Sergio A. Mims: Very few concerts can be considered historical and groundbreaking, but such was the case with the premiere of the Chineke! Orchestra Sunday

Chi-chi Nwanoku 
www.chi-chinwanoku.com

Sergio A. Mims writes from London, where he attended Saturday's final rehearsal and Sunday's debut performance of Chineke! Orchestra, founded by double bassist Chi-chi Nwanoku:

There are many great concerts but very few can be 
considered great but also historical and groundbreaking 
as well. But such was the case with the premiere concert 
of the Chineke! Orchestra at the Southbank Centre in 
London Sunday night.


Conceived by the esteemed double bass musican 
Chi-chi Nwanoku just six months ago, she pulled off the 
Herculean efforts to creating an orchestra of 60 
orchestral and freelance professional musicians made 
up from black, Asian and people of color from 28 
countries around the world led by the remarkable 
Wayne Marshall, the chief conductor of the WDR Radio
Orchestra Cologne in a program of Samuel Coleridge-
Taylor, contemporary composer Phiilp Herbert, and 
standard repertoire of Brahms and Beethoven. 

From the very moment the players took their positions 
on the stage it was very clear to everyone in audience 
from their energy and confidence that this was going to 
be a special evening. Despite the fact that most of the 
players had met for the first time only less then a week 
earlier, days of hard work in marathonrehearsal sessions 
led by Marshall, the players played with a solidness of 
tone style, assuredness and professsionalism that would 
easily rival many of the world's leading orchestras.
With the vibrant and incredibly talented violinist Tai 
Murray as the orchestra's concertmaster, the concert 
began with an electric performance of Coleridge-Taylor's 
rarely heard or performed Ballade for Orchestra Op 33. 
The work with its unexpected shifts of tones and 
syncopations and vibrant orchestral colors was a rousing 
opener for the concert.
It was followed by a searingly poignant performance for 
18 string players of Philip Herbert's haunting and beautiful 
Elegy: In Memorium - Stephen Lawrence who was 
obviously deeply moved by the audience's warm reception 
when Marshall bought him up to the take his bow.


The final two works, Brahms Variations of a Theme by 
Haydn and Beethoven Symphony No. 7, were compelling, 
exciting, edge-of-seats performances with Marshall and the 
orchestra brought out the grand majesty of Brahm's work 
without ever once becoming pompous, which is a trap 
many conductors fall into while the Beethoven symphony 
was propulsive and energetic but with subtle nuances in 
the work brought out by maestro Marshall that are usually 
overlooked.


But it was more than just a concert, it was something else. 
A look into the future of things yet to come, the sight of 
seeing musicians of color of every shade with every 
conceivable hairstyle playing with an authority and solid 
professionalism was groundbreaking that anticipates of 
things to come. Regular symphony concerts with the all 
or nearly all white players will never be looked at the same 
way again. Things are changing and for the better.
The sold-out concert hall leaped to its feet several times 
with ovations and as a surprise encore the orchestra once 
again played the Ballade to an enthusiastic reception. 
Both Marshall, who reportedly has agreed to become the 
Chineke! permanent music director and Nwanoku spoke as 
well to the audience about the importance of the concert 
and what it means to the future of classical music and of 
the need of diversity in order for this music to survive as 
well as to erase barriers of what is possible

I would be also remiss if I did not mention the earlier 
afternoon performance of the Chineke! Junior Orchestra 

made up of some of the most talented young musicians of 
African heritage from across the country aged 11 – 17 who 
performed  movements 1, 2 and 4 from Schubert’s 
Symphony No. 5 conducted by Marshall. Despite their 
young age, the players played with an excellence and true 
mastery that belied their ages. The capacity audience for 
the free concert were enraptured by the performance and 
the young musicians and gave them a warm and genuinely 
enthusiastic response.

It was a great day being totally immersed in great music 
performed by great musicians and that changed how music 
will be looked at from now and in the future.

Sergio