Columbia Orchestra in 'Voices Shouting Out' of Nkeiru Okoye on December 1, 2012, 7:30 PM at Howard County Center for the Arts, Ellicott City, MD

Nkeiru Okoye (Phil Marin, New York Times)

Voices Shouting Out by Nkeiru Okoye

Columbia Orchestra

Howard County Center for the Arts
8510 High Ridge Road
Ellicott City, MD 21043

NKEIRU OKOYE (born 1972)

VOICES SHOUTING OUT

Composed: 2001-2

Premiered: Norfolk, Virginia, 2002

Born in New York to a Nigerian immigrant and his African-American wife, Nkeiru Okoye has brought an entirely new perspective to bear on American musical life. She is, in both the usual and a very literal sense, the musical voice of African America. While she is—of course—African-American, she is also an American African. This dual heritage has resulted in a musical personality of exceptional strength and directness, and an immediately recognizable sound like no other. Elements as diverse as Tamla Motown, hip-hop and traditional Yoruba music can be heard—and, more importantly, felt—in her music, along with an almost Sousa-like sense of pride. And it is that pride that forms the core of Voices Shouting Out, Okoye’s response to the tragedy of September 11, 2001.

Those who expect an outpouring of elegiac sorrow in a work written in the wake of 9/11 will be surprised. This piece is no Barber Adagio; it is a hymn of celebration—an affirmation of unity and positivity in the face of the ultimate negative. Okoye began by attempting to write the expected memorial work, but soon found herself grinding to a halt, forced to reconsider by a rebellion from within herself. Rather than mourning the lost, she realized, the music needed to rejoice in the living with the sort of ferocity that can only come to those who have stood in the ruins of their own world and seen the future through the smoke. As she herself writes:

“In the end, rather than ‘crying out,’ my official response was Voices Shouting Out in freedom, as it were, through the music. It was a march to acknowledge those fighting on behalf of our safety, and yet a sparkling celebration of life for those of us who continue living.”

Comment by email:
Hi Bill,  Thanks so much.  You’re awesome!  Nkeiru  [Nkeiru Okoye]