Chineke! OrchestraIsata Kanneh-Mason (piano), Tai Murray (violin), Sheku Kanneh-Mason (cello), Andrew Grams (conductor)

Established in 2015, the Chineke! Orchestra has set itself the goal of fostering cultural diversity in classical music. Sir Simon Rattle was fan from the word go, saying: “Chineke! is not only an exciting idea but a profoundly necessary one”.

The ensemble’s name is derived from the Nigerian Igbo language and means something like “God, the creator of the world and of all that is good”. “Chineke!” is also an exclamation of amazement, akin to “Wow!”.

Chineke! is Europe’s first professional orchestra to consist mainly of musicians from ethnically diverse backgrounds and to include underrepresented composers in its repertoire alongside standard works of classical music.

Among the members of the Chineke! Foundation’s youth orchestra to rise to fame is the British cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, who had his breakthrough in 2016 when he won the BBC Young Musician award at the age of 16. His career received a further boost in 2018, when he performed in front of a billion-strong TV audience at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding. He then embarked on an international career while continuing to advocate diverse repertoires and line-ups in classical concerts.

And it’s no different at this performance in the Isarphilharmonie, where Sheku Kanneh-Mason will be joined by his sister, the pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason, as well as the American violinist Tai Murray.

Programme

• Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Ballade in A minor, Op 33
• Beethoven: Concerto for violin, cello and piano in C major, Op 56, Triple Concerto
• Errollyn Wallen: FLOURISH
• William L. Dawson: Negro Folk Symphony

With

• Chineke! Orchestra
• Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano
• Tai Murray, violin
• Sheku Kanneh-Mason, cello
• Andrew Grams, conductor