Nwanoku, the orchestra's founder, coined its name from the word "Chi" in the Igbo language,[2] which refers to "the god of creation of all good things",[1] or "the spirit of creation".[3] She was inspired by the use of the term in the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.[4]
Nwanoku has acknowledged that inspiration for founding the orchestra came from a conversation with Ed Vaizey, then the UK Minister of Culture, who noted to her that she was one of the very few musicians of colour on stage in a classical orchestra.[4][5] She also took inspiration from attending a London concert of the Kinshasa Symphony, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the orchestra was all black, but the audience was almost entirely white.[5][6]
History
The Chineke! Foundation was established in 2015, and its parallel orchestra followed in the same year, with the express purpose of providing "career opportunities to young Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) classical musicians in the UK and Europe". The ensemble debuted at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre in London in September 2015, conducted by Wayne Marshall, and highlighting works by Black British composers, such as Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’sBallade for Orchestra and Elegy: In memoriam – Stephen Lawrence by Philip Herbert.[3][7] The orchestra for its first two concerts comprised exclusively black, Asian and minority ethnic musicians, but it has since included white musicians.[6] Chineke! became a resident orchestra at the Southbank Centre in 2016. The orchestra made its debut at The Proms in August 2017, conducted by Kevin John Edusei.[8]
In 2017, the orchestra made its first commercial recording for the Signum label, conducted by Edusei.[9]
In November 2019, the Chineke! Foundation became the first-ever recipient of the Royal Philharmonic Society's Gamechanger Award, presented to an individual, group or organisation who in unique and contemporary ways has done inspirational and transformative work breaking new ground in classical music. [10]
NMC - Roderick Williams: Three Songs from Ethiopia Boy - Roderick Williams, baritone; Eduardo Portal, conductor (Download only, released 18 October 2019)
The New Four Seasons composed by Max Richter and performed with soloist Elena Urioste (released 10 June 2022 on Deutsche Grammophon)
Coleridge-Taylor - Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: "Othello" Orchestral Suite Op. 79, African Suite op. 35, Ballade in A minor Op. 33, Petite suite de concert Op. 77, Violin concerto op. 80, Romance in G Op. 39, Nonet in F minor Op. 2, Avril Coleridge-Taylor: Sussex Landscape Op. 27; Elena Urioste, violin; Kalena Bovell, Roderick Cox, Kevin John Edusei, Fawzi Haimor, Anthony Partner, conductors (October 2022, Decca Records)
