Chineke! Orchestra () is a British

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

, the first professional orchestra in Europe to be made up of majority Black & ethnically diverse musicians. The word Chineke derives from the

Igbo language Igbo ( , ; Standard Igbo: ''Ásụ̀sụ́ Ìgbò'' ) is the principal native language cluster of the Igbo people, an ethnicity in the Southeastern part of Nigeria. Igbo languages are spoken by a total of 31 million people. The number of Igbo ...

meaning "God". The orchestra was founded by musician

Chi-chi Nwanoku Chinyere Adah "Chi-Chi" Nwanoku (; born June 1956) is a British double bassist and professor of Historical Double Bass Studies at the Royal Academy of Music. Nwanoku was a founder member and principal bassist of the Orchestra of the Age of Enli ...

CBE 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 ...

and their debut concert was in 2015 at

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 ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Background

Nwanoku, the orchestra's founder, coined its name from the word "

Chi __NOTOC__ Chi may refer to: __NOTOC__ Greek *Chi (letter) (Χ or χ), the twenty-second letter of the Greek alphabet Chinese * ''Chi'' (length) (尺), a traditional unit of length, about ⅓ meter *Chi (mythology) (螭), a dragon * Chi (surname) ...

" in the

, which refers to "the god of creation of all good things", or "the spirit of creation". She was inspired by the use of the term in the novel ''

Things Fall Apart ''Things Fall Apart'' is a 1958 novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. It is Achebe's debut novel and was written when he was working at the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation. The novel was first published in London by Heinemann (publisher), ...

'' by

Chinua Achebe Chinua Achebe (; born Albert Chinụalụmọgụ Achebe; 16 November 1930 – 21 March 2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic who is regarded as a central figure of modern African literature. His first novel ''Things Fall Apart'' ( ...

. Nwanoku has acknowledged that inspiration for founding the orchestra came from a conversation with

Ed Vaizey Edward Henry Butler Vaizey, Baron Vaizey of Didcot, (born 5 June 1968) is a British politician, media columnist, political commentator and barrister who was Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries from 2010 to 2016. A mem ...

, 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. She also took inspiration from attending a London concert of the

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

Symphony, from the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

, where the orchestra was all black, but the audience was almost entirely white.

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 A number of different systems of classification of ethnicity in the United Kingdom exist. These schemata have been the subject of debate, including about the nature of ethnicity, how or whether it can be categorised, and the relationship betwe ...

) classical musicians in the UK and Europe". The ensemble debuted at the Queen Elizabeth Hall,

Southbank Centre Southbank Centre is an arts centre in London, England. It is adjacent to the separately owned National Theatre and BFI Southbank. It comprises the three main performance spaces – the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and Purcell R ...

in London in September 2015, conducted by Wayne Marshall, and highlighting works by

Black British Black British people or Black Britons"Black Briton, N." ''Oxford English Dictionary''. Oxford UP. December 2024. https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/1136579918. are a multi-ethnic group of British people of List of ethnic groups of Africa, Sub-Saharan ...

composers, such as Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s ''Ballade for Orchestra'' and ''Elegy: In memoriam –

Stephen Lawrence Stephen Adrian Lawrence (13September 1974 – 22April 1993) was an 18-year-old black British citizen from Plumstead, southeast London, who was murdered in a racially motivated attack while waiting for a bus on Well Hall Road, Eltham, on the ...

'' by Philip Herbert. 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 The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Robert Newman founded The Proms in 1895. Since 1927, the ...

in August 2017, conducted by Kevin John Edusei. In 2017, the orchestra made its first commercial recording for the Signum label, conducted by Edusei. In November 2019, the Chineke! Foundation became the first-ever recipient of the

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 ...

'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. An organisation with the same purpose as The Chineke! Foundation, and one supported by a member of the orchestra,

Sheku Kanneh-Mason Sheku Kanneh-Mason (born 4 April 1999) is a British cellist who won the 2016 BBC Young Musician award. He was the first black musician to win the competition since its launch in 1978. He played at the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle ...

, is

Black Lives in Music Black Lives in Music (BLIM), founded in the UK in 2020, and launched in the UK in 2021, works for equal opportunities for Black, Asian and ethnically diverse people in the jazz and classical music industry, opportunities that include the chance to ...

Premieres

Chineke! has given world premieres of new works by black composers including: *James Wilson, ''The Green Fuse'' -

Pittville Pump Room The Pittville Pump Room was the last and largest of the spa buildings to be built in Cheltenham. The benefits of Cheltenham's mineral waters had been recognised since 1716, but not until after the arrival of Henry Skillicorne in 1738 did serious ...

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

, 10 July 2017Liner notes for NMC album ''Spark Catchers'' *

Hannah Kendall Hannah Kendall (born 1984 in London) is a British composer currently based in New York. Background and career Kendall grew up in Wembley, where her mother is the head teacher in a primary school. One of two children, her parents are originally ...

, ''The Spark Catchers'' -

BBC Proms The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Robert Newman founded The Proms in 1895. Since 1927, the ...

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

, London, 30 August 2017 *

Daniel Kidane Daniel Kidane (born 1986) is a British composer. His piece "Woke" opened the last night of the 2019 The Proms, Proms. In 2016 his "Sirens" was one of a group of five short works commissioned by the BBC Philharmonic to commemorate the 400th anniv ...

, ''Dream Song'' -

, London, 9 April 2018 *

Julian Joseph Julian Raphael Nathaniel Joseph OBE (born 11 May 1966) is a British jazz pianist, bandleader, composer, arranger, and broadcaster. He has worked solo, in his big band, trio, quartet, forum project band or electric band. Biography Joseph was bo ...

, ''Carry That Sound'' - Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, 21 July 2018 *

Errollyn Wallen Errollyn Wallen (born 10 April 1958) is a Belize-born British composer and musician, who moved as a child with her family to London, England. Wallen was appointed Master of the King's Music in 2024 by King Charles III, in his first appointment ...

, Nnenna, November 2018 Cambridge Festival *James Wilson, ''Free-man'' - St. George's,

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 region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, 17 May 2019 *

Roderick Williams Roderick Gregory Coleman Williams OBE (born 1965) is a British baritone and composer. Biography Williams was born in North London to a Welsh father and a Jamaican mother. He attended Christ Church Cathedral School in Oxford and Haberdashers' ...

, ''Three Songs from Ethiopia Boy'' - Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, 7 July 2019 *James Wilson, with Yomi Sode, ''Remnants'', première 23 November 2020 at

, London. *

Ayanna Witter-Johnson Ayanna Mose Witter-Johnson (born Apr–Jun 1985, London Borough of Islington) is an English composer, singer, songwriter and cellist. Her notable performances include opening for the MOBO Awards "Pre-Show" in 2016, and playing the Royal Albert H ...

, Daniel Kidane, Shirley Thompson, Roderick Williams: Song of the Prophets: Requiem for the Climate, July 2021 * Ayanna Witter-Johnson, Blush; Edinburgh Festival August 2021 * Meena Karimi, Dawn; UK/European premiere Queen Elizabeth Hall, London October 2021 *

Joan Armatrading Joan Anita Barbara Armatrading (, born 9 December 1950) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. Her first major commercial success came with her third and fourth albums, '' Joan Armatrading'' (1976) and '' Show Some Emotion'' (1977), a ...

(also a singer-songwriter), Symphony No. 1; Southbank Centre, London; November 2023

Discography

* Signum Classics -

Sibelius Jean Sibelius (; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

: ''

Finlandia ''Finlandia'', Op. 26, is a tone poem by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. It was written in 1899 and revised in 1900. The piece was composed for the Press Celebrations of 1899, a covert protest against increasing censorship from the R ...

''; Dvořák:

Symphony No. 9 Symphony No. 9 most commonly refers to: * Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven) in D minor (Op. 125, ''Choral'') by Ludwig van Beethoven, 1822–24 * Symphony No. 9 (Dvořák) in E minor (Op. 95, B. 178, ''From the New World'') by Antonín Dvořák, 1893 ...

- Kevin John Edusei, conductor (1 CD, released 7 July 2017) *Signum Classics -

Rachmaninov Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of ...

: Piano Concerto No. 3;

: Symphony No. 2 - Gerard Aimontche, piano; Roderick Cox, conductor (2 CDs, released 28 September 2018) *Orchid Classics -

Stewart Goodyear Stewart Goodyear (born February 1978) is a Canadian concert pianist and composer. He is best known for performing all 32 Beethoven sonatas in a single day, a feat he has done at Koerner Hall (Toronto), McCarter Theatre (Princeton), the Mondavi C ...

: Callaloo, Piano Sonata;

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swan ...

Rhapsody in Blue ''Rhapsody in Blue'' is a 1924 musical composition for solo piano and jazz band by George Gershwin. Commissioned by bandleader Paul Whiteman, the work combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects and premiered in a concer ...

- Stewart Goodyear, piano; Wayne Marshall, conductor (1 CD, released 31 May 2019) *

NMC NMC may refer to: Education Institutions * National Music Conservatory, Amman, Jordan * Nehru Memorial College, Sullia, Sullia, Karnataka, India * New Method College, a defunct secondary school in Hong Kong * Northern Marianas College, US Maria ...

: ''Three Songs from Ethiopia Boy'' - Roderick Williams, baritone; Eduardo Portal, conductor (Download only, released 18 October 2019) *NMC - "Spark Catchers" -

: Concerto Grosso; James Wilson: ''The Green Fuse''; Daniel Kidane: ''Dream Song'';

: ''The Spark Catchers''; Philip Herbert: ''Elegy: In Memoriam -

'';

: ''Carry That Sound'' - Roderick Williams, baritone;

Tai Murray Tai Murray (born ) is an American violinist. According to Murray, she became interested in the violin when her parents "put a pencil case with a toy violin in my hand when I was five". Born in Chicago, Illinois, Murray made her concert debut with ...

, violin;

, double bass; Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano; Anthony Parnther, conductor; Kevin John Edusei, conductor; Wayne Marshall, conductor (1 CD, released 17 January 2020) *''The New Four Seasons'' composed by

Max Richter Max Richter (; ; born 22 March 1966) is a German-born British composer and pianist. He works within postminimalist and contemporary classical styles. Richter is classically trained, having graduated in composition from the University of Edinbu ...

and performed with soloist Elena Urioste (released 10 June 2022 on

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

) *''Coleridge-Taylor'' - Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: "Othello" Orchestral Suite Op. 79, African Suite op. 35, Ballade in A minor Op. 33, Petite suite de concert Op. 77, Violin concerto op. 80, Romance in G Op. 39, Nonet in F minor Op. 2, Avril Coleridge-Taylor: Sussex Landscape Op. 27; Elena Urioste, violin; Kalena Bovell, Roderick Cox, Kevin John Edusei, Fawzi Haimor, Anthony Partner, conductors (October 2022,

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

)

References

External links

*
Challenge Records page on Signum Classics SIGCD 515
{{authority control British orchestras British classical music groups Musical groups established in 2015 2015 establishments in the United Kingdom