Chineke! Orchestra

Founded in 2015 by double bassist Chi-chi Nwanoku OBE, the critically acclaimed Chineke! Orchestra is the first ethnically diverse professional classical orchestra in Europe and is made up almost entirely of black and minority musicians. A musical branch of the Chineke! Foundation, the orchestra made their debut in London, England in September 2015 at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. This first performance focused on works by British black composers. The orchestra made its BBC Proms debut at the Royal Albert Hall in August 2017 and have performed at many festivals in England. During their career, the Chineke! Orchestra has premiered works by black composers including James Wilson, Hannah Kendall, Ayanna Witter-Johnson, Julian Joseph, and Roderick Williams. The Chineke! Orchestra has several offshoots including the Chineke! Ensemble - a smaller group featuring the principal players from the larger orchestra - and a youth ensemble called the Chineke! Junior Orchestra. The Chineke! Orchestra’s catalog features releases such as Sibelius: Finlandia; Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 (2017), Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 3; Sibelius: Symphony No. 2 (2018), and Max Richter’s The New Four Seasons (2022). The Chineke! Orchestra was commissioned by the Bob Marley estate to add orchestral arrangements to 10 of Bob Marley’s classic recordings and the results, Bob Marley with the Chineke! Orchestra, was released in July 2022.