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Chineke! Orchestra is a must see for classical music fans
The international orchestra Chineke! will make its Harrogate debut on June 29, when it opens the Summer Season at the Royal Hall. The orchestra is the flagship ensemble of the Chineke! Foundation, created in 2015 by renowned double bass player Chi-chi Nwanoku to support, inspire and encourage black and ethnically diverse classical musicians in the UK and Europe. We catch up with Chi-chi to hear about her pioneering orchestra and what audiences in Harrogate can expect.
Why did you set up the Chineke! Orchestra?
I wanted to shine a spotlight on all those musicians of colour that we don’t normally see. I said, ‘we are going to create outstanding opportunities for black and ethnically diverse musicians so that they know they have a place in the classical music industry.’
What can audiences expect from the Royal Hall concert?
Apart from wonderful playing and dazzling music? It’s a completely inclusive and diverse orchestra and that’s what they’re going to see.
Tell us more about the programme at Harrogate.
The first half of the concert will focus on composers who all started at the Royal College of Music on the same day – Holst, Coleridge-Taylor and Vaughan Williams. This is one of the first times in history that their music has been put together on the same platform. I feel it’s really important for the nation to see those three composers side by side. The second part features Beethoven. He’s the greatest symphonist of the classical era and his Fourth Symphony is such a joy to play.
You’ve played to packed crowds across Europe, including the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall. What have been some of your other Chineke! highlights?
Our first rehearsals. The feeling of walking into that room with 62 musicians of colour was quite overwhelming and moving. Often when I did a concert I wouldn’t just be the only person of colour on the stage I was the only person of colour in the whole auditorium, and that’s quite a lonely place. But in that rehearsal everyone belonged, no matter where they came from.
Chineke! champions black composers and musicians. What impact has it had since you set it up?
I think we’ve opened people’s eyes …we are amplifying this music by playing and showcasing incredible works that can stand next to those by Beethoven and composers from the great canon. And I’m happy to say now that just about every other orchestra in the country has taken up that baton and is performing music by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Florence Price and William Grant Still. During lockdown, the chair of Conservatories UK called me to say that with Chineke creating a junior orchestra it means we now have four per cent more young black people coming to college. And I thought ‘that’s fantastic.’ So it really does make a difference. People are going to college because they can see people like themselves.
The recorder was your first instrument, did that spark your passion for music?
I was six years old and the teacher said, ‘who wants to be in…’ and my hand was up before she finished the sentence. I had no idea what a recorder was but I knew I needed to play it. When we all started playing together the notes I was playing created a harmony with the other notes and suddenly I discovered harmony – that was when I knew I had to have music in my life.
You started playing the double bass as a teenager and joined the school orchestra. What impact did that have on you?
To be sitting there with a whole symphony of musicians around me and to be part of it was mind-blowing. And I knew that was it, I was a bass player.
Why do we need to encourage more young people to learn to play a musical instrument?
Not every child is going to end up a classical or professional musician, but you’re learning critical thinking and cognitive development. You learn so much about coordination, about listening, about teamwork, attention to detail, breathing, thinking and feeling. What other subject teaches you all those things?
Grand Opening Concert: Chineke! Orchestra | Harrogate Royal Hall | Thursday, June 29, 7.30pm. Book online here or call the box office on 01423 562 303.
This event is sponsored by:
