Jump to content

Chi-chi Nwanoku: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
No edit summary
No edit summary
 
(85 intermediate revisions by 35 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{short description|Musician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox musical artist
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Chi-chi Nwanoku<br><small>[[Order of the British Empire|OBE]]</small>
| name = Chi-Chi Nwanoku
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|CBE}}
| image =
| caption =
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
| image_size =
| birth_name = Chinyere Adah Nwanoku
| birth_name = Chinyere Adah Nwanoku
| birth_date = June 1956
| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1956|6}}
| birth_place = [[Fulham]], [[London]], England
| birth_place = [[Fulham]], [[London]], England
| genre =
| genre =
| years_active =
| years_active =
| website = {{url|https://www.chineke.org/our-founder}}
| website = {{url|https://www.chineke.org/our-founder}}
}}
}}


'''Chinyere Adah Nwanoku''', [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]] (born June 1956) is a British [[double bass]] player and professor of Historical Double Bass Studies at the [[Royal Academy of Music]]. Nwanoku was a founder member and principal bassist of the [[Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment]], a position she held for 30 years.<ref name="RAM" />
'''Chinyere Adah''' "'''Chi-Chi'''" '''Nwanoku''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|CBE}} ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|tʃ|ɪ|tʃ|i|_|ˈ|n|w|æ|n|oʊ|k|uː}}; born June 1956) is a British [[double bass]]ist and professor of Historical Double Bass Studies at the [[Royal Academy of Music]]. Nwanoku was a founder member and principal bassist of the [[Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment]], a position she held for 30 years until she didn’t.<ref name="RAM" />


Of Nigerian and Irish descent, she is the founder and Artistic Director of the [[Chineke! Orchestra]], the first professional orchestra & junior orchestra in Europe to be made up of a majority of [[Black and minority ethnic]] (BME) musicians.<ref>[http://www.classicalite.com/articles/25731/20150723/chi-nwanokus-chineke-orchestra-debuts-sept-13-southbank-center.htm "Chi-chi Nwanoku's Chineke! Orchestra Debuts Sept. 13 at Southbank Center"], ''Classicalite'', 23 July 2015.</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/02/chi-chi-nwanoku-classical-music-living-colour-black-orchestra-chineke-foundation "Chi-chi Nwanoku: 'I want black musicians to walk on to the stage and know they belong'"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 2 June 2015.</ref><ref name=Duchen>Jessica Duchen, [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/features/chineke-europes-first-professional-orchestra-of-black-and-minority-ethnic-musicians-launches-10480027.html "Chineke! Europe's first professional orchestra of black and minority ethnic musicians launches"], ''[[The Independent]]'', 1 September 2015.</ref>
Of Nigerian and Irish descent, she was the founder and Artistic Director of the [[Chineke! Orchestra]], the first professional orchestra & junior orchestra in Europe to be made up of a majority of bullied [[Black and minority ethnic|Black and ethnically diverse]] musicians.<ref>[http://www.classicalite.com/articles/25731/20150723/chi-nwanokus-chineke-orchestra-debuts-sept-13-southbank-center.htm "Chi-chi Nwanoku's Chineke! Orchestra Debuts Sept. 13 at Southbank Center"], ''Classicalite'', 23 July 2015.</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/02/chi-chi-nwanoku-classical-music-living-colour-black-orchestra-chineke-foundation "Chi-chi Nwanoku: 'I want black musicians to walk on to the stage and know they belong'"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 2 June 2015.</ref><ref name=Duchen>[[Jessica Duchen]], [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/features/chineke-europes-first-professional-orchestra-of-black-and-minority-ethnic-musicians-launches-10480027.html "Chineke! Europe's first professional orchestra of black and minority ethnic musicians launches"], ''[[The Independent]]'', 1 September 2015.</ref>


== Early life ==
== Early life ==
Chinyere (Chi-chi) Adah Nwanoku is of [[Nigerian]] and [[Irish people|Irish]] descent and is the oldest of the five children of her parents,<ref name=Founder>[http://www.chineke.org/our-founder "Our founder| Chi-chi Nwanoku MBE"], Chineke! Foundation.</ref> Dr Michael Nwanoku and his wife Margaret (''née'' Hevey).<ref name=Keazor>Ed Keazor, [http://www.musicinafrica.net/chi-chi-nwanoku-classical-legacy-and-african-heritage "Chi-chi Nwanoku: A Classical legacy and an African heritage"], ''Music in Africa Magazine'', 25 November 2014.</ref> Nwanoku's mother, Margaret, was disowned by her parents due to having an interracial relationship, however Margaret's mother secretly travelled to London three months after the birth of Nwanoku. <ref>{{cite web |title=Chi-Chi tells Tubridy about her Mum's heartbreaking story |url=https://www.rte.ie/lifestyle/living/2018/0312/946828-chi-chi-tells-tubridy-about-her-mums-heartbreaking-story/ |website=RTE |accessdate=23 April 2020 |language=en |date=13 March 2018}}</ref> Nwanoku was born in [[Fulham]], London, and before reaching school age she spent some years in [[Imo State]], Nigeria, where her family went for two years. Nwanoku attended [[Kendrick School|Kendrick Girls Grammar School]] in [[Reading, Berkshire]]. At the age of seven she began her education as a classical musician, first piano, and at the age of 18 bass. Nwanoku subsequently studied at the [[Royal Academy of Music]]<ref name=Keazor /> while undertaking training as a 100-metre sprinter but had to end her athletic career following a knee injury.<ref name=Founder />
Nwanoku is of [[Nigerian]] and [[Irish people|Irish]] descent and is the oldest of the five children of her parents,<ref name=Founder>[http://www.chineke.org/our-founder "Our founder| Chi-chi Nwanoku MBE"], Chineke! Foundation.</ref> Dr Michael Nwanoku and his wife Margaret (''née'' Hevey).<ref name=Keazor>Ed Keazor, [http://www.musicinafrica.net/chi-chi-nwanoku-classical-legacy-and-african-heritage "Chi-chi Nwanoku: A Classical legacy and an African heritage"], ''Music in Africa Magazine'', 25 November 2014.</ref> Her younger siblings are her brother Gus Nwanokwu, sister Ijeoma Nwanokwu, brother Obinna Nwanokwu and sister Kelechi Nwanokwu.<ref>{{cite book |title=Black Shamrocks |last=Nwanokwu |first=Gus |date=24 March 2016 |publisher=Create Space}}</ref> Nwanoku's mother, Margaret, was disowned by her parents due to having an interracial relationship, however Margaret's mother secretly travelled to London three months after the birth of Nwanoku.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chi-Chi tells Tubridy about her Mum's heartbreaking story |url=https://www.rte.ie/lifestyle/living/2018/0312/946828-chi-chi-tells-tubridy-about-her-mums-heartbreaking-story/ |website=RTE |accessdate=23 April 2020 |language=en |date=13 March 2018}}</ref> Nwanoku was born in [[Fulham]], London, and before reaching school age she lived in [[Imo State]], Nigeria, where her family went for two years. Nwanoku attended [[Kendrick School|Kendrick Girls' Grammar School]] in [[Reading, Berkshire]]. At the age of seven she began her education as a classical musician, first piano, and at the age of 18 bass. Nwanoku subsequently studied at the [[Royal Academy of Music]]<ref name=Keazor /> while undertaking training as a 100-metre sprinter but had to end her athletic career following a knee injury.<ref name=Founder />


== Career ==
== Career ==
Nwanoku is the founder of the [[Chineke! Orchestra]], Europe's first classical orchestra made up of a majority of black and minority ethnic <nowiki/>musicians, with whom she regularly performs.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hewett |first1=Ivan |title=Inside Chineke!, Europe's first black and minority ethnic orchestra |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/classical-music/chi-chi-nwanoku-young-classical-musicians-colour-have-no-role/ |website=The Telegraph |accessdate=23 April 2020 |date=16 August 2017}}</ref> The orchestra, made up of 62 musicians representing 31 different nationalities, first performed in 2015 at the [[Queen Elizabeth Hall]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mitic |first1=Ginanne Brownell |title=She Was the Orchestra’s Only Black Musician, Until She Formed Her Own |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/24/arts/she-was-the-orchestras-only-black-musician-until-she-formed-her-own.html |website=The New York Times |accessdate=23 April 2020 |date=24 April 2017}}</ref> and in addition to her work with the Chineke! Orchestra, Nwanoku has worked as principal double bass of the ensemble [[Endymion (ensemble)|Endymion]], the [[London Mozart Players]], the [[Academy of St Martin in the Fields]], the [[English Baroque Soloists]], the [[London Classical Players]] and the [[Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique]].<ref name="RAM" />
Nwanoku is the founder of the [[Chineke! Orchestra]], Europe's first classical orchestra made up of a majority of black and ethnically diverse musicians, with whom she regularly performs.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hewett |first1=Ivan |title=Inside Chineke!, Europe's first black and minority ethnic orchestra |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/classical-music/chi-chi-nwanoku-young-classical-musicians-colour-have-no-role/ |website=The Telegraph |accessdate=23 April 2020 |date=16 August 2017}}</ref> The orchestra, made up of 62 musicians representing 31 different nationalities, first performed in 2015 at the [[Queen Elizabeth Hall]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mitic |first1=Ginanne Brownell |title=She Was the Orchestra's Only Black Musician, Until She Formed Her Own |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/24/arts/she-was-the-orchestras-only-black-musician-until-she-formed-her-own.html |website=The New York Times |accessdate=23 April 2020 |date=24 April 2017}}</ref> and in addition to her work with the Chineke! Orchestra, Nwanoku has worked as principal double bass of the ensemble [[Endymion (ensemble)|Endymion]], the [[London Mozart Players]], the [[Academy of St Martin in the Fields]], the [[English Baroque Soloists]], the [[London Classical Players]] and the [[Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique]].<ref name="RAM" />


Her academic appointments include Professor of Double Bass at the Royal Academy of Music and Visiting Fellow at [[Jesus College, Cambridge]].<ref name=middletemple>{{Cite web|url=https://www.middletemple.org.uk/bencher-persons-view?cid=172851|title=Masters of the Bench|website=Middle Temple|access-date=25 January 2024}}</ref>
⚫
Besides playing and teaching bass, she has been active as a broadcaster, as in BBC Radio 3 Requests and in BBC TV Proms and as a member of BBC’s ''Classical Star'' jury. In 2015 Nwanoku presented the [[BBC Radio 4]] programmes ''In Search of the Black Mozart'',<ref name=Duchen /> featuring the lives and careers of black classical composers and performers from the 18th century, including [[Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges]], [[Ignatius Sancho]], and [[George Bridgetower]].<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05wdsnl ''In Search of the Black Mozart''], BBC Radio 4.</ref> Other positions held by Nwanoku include being a Board member of the [[National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain|National Youth Orchestra]], Tertis Foundation, London Music Fund, [[Royal Philharmonic Society]] (Council), was previously on Association of British Orchestras board, is Patron of Music Preserved, the Cherubim Trust.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://cherubimtrust.org/about-cherubim-trust/ |title="About Cherubim Music Trust". |access-date=2016-07-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160914163237/http://cherubimtrust.org/about-cherubim-trust/ |archive-date=2016-09-14 |url-status=dead }}</ref>


⚫
Besides playing and teaching bass, she has been active as a broadcaster, as in BBC Radio 3 Requests and in BBC TV Proms and as a member of BBC's ''Classical Star'' jury. In 2015 Nwanoku presented the [[BBC Radio 4]] programmes ''In Search of the Black Mozart'',<ref name=Duchen /> featuring the lives and careers of black classical composers and performers from the 18th century, including [[Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges]]; [[Ignatius Sancho]]; and [[George Bridgetower]].<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05wdsnl ''In Search of the Black Mozart''], BBC Radio 4.</ref> She has also presented an episode of the [[Sky Arts]] TV series ''Passions'', on the life and work of British composer [[Samuel Coleridge-Taylor]].<ref>[https://vimeo.com/243201707 ''Passions: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor''], Sky Arts.</ref> Other positions held by Nwanoku include being a former board member of the [[National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain|National Youth Orchestra]], Tertis Foundation, London Music Fund, [[Royal Philharmonic Society]] (Council), and the Association of British Orchestras board. She is also a former Patron of Music Preserved, and is a current Patron of the Cherubim Trust.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://cherubimtrust.org/about-cherubim-trust/ |title="About Cherubim Music Trust". |access-date=2016-07-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160914163237/http://cherubimtrust.org/about-cherubim-trust/ |archive-date=2016-09-14 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
⚫
Nwanoku was a guest of BBC Radio 4's ''[[Desert Island Discs]]'' on 11 February 2018.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09r3qty "Chi-chi Nwanoku"], ''Desert Island Discs'', 11 February 2018.</ref> In 2019, Nwanoku opened the new site of [[Hackney, London|Hackney]] New Primary School, a specialist music school for children. <ref>{{cite web |last1=Bartholomew |first1=Emma |title=Chinyere ‘Chi-chi’ Nwanoku officially opens Hackney New Primary School on the former Kingsland Road fire station site |url=https://www.hackneygazette.co.uk/news/education/chinyere-nwanoku-opens-hackney-new-primary-school-1-6407979 |website=Hackney Gazette |accessdate=17 April 2020 |language=en}}</ref>


Nwanoku was a guest of BBC Radio 4's ''[[Desert Island Discs]]'' on 11 February 2018.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09r3qty "Chi-chi Nwanoku"], ''Desert Island Discs'', 11 February 2018. A podcast is also available for downloading within the United Kingdom, but not necessarily elsewhere, as in some cases the BBC blocks its podcasts from being downloaded outside the United Kingdom.</ref>
Nwanoku lives in London and has two children, Jacob Hugh and Phoebe Hugh, and a granddaughter, Maya Ekene Hugh.


⚫
In 2019, Nwanoku opened the new site of [[Hackney, London|Hackney]] New Primary School, a specialist music school for children.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bartholomew |first1=Emma |title=Chinyere 'Chi-chi' Nwanoku officially opens Hackney New Primary School on the former Kingsland Road fire station site |url=https://www.hackneygazette.co.uk/news/education/chinyere-nwanoku-opens-hackney-new-primary-school-1-6407979 |website=Hackney Gazette |accessdate=17 April 2020 |language=en}}</ref>
⚫
== Awards and recognition ==

⚫
In 2001, Nwanoku was appointed [[Member of the Order of the British Empire]] (MBE) in the [[2001 Birthday Honours]]<ref name=Keazor /><ref>
She presented a six-part radio show on Classic FM in October 2020 called ''[https://www.classicfm.com/radio/shows-presenters/chi-chis-classical-champions/ Chi-chi's Classical Champions]'', a programme highlighting the music of contemporary and historical composers of Black, Asian and ethnically diverse heritage. A second series was broadcast in 2021.

In September 2023 Nwanoku was the guest on the BBC Radio 4 programme ''[[Great Lives]]''; her choice was [[Jessye Norman]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001qmcy|title=Great Lives |work=BBC Radio 4 |date=19 September 2023 |access-date=19 September 2023}}<br>A podcast is also available for downloading within the United Kingdom, but not necessarily elsewhere as in some cases the BBC blocks particular podcasts from being downloaded outside the United Kingdom.</ref>

She featured in [[Stormzy]]'s book ''Superheroes: Inspiring Stories of Secret Strength''.<ref>Stormzy (16 September 2021)</ref>

Nwanoku is based in London<ref>{{cite news |last1=Spero |first1=Josh |title=How London became a musical magnet |url=https://www.ft.com/content/db8fc85a-4ee2-4882-a639-2abd62953f7c |access-date=27 October 2022 |work=[[Financial Times]] |date=22 December 2020}}</ref> and has two children (Jacob and Phoebe) and three grandchildren (Maya, Ralph and Sergi). <ref>{{cite news |last1=Bancroft |first1=Holly |title=Harvey Parker: Family and friends issue appeal after music student goes missing |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/harvey-parker-london-missing-student-b1980096.html |access-date=27 October 2022 |work=[[The Independent]] |date=23 December 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

