Arguably the most internationally celebrated African classical composer of the 20th century, Sowande was what classical music historians would describe as a nationalistic composer: someone who pioneers the incorporation of a country’s folk music traditions into Western classical forms. His *African Suite* (1955), from which the second movement (“II. Nostalgia”) above is taken, is his best known symphonic work—but he was a prolific composer, and he left us a great deal to work with. His more traditional vocal works, such as “The Wedding Song” (1957), are still sung in Nigeria to this day.

Babatunde Olatunji (1925-2003)

Percussion is central to Yoruba music, and Olatunji’s *Drums of Passion* (1960) was the first album to introduce Yoruba sacred drumming—or traditional African music of any kind, for that matter—to the West. It has sold more than five million copies and remains popular to this day, having influenced a wide range of Western classical composers. 

Fela Kuti (1938-1997)

If you listen to Western popular music in any genre, you’ve almost certainly heard Fela Kuti’s influence. The inventor of Afrobeat created a new aesthetic that drenched contemporary jazz and neo-soul to the bone, and affected the sound of virtually every other kind of music, from hip-hop to the whitest folk-indie band you can think of, in many other ways.  

Joshua Uzoigwe (1946-2005)

While Sowande drew primarily on Yoruba influences in his music, Joshua Uzoigwe drew more on Igbo music. His masterpiece, *Talking Drums* (1990), draws on these traditions to express—in five movements—the complex relationship between melody and rhythm, and the way that one can become the other. 

Godwin Sadoh (1965-)


The most celebrated living Nigerian composer, Sadoh is also an academic musicologist with six volume-length studies and more than 100 peer-reviewed article publications to his credit. His research specialty is organ music, and while he has written chamber music, vocal solo compositions, and a wide range of challenging piano pieces, his *Nigerian Organ Symphony* (2007) is his most widely-performed work to date. Much like Sowande, he is a nationalistic composer who has blended Yoruba and Igbo aesthetics into his work—and, in keeping with his instrument, he also tends to rely heavily on liturgical motifs. His personal YouTube channel is one of the best places to look for new and established Nigerian classical compositions, as well as choral and organ music of all types.