She is also a former Patron of Music Preserved, and is a current Patron of the Cherubim Trust. Nwanoku was a guest of BBC Radio 4's ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight audio recordin ...

'' on 11 February 2018. In 2019, Nwanoku opened the new site of Hackney New Primary School, a specialist music school for children. She presented a six-part radio show on Classic FM in October 2020 called
Chi-chi's Classical Champions
', a programme highlighting the music of contemporary and historical composers of Black, Asian and ethnically diverse heritage. A second series was broadcast in 2021. In September 2023 Nwanoku was the guest on the BBC Radio 4 programme ''

Great Lives ''Great Lives'' is a BBC Radio 4 biography series, produced in Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the re ...

''; her choice was

Jessye Norman Jessye Mae Norman (September 15, 1945 – September 30, 2019) was an American opera singer and recitalist. She was able to perform dramatic soprano roles, but did not limit herself to that voice type. A commanding presence on operatic, concert ...

. She featured in

Stormzy Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr. (born 26 July 1993), known professionally as Stormzy, is an English-Ghanaian rapper, singer, and songwriter. In 2014, he gained attention on the UK underground music scene through his ''Wicked Skengman'' ...

's book ''Superheroes: Inspiring Stories of Secret Strength''. Nwanoku is based in London and has two children (Jacob and Phoebe) and four grandchildren (Maya, Ralph, Sergi and Tallulah).

Honours, awards and recognition

Nwanoku was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the 2001 Birthday Honours for services to music,

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the

2017 Birthday Honours The 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours were awarded a ...

for services to music and

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the

2022 Birthday Honours The 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those ...

for services to music and diversity. Additionally, she has been made an Honorary Fellow of both the Royal Academy of Music and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music. in 2018 she was made an Honorary Doctor of Music at the

University of Chichester The University of Chichester is a public university located in West Sussex, England, which became a university in 2005. Campuses are based in the city of Chichester and the nearby coastal resort of Bognor Regis and an associate campus for comm ...

. In 2023 she was made an Honorary

Bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher c ...

of the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

, and was made an Honorary Doctor of Music at both

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

and the

University of Kent The University of Kent (formerly the University of Kent at Canterbury, abbreviated as UKC) is a Collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom. The university was granted its roya ...

. In 2018 the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History The first BBC programme for women was the programme cal ...

'' placed Nwanoku ninth in a list of the world's most powerful women in music and she has also been listed in the

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

and

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Powerlist The Powerlist is a list of the 100 most influential people of African or African Caribbean heritage in the United Kingdom. The list is updated annually and has been published in book format by Powerful Media since 2007. The Powerlist is not lim ...

'' of the most influential Black Britons of the year.

References

External links

Chineke! Foundation
official website
"Musician Chi-chi Nwanoku discussing her life and work on Talking Africa"
YouTube video 12 May 2015.
Chi-chi Nwanoku profile page
at ''The Guardian'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Nwanoku, Chi-Chi Classical double-bassists Living people Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 1956 births Black British classical musicians 20th-century Black British musicians 20th-century British classical musicians English people of Nigerian descent English people of Irish descent English double-bassists English classical double-bassists 21st-century British double-bassists 20th-century British double-bassists 21st-century classical musicians 21st-century English musicians 20th-century English musicians 21st-century English women musicians 20th-century English women musicians Women double-bassists Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Academics of the Royal Academy of Music People educated at Kendrick School Musicians from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham People from Fulham