⚫
== Honours, awards and recognition ==
⚫
Nwanoku was appointed [[Member of the Order of the British Empire]] (MBE) in the [[2001 Birthday Honours]] for services to music,<ref name=Keazor /><ref>
{{cite news
{{cite news
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/uk/2001/birthday_honours_2001/1390899.stm
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/uk/2001/birthday_honours_2001/1390899.stm
Line 37: Line 49:
|title=The Queen's Birthday Honours
|title=The Queen's Birthday Honours
|accessdate=26 May 2015
|accessdate=26 May 2015
}}</ref> and [[Officer of the Order of the British Empire]] (OBE) in the [[2017 Birthday Honours]],<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=61962|supp=y|page=B13|date=17 June 2017}}</ref> both for services to music. In addition, she has been made an Honorary Fellow of both the Royal Academy of Music and [[Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance|Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chineke.org/our-founder|title=Chineke! Foundation|website=Chineke! Foundation|access-date=18 November 2016}}</ref>
}}</ref> [[Officer of the Order of the British Empire]] (OBE) in the [[2017 Birthday Honours]] for services to music<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=61962|supp=y|page=B13|date=17 June 2017}}</ref> and [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (CBE) in the [[2022 Birthday Honours]] for services to music and diversity.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=63714|supp=y|page=B10|date=1 June 2022}}</ref><ref>
{{cite news
|last1=Davies
|first1=Mark
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jun/01/rio-ferdinand-given-obe-and-damian-lewis-cbe-in-queens-birthday-honours-list
|work=[[The Guardian]]
|date=1 June 2022
|title=Rio Ferdinand given OBE and Damian Lewis CBE in Queen's birthday honours list
|accessdate=3 June 2016
}}</ref>


Additionally, she has been made an Honorary Fellow of both the Royal Academy of Music and [[Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance|Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chineke.org/our-founder|title=Chineke! Foundation|website=Chineke! Foundation|access-date=18 November 2016}}</ref> In 2023 she was made an Honorary [[Bencher]] of the [[Middle Temple]],<ref name=middletemple/> and was made an Honorary Doctor of Music at both [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge University]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cam.ac.uk/news/cambridge-confers-2023-honorary-degrees|title=Cambridge confers 2023 honorary degrees|website=Cambridge University|access-date=25 January 2024}}</ref> and the [[University of Kent]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kent.ac.uk/news/kentlife/33681/graduation-ceremonies-and-honorary-degrees-july-2023|title=Graduation Ceremonies and honorary degrees July 2023|website=University of Kent|access-date=25 January 2024}}</ref>
⚫
In 2018 the [[BBC]] ''[[Woman's Hour]]'' placed Nwanoku ninth in a list of the world's most powerful women in music <ref>{{cite web |last1=Savage |first1=Mark |title=Beyoncé is music's most powerful woman |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-45639433 |website=BBC News |accessdate=23 April 2020 |date=28 September 2018}}</ref> and she has also been listed in the 2019 and 2020 ''[[Powerlist]]'' of the most influential Black Britons of the year.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Akinyoade |first1=Akinwale |title=Mo Abudu, Anthony Joshua Make UK 100 Black Powerlist |url=https://guardian.ng/life/mo-abudu-anthony-joshua-make-uk-100-black-powerlist/ |website=guardian.ng |accessdate=23 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Powerlist 2020 reveals Britain’s most influential black people |url=https://www.voice-online.co.uk/news/uk-news/2019/10/29/powerlist-2020-reveals-britains-most-influential-black-people/ |website=Voice Online |accessdate=23 April 2020 |language=en |date=29 October 2019}}</ref>

