Why does Europe’s first majority black and multi-ethnic orchestra need to exist? And how can new audiences for classical music be built? Jacqui Cheng meets Chineke! Founder Chi-chi Nwanoku and bassoonist Linton Stephens.
In many ways, the Chineke! Orchestra is both simple and difficult to describe. Founded in 2015, the group’s rallying cry is that it’s “Europe’s first majority black and multi-ethnic orchestra” — as in, almost all the musicians in the (up to) 75-person ensemble are people of color. This extraordinary effort to explicitly provide career opportunities to black and multi-ethnic classical musicians (and build a world-class orchestra in the process) has attracted some major attention, not just in Europe, but internationally. The Chineke! Orchestra has already begun to build bridges to people and communities who otherwise feel like outsiders in the classical world.
Members of Chineke! came to the WQXR studio this February to perform and talk with us more about the kind of philosophy that goes into building this group. Below is an edited version of the interview I conducted with with Chineke! founder and double bassist Chi-chi Nwanoku OBE, and bassoonist Linton Stephens... Keep reading on WQXR
In many ways, the Chineke! Orchestra is both simple and difficult to describe. Founded in 2015, the group’s rallying cry is that it’s “Europe’s first majority black and multi-ethnic orchestra” — as in, almost all the musicians in the (up to) 75-person ensemble are people of color. This extraordinary effort to explicitly provide career opportunities to black and multi-ethnic classical musicians (and build a world-class orchestra in the process) has attracted some major attention, not just in Europe, but internationally. The Chineke! Orchestra has already begun to build bridges to people and communities who otherwise feel like outsiders in the classical world.
Members of Chineke! came to the WQXR studio this February to perform and talk with us more about the kind of philosophy that goes into building this group. Below is an edited version of the interview I conducted with with Chineke! founder and double bassist Chi-chi Nwanoku OBE, and bassoonist Linton Stephens... Keep reading on WQXR