Monday, August 28, 2017

BBC.co.uk: The inspirational real-life stories of seven Chineke! musicians

Samson Diamond, principal second violin

Chi-chi Nwanoku, double bass

Adam Wynter, double bass
 
Paul Philbert, principal timpani

Hannah Kendall, composer

Desmond Neysmith, principal cello
Linton Stephens, second bassoon

Chineke!'s story is one of the most inspiring in music right now. The UK's only majority black and ethnic minority orchestra was formed just two years ago by double bassist Chi-chi Nwanoku. It received a standing ovation at its debut concert before even playing a note, creating a moment that Chi-chi will never forget: "Tears were falling down people's faces."
On 30 August, the orchestra is making its Proms debut at a late-night concert featuring the cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, winner of the 2016 BBC Young Musician competition, soprano Jeanine De Bique and conductor Kevin John Edusei.
To celebrate the night, we met a handful of the orchestra's members. It turns out they have stories that are just as inspiring as Chineke!'s own. From growing up in apartheid-era South Africa to being forced into music by a pushy mum, there is something below that everyone can relate to

Samson Diamond, principal second violin

"I was born in Soweto in 1984, so I remember the end of apartheid. My circumstances then, although typical for Soweto, were not the most pleasant. I lived in a shack that was at the back of my great-grandmother's house, and she rented a room for a shabeen [bar], so there were a lot of people around.
"I never had any idea I was poor. I was 10 years old; I had everything I needed! I didn't have a bed - I had to sleep on the floor - but many people I knew slept on the floor.

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Chi-chi Nwanoku, double bass

"I took up the double bass in my last year of school after this devastating knee injury ruined my sprinting career. I was doing 11:8 seconds for the 100 metres. And I was 17 then, so I was definitely heading for the Montreal Olympics [three years later in 1976].
"I was in hospital for two weeks and the day I limped back into school, the head of music came up to me and said, 'Chi-chi, you're probably the most musically gifted person in the school, but you're the only one who doesn't play in an orchestra. We think that if you took up a very unpopular instrument, you could have a career.' And he led me to this room where they had two double basses and that changed my life.
"I do have to thank [politician] Ed Vaizey for me starting Chineke! in a way. He said to me, 'Why is it only you that we ever see on stage?' and it took me a while to realise he meant musicians of colour. He planted the seed in my head.
"I went to see the Kinshasa Symphony [at the Southbank Centre in London, 2014] and seeing people's faces looking bemused, or with incredulity, I thought, 'No, this is wrong. This is the 21st century. It shouldn't be a novelty that this is one person of colour on stage playing Beethoven.' And, as I walked back to Waterloo station, I looked to my right and left and thought, 'I should do this.'

***

Adam Wynter, double bass

"I think when my teacher got me to play the bass, she thought I'd get into jazz, but there weren't too many people my age at school [in Leeds] who were playing that kind of music, so I did the usual thing - went to youth orchestra.
"And because there was never anyone else playing the bass, I got quite far, quite quickly. I was constantly being chucked into situations a little bit out of my depth, so I had to find the standard.

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Paul Philbert, principal timpani

"When I was a child, singing came very naturally to me. Playing musical instruments did not. It took me quite a while to find an instrument that worked.
"I went to the Purcell School and I distinctly remember an interview with the Director of Music where he said, in no uncertain terms, 'This is a specialist music school, and you don't seem to be specialising in any instrument.' They were considering introducing percussion and he asked if I'd be interested, and of course I was.
"I went home and begged my mum to let me try this new percussion thing. But at that stage she'd spent money on two different violins for me; she'd bought me a clarinet; she'd spent a lot of money on tuition. But I promised her, all she would need to buy me was three books, a pair of sticks and a practice pad, so she relented and the floodgates opened. I found my groove, so to speak.

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Hannah Kendall, composer

"This is a huge thing. I'm a Londoner so my earliest memories of experiencing classical music live were at the Proms. I must have been seven maybe when I went to my first, but I'd never have dreamt of being performed at the Proms. It's... crazy. And being performed by Chineke! as well. That's such a huge privilege. I love how they've dispelled all the myths one might have about who goes to classical concerts, who performs classical music, and who writes it.

"How'd I become a composer? I'll tell you the truth. I was at university, majoring in singing, and they changed the credits so I needed 10 more to graduate. That was the number they allocated for composition. I took to it straight away. I just found composing incredibly liberating. You're stepping into the unknown. Anything's possible. It's exciting, captivating.

***

Desmond Neysmith, principal cello

"I once had a 500-year-old cello, but had to give it back unfortunately. My current one was made in 1874 and it's a beautiful thing. Made by this Frenchman who was working in London, Charles Boullangier. For me, having an antique makes a lot of difference. It's kind of difficult to explain without playing it, but it's not just the sound - it's knowing the history, knowing it's been played and cherished for so long, and that all you're doing is looking after it on its own journey.

 "It's insured for £40,000 and I'm pretty careful with it. I don't let anyone other than cellists touch it. I wouldn't ever leave it with a brass player - not that I have anything against brass players, but one lapse of concentration and it's toast.

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Linton Stephens, second bassoon

"I remember my first experience watching the Proms so vividly. We had this atrocious peach-coloured carpet in the front room, my mum was sat behind me and we were flicking around the channels. None of my family were interested in classical music, so I could only have it on for snippets, but I played the oboe and wanted to see other people playing it. I remember watching three nights consecutively and just having this realisation from not seeing anybody else who looked like me, then turning around to my mum and saying, 'Maybe I shouldn't be doing this. I haven't seen any black people.' And her actual words were, 'Well, you bloody well make sure you're the first.' Of course I wasn't the first at all, but…

 

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