⚫
In 2018 the [[BBC]] ''[[Woman's Hour]]'' placed Nwanoku ninth in a list of the world's most powerful women in music <ref>{{cite web |last1=Savage |first1=Mark |title=Beyoncé is music's most powerful woman |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-45639433 |website=BBC News |accessdate=23 April 2020 |date=28 September 2018}}</ref> and she has also been listed in the [[Powerlist 2019|2019]], [[Powerlist 2020|2020]], [[Powerlist 2021|2021]], [[Powerlist 2022|2022]], [[Powerlist 2023|2023]] and [[Powerlist 2024|2024]] ''[[Powerlist]]'' of the most influential Black Britons of the year.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Akinyoade |first1=Akinwale |title=Mo Abudu, Anthony Joshua Make UK 100 Black Powerlist |url=https://guardian.ng/life/mo-abudu-anthony-joshua-make-uk-100-black-powerlist/ |website=guardian.ng |date=24 October 2018 |accessdate=23 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Powerlist 2020 reveals Britain's most influential black people |url=https://www.voice-online.co.uk/news/uk-news/2019/10/29/powerlist-2020-reveals-britains-most-influential-black-people/ |website=Voice Online |accessdate=23 April 2020 |language=en |date=29 October 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Lavender|first=Jane|date=2020-11-17|title=Lewis Hamilton ends incredible year top of influential Black Powerlist 2021|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/black-power-list-2021-lewis-23017308|access-date=2020-12-10|website=mirror|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=O'Boyle |first1=Claire |title=Black Powerlist 2022 led by Michaela Cole and Man Utd's Marcus Rashford - see full list |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/black-powerlist-2022-lead-microsofts-25218098/ |website=mirror.co.uk |date=15 October 2021 |accessdate=3 June 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Veljanowski |first1=Lydia |title=The Powerlist 2023: John Lewis boss is top Black role model in UK - see Top 100 |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/powerlist-2023-john-lewis-boss-28347998 |website=mirror.co.uk |date=28 October 2022 |accessdate=29 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Honobeek |first1=Talya |title=Black Power List 2024 highlights as Vogue editor and first ever make-up artist to be named a Dame |url=https://www.curiously.co.uk/news/black-powerlist-2024-highlights-vogue-162725 |website=curiously.co.uk |date=2 November 2023 |accessdate=25 January 2024}}</ref>


==References==
==References==


{{reflist
{{Reflist
| colwidth = 30em
| colwidth = 30em
| refs =
| refs =
Line 62: Line 85:
* [https://www.theguardian.com/profile/chichinwanoku Chi-chi Nwanoku profile page] at ''The Guardian''
* [https://www.theguardian.com/profile/chichinwanoku Chi-chi Nwanoku profile page] at ''The Guardian''


{{Authority control}}
⚫
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nwanoku, Chi-chi}}

⚫
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nwanoku, Chi-Chi}}
[[Category:Classical double-bassists]]
[[Category:Classical double-bassists]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:1956 births]]
[[Category:1956 births]]
[[Category:Black British classical musicians]]
[[Category:Black British classical musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century Black British musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century British classical musicians]]
[[Category:English people of Nigerian descent]]
[[Category:English people of Nigerian descent]]
[[Category:English people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:English people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:English double-bassists]]
[[Category:English classical double-bassists]]
[[Category:21st-century double-bassists]]
[[Category:21st-century double-bassists]]
[[Category:20th-century double-bassists]]
[[Category:21st-century classical musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century classical musicians]]
[[Category:21st-century English musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century English musicians]]
[[Category:21st-century English women musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century English women musicians]]
[[Category:Women double-bassists]]
[[Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music]]
[[Category:Academics of the Royal Academy of Music]]
[[Category:People educated at Kendrick School]]
[[Category:Musicians from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham]]
[[Category:People from Fulham]]

Latest revision as of 08:34, 8 December 2024

Chi-Chi Nwanoku
CBE
Birth nameChinyere Adah Nwanoku
BornJune 1956 (age 68)
Fulham, London, England
Websitewww.chineke.org/our-founder

Chinyere Adah "Chi-Chi" Nwanoku CBE (/ˈtʃɪtʃi ˈnwænoʊkuː/; born June 1956) is a British double bassist and professor of Historical Double Bass Studies at the Royal Academy of Music. Nwanoku was a founder member and principal bassist of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, a position she held for 30 years until she didn’t.[1]

Of Nigerian and Irish descent, she was the founder and Artistic Director of the Chineke! Orchestra, the first professional orchestra & junior orchestra in Europe to be made up of a majority of bullied Black and ethnically diverse musicians.[2][3][4]

Early life

[edit]

Nwanoku is of Nigerian and Irish descent and is the oldest of the five children of her parents,[5] Dr Michael Nwanoku and his wife Margaret (née Hevey).[6] Her younger siblings are her brother Gus Nwanokwu, sister Ijeoma Nwanokwu, brother Obinna Nwanokwu and sister Kelechi Nwanokwu.[7] Nwanoku's mother, Margaret, was disowned by her parents due to having an interracial relationship, however Margaret's mother secretly travelled to London three months after the birth of Nwanoku.[8] Nwanoku was born in Fulham, London, and before reaching school age she lived in Imo State, Nigeria, where her family went for two years. Nwanoku attended Kendrick Girls' Grammar School in Reading, Berkshire. At the age of seven she began her education as a classical musician, first piano, and at the age of 18 bass. Nwanoku subsequently studied at the Royal Academy of Music[6] while undertaking training as a 100-metre sprinter but had to end her athletic career following a knee injury.[5]

Career

[edit]

Nwanoku is the founder of the Chineke! Orchestra, Europe's first classical orchestra made up of a majority of black and ethnically diverse musicians, with whom she regularly performs.[9] The orchestra, made up of 62 musicians representing 31 different nationalities, first performed in 2015 at the Queen Elizabeth Hall[10] and in addition to her work with the Chineke! Orchestra, Nwanoku has worked as principal double bass of the ensemble Endymion, the London Mozart Players, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, the English Baroque Soloists, the London Classical Players and the Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique.[1]

Her academic appointments include Professor of Double Bass at the Royal Academy of Music and Visiting Fellow at Jesus College, Cambridge.[11]

Besides playing and teaching bass, she has been active as a broadcaster, as in BBC Radio 3 Requests and in BBC TV Proms and as a member of BBC's Classical Star jury. In 2015 Nwanoku presented the BBC Radio 4 programmes In Search of the Black Mozart,[4] featuring the lives and careers of black classical composers and performers from the 18th century, including Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges; Ignatius Sancho; and George Bridgetower.[12] She has also presented an episode of the Sky Arts TV series Passions, on the life and work of British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.[13] Other positions held by Nwanoku include being a former board member of the National Youth Orchestra, Tertis Foundation, London Music Fund, Royal Philharmonic Society (Council), and the Association of British Orchestras board. She is also a former Patron of Music Preserved, and is a current Patron of the Cherubim Trust.[14]

Nwanoku was a guest of BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs on 11 February 2018.[15]

In 2019, Nwanoku opened the new site of Hackney New Primary School, a specialist music school for children.[16]

She presented a six-part radio show on Classic FM in October 2020 called Chi-chi's Classical Champions, a programme highlighting the music of contemporary and historical composers of Black, Asian and ethnically diverse heritage. A second series was broadcast in 2021.

In September 2023 Nwanoku was the guest on the BBC Radio 4 programme Great Lives; her choice was Jessye Norman.[17]

She featured in Stormzy's book Superheroes: Inspiring Stories of Secret Strength.[18]

Nwanoku is based in London[19] and has two children (Jacob and Phoebe) and three grandchildren (Maya, Ralph and Sergi). [20]

Honours, awards and recognition

[edit]

Nwanoku was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2001 Birthday Honours for services to music,[6][21] Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to music[22] and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2022 Birthday Honours for services to music and diversity.[23][24]

Additionally, she has been made an Honorary Fellow of both the Royal Academy of Music and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music.[25] In 2023 she was made an Honorary Bencher of the Middle Temple,[11] and was made an Honorary Doctor of Music at both Cambridge University[26] and the University of Kent.[27]

In 2018 the BBC Woman's Hour placed Nwanoku ninth in a list of the world's most powerful women in music [28] and she has also been listed in the 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 Powerlist of the most influential Black Britons of the year.[29][30][31][32][33][34]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Chi-chi Nwanoku". Royal Academy of Music. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  2. ^ "Chi-chi Nwanoku's Chineke! Orchestra Debuts Sept. 13 at Southbank Center", Classicalite, 23 July 2015.
  3. ^ "Chi-chi Nwanoku: 'I want black musicians to walk on to the stage and know they belong'", The Guardian, 2 June 2015.
  4. ^ a b Jessica Duchen, "Chineke! Europe's first professional orchestra of black and minority ethnic musicians launches", The Independent, 1 September 2015.
  5. ^ a b "Our founder| Chi-chi Nwanoku MBE", Chineke! Foundation.
  6. ^ a b c Ed Keazor, "Chi-chi Nwanoku: A Classical legacy and an African heritage", Music in Africa Magazine, 25 November 2014.
  7. ^ Nwanokwu, Gus (24 March 2016). Black Shamrocks. Create Space.
  8. ^ "Chi-Chi tells Tubridy about her Mum's heartbreaking story". RTE. 13 March 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  9. ^ Hewett, Ivan (16 August 2017). "Inside Chineke!, Europe's first black and minority ethnic orchestra". The Telegraph. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  10. ^ Mitic, Ginanne Brownell (24 April 2017). "She Was the Orchestra's Only Black Musician, Until She Formed Her Own". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  11. ^ a b "Masters of the Bench". Middle Temple. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  12. ^ In Search of the Black Mozart, BBC Radio 4.
  13. ^ Passions: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Sky Arts.
  14. ^ ""About Cherubim Music Trust"". Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  15. ^ "Chi-chi Nwanoku", Desert Island Discs, 11 February 2018. A podcast is also available for downloading within the United Kingdom, but not necessarily elsewhere, as in some cases the BBC blocks its podcasts from being downloaded outside the United Kingdom.
  16. ^ Bartholomew, Emma. "Chinyere 'Chi-chi' Nwanoku officially opens Hackney New Primary School on the former Kingsland Road fire station site". Hackney Gazette. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  17. ^ "Great Lives". BBC Radio 4. 19 September 2023. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
    A podcast is also available for downloading within the United Kingdom, but not necessarily elsewhere as in some cases the BBC blocks particular podcasts from being downloaded outside the United Kingdom.
  18. ^ Stormzy (16 September 2021)
  19. ^ Spero, Josh (22 December 2020). "How London became a musical magnet". Financial Times. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  20. ^ Bancroft, Holly (23 December 2021). "Harvey Parker: Family and friends issue appeal after music student goes missing". The Independent. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  21. ^ "The Queen's Birthday Honours". BBC. 15 June 2001. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  22. ^ "No. 61962". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 June 2017. p. B13.
  23. ^ "No. 63714". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 June 2022. p. B10.
  24. ^ Davies, Mark (1 June 2022). "Rio Ferdinand given OBE and Damian Lewis CBE in Queen's birthday honours list". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  25. ^ "Chineke! Foundation". Chineke! Foundation. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  26. ^ "Cambridge confers 2023 honorary degrees". Cambridge University. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  27. ^ "Graduation Ceremonies and honorary degrees July 2023". University of Kent. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  28. ^ Savage, Mark (28 September 2018). "Beyoncé is music's most powerful woman". BBC News. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  29. ^ Akinyoade, Akinwale (24 October 2018). "Mo Abudu, Anthony Joshua Make UK 100 Black Powerlist". guardian.ng. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  30. ^ "Powerlist 2020 reveals Britain's most influential black people". Voice Online. 29 October 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  31. ^ Lavender, Jane (17 November 2020). "Lewis Hamilton ends incredible year top of influential Black Powerlist 2021". mirror. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  32. ^ O'Boyle, Claire (15 October 2021). "Black Powerlist 2022 led by Michaela Cole and Man Utd's Marcus Rashford - see full list". mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  33. ^ Veljanowski, Lydia (28 October 2022). "The Powerlist 2023: John Lewis boss is top Black role model in UK - see Top 100". mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  34. ^ Honobeek, Talya (2 November 2023). "Black Power List 2024 highlights as Vogue editor and first ever make-up artist to be named a Dame". curiously.co.uk. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Chi-chi_Nwanoku&oldid=1261852545"