Checking in with Chineke!, Europe's First BME Orchestra

“I can’t believe we’ve got this far,” Chi-chi Nwanoku tells critic Ivan Hewett in a recent interview in The Telegraph. “I thought Chineke! might be just one concert and then nothing.”

Instead, Chineke! (the name means “wonderful guardian spirit which creates good things” in the Igbo language from Nigeria) has grown to become Europe’s first black and minority ethnic (BME) orchestra. Debuting at London’s Royal Festival Hall on September 13, 2015, the ensemble is scheduled to plays its first Prom on August 30.

Nwanoku, a professional double bassist who is the daughter of an Irish mother and Nigerian father, created the orchestra in response to a conversation four years ago with Ed Vaizey, the minister of culture in the Cameron government. He asked why musicians of color were so rarely seen in orchestras. “I defined myself by what I did, not the color of my skin,” recalls Nwanoku. “But of course he’s right. How often do you see a black person in an orchestra? Almost never.” Within a year, “I realized I had to do something.”

The dearth of orchestral musicians of color made Nwanoku’s task all the more difficult. “I am not going to say our orchestras are racist,” she says, “but there is a problem that young players of color who might come into the profession have no role models. I wanted to create an orchestra where all those people could feel they belonged.”

By recruiting players from abroad and scouring UK orchestras, she has created Chineke!, which has played several concerts at Southbank, and is resident ensemble St. George’s Bristol, a concert hall. It also has a recording under its belt, with another soon to come, and has made an overseas tour.

Desmond Neysmith, a cellist, believes that the orchestra could have a profound effect on the art form. “There’s a huge repertoire of music by BME composers out there already, and we are creating a new repertoire. My hope is that Chineke! will continue to grow long after its original purpose has been fulfilled.”

See Inside Chineke!, Europe's first black and minority ethnic orchestra.

Pictured: Chineke! founder Chi-chi Nwanoku