We aim to show that music of whatever kind is for all people
Europe’s first and only professional majority Black and Minority Ethnic orchestra are coming to the Midlands. talks to the founder of Chineke! about how it all started
ESTABLISHED in 2015, Chineke! have quickly made their mark on the classical music world. Performing at the BBC Proms and touring internationally to great acclaim, they’ve also collaborated with techno pioneer Carl Craig and the mighty Stormzy, and Sir Simon Rattle is a fan. They also won the Royal Philharmonic Society’s first ever Gamechanger Award last year.
To quote orchestra founder Chi-chi Nwanoku OBE, Chineke! are “… reframing the narrative, and saying that classical music is for musicians and audiences from every walk of life.”
The eldest of five children from Nigerian and Irish parents, Chi-chi initially looked set for an international athletics career, but when her days as a sprinter were curtailed by injury, she turned to her other obsession – music. Studying at the Royal Academy of Music, London, she was a founding member of the now firmly established Orchestra Of The Age Of Enlightenment, and enjoyed performing and recording with many of Europe’s leading chamber orchestras and ensembles. But the direction of her career changed after a passing comment.
“Initially, when I was performing for the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, I hadn’t really thought much of the lack of diversity on the stage until one conversation I had after a concert with the then Culture Secretary Ed Vaizey,” Chi-chi recalls. “He asked me ‘Why do I only see you on stage?’ At that point I realised that he was referring to Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) musicians.”
Considering her relatively unusual position as a BME musician, Chi-chi established Chineke! to address the obvious lack of diversity in classical music by providing much-needed opportunities for others.
“My aim is to create a space where BME musicians can walk on stage and know that they belong, in every sense of the word,” she says. “If even one BME child feels that their colour is getting in the way of their musical ambitions, then I hope to inspire them, give them a platform, and show them that music, of whatever kind, is for all people.”
Looking for a name for the organisation, Chi-chi opted for one which perfectly aligns to their mission.
“The name ‘Chineke’ comes from the Igbo people of South East Nigeria. Chi means ‘God’, your personal Guardian; ‘Neke’ means the ‘Creation of all good things’. Together, they form an exclamation of the spirit of creation of all things good.
“It encapsulates a wonderful thing about what we are trying to achieve with this project – to create as a collective.
“Our logo also carries an important meaning,” Chi-chi continues. “The two creatures joined at the middle is from a Ghanaian Adinkra symbol representing ‘unity in diversity’ which accurately describes our idea that what nourishes us unites us. That’s exactly what music does. It brings people together over a shared love and appreciation of something beautiful. Chineke! is all about making classical music as accessible as possible, bringing people from all backgrounds together.”
Although there are similarly focused initiatives and organisations striving to address issues of diversity in other fields, Chineke! has the distinction of being Europe’s first professional majority BME orchestra.
“To my knowledge we are still the only one in Europe,” Chi-Chi says, “but I have great hopes that this will soon change and that other orchestras will be created, and if not, that it will have inspired existing orchestras to open their doors and welcome greater diversity in their organisations.”
Alongside the main orchestra, Chineke! is also home to Chineke!
Junior Orchestra, which provides much-needed opportunities for players aged 11-18.
“The two orchestras were created in tandem,” says Chi-chi. “I knew from the outset that if we wanted to redress the balance of representation within the industry we would need to have a system, whereby established and up-and-coming BME musicians would need opportunities to perform, and emerging musicians would receive guidance from mentors.
“Many of the professional musicians of the flagship ensemble provide support for the musicians in the Junior ensemble. Once the Junior musicians reach a certain independence and high standard on their instrument they may play in the professional orchestra. Two of the most notable alumni of the Junior Orchestra are the Kanneh-Mason siblings, Sheku and Isata, who are enjoying phenomenal success at the moment. We are extremely proud of them.
“The fundamental thing is that the younger musicians have some kind of blueprint to follow, role models to emulate, and we are thrilled with the quality of young musicians that are rising through the ranks.”
This month, the professional “flagship ensemble” make their Warwick Arts Centre debut, as part of an ongoing relationship between venue and foundation. As always, their programme for the evening features at least one BME composer.
“We are performing Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Othello Suite, which is a piece of incidental music composed as part of a commission to accompany Shakespeare’s plays in 1911, and it includes the bewitching Children’s Intermezzo,” Chi-chi explains. “We champion ColeridgeTaylor’s work on a regular basis, as one of the key BME composers in the Chineke! ‘songbook’, because his music is simply wonderful. It feels right that more people get to hear it because his work is not performed nearly enough compared to his contemporaries.
“He died tragically young at the age of 37 in 1912, and one wonders how much more fantastic work he could have produced if he had lived longer.”
The Coventry programme is completed by works from two German composers, Max Bruch and Ludwig van Beethoven.
“This is Beethoven’s 250th anniversary year, and so our programme would not be complete without a performance of his 7th Symphony. It is such a powerful piece,” adds Chi-chi
●●Chineke! visit Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, on Monday, February 17. 024 7652 4524 / warwickartscentre.co.uk