Chineke! Orchestra presented by Celebrity Series of Boston

This Spring brings an exciting and important Boston debut: the inaugural visit by Britain’s Chineke! Orchestra. Founded in 2015 by the pioneering double bass player Chi-chi Nwanoku, CBE, the Orchestra champions change and celebrates diversity through high-level professional performance opportunities and career development for Black and ethnically diverse classical performers in the UK and Europe. They’ve performed for enthusiastic crowds at some of Britain and Europe’s top venues and festivals, drawing praise for the “dynamism and quality” of their performances (The ArtsDesk).

The program opens with Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s haunting 1909 Othello suite, before pivoting to the joyous and colorful atmosphere conjured by pianist and composer Stewart Goodyear in his Callaloo, a Caribbean suite for piano and orchestra. The performance ends with Florence B. Price’s lively and groundