Chi-Chi Nwanoku | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Chinyere Adah Nwanoku |
| Born | June 1956 (age 68) Fulham,London, England |
| Website | www |
Chinyere Adah "Chi-Chi"NwanokuCBE (/ˈtʃɪtʃiˈnwænoʊkuː/; born June 1956) is a Britishdouble bassist and professor of Historical Double Bass Studies at theRoyal Academy of Music. Nwanoku was a founder member and principal bassist of theOrchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, a position she held for 30 years.[1]
Of Nigerian and Irish descent, she was the founder and Artistic Director of theChineke! Orchestra, the first professional orchestra & junior orchestra in Europe to be made up of a majority ofBlack and ethnically diverse musicians.[2][3][4]
Nwanoku is ofNigerian andIrish 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 inFulham, London, and before reaching school age she lived inImo State, Nigeria, where her family went for two years. Nwanoku attendedKendrick Girls' Grammar School inReading, 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 theRoyal Academy of Music[6] while undertaking training as a 100-metre sprinter but had to end her athletic career following a knee injury.[5]
Nwanoku is the founder of theChineke! 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 theQueen Elizabeth Hall[10] and in addition to her work with the Chineke! Orchestra, Nwanoku has worked as principal double bass of the ensembleEndymion, theLondon Mozart Players, theAcademy of St Martin in the Fields, theEnglish Baroque Soloists, theLondon Classical Players and theOrchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique.[1]
Her academic appointments include Professor of Double Bass at the Royal Academy of Music and Visiting Fellow atJesus 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'sClassical Star jury. In 2015 Nwanoku presented theBBC Radio 4 programmesIn Search of the Black Mozart,[4] featuring the lives and careers of black classical composers and performers from the 18th century, includingJoseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges;Ignatius Sancho; andGeorge Bridgetower.[12] She has also presented an episode of theSky Arts TV seriesPassions, on the life and work of British composerSamuel Coleridge-Taylor.[13] Other positions held by Nwanoku include being a former board member of theNational 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'sDesert Island Discs on 11 February 2018.[15]
In 2019, Nwanoku opened the new site ofHackney New Primary School, a specialist music school for children.[16]
She presented a six-part radio show on Classic FM in October 2020 calledChi-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 programmeGreat Lives; her choice wasJessye Norman.[17]
She featured inStormzy's bookSuperheroes: Inspiring Stories of Secret Strength.[18]
Nwanoku is based in London[19] and has two children (Jacob and Phoebe) and four grandchildren (Maya, Ralph, Sergi and Tallulah).[20]
Nwanoku was appointedMember of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the2001 Birthday Honours for services to music,[6][21]Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the2017 Birthday Honours for services to music[22] andCommander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the2022 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 andTrinity Laban Conservatoire of Music.[25] In 2023 she was made an HonoraryBencher of theMiddle Temple,[11] and was made an Honorary Doctor of Music at bothCambridge University[26] and theUniversity of Kent.[27]
In 2018 theBBCWoman'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 the2019,2020,2021,2022,2023 and2024Powerlist of the most influential Black Britons of the year.[29][30][31][32][33][34]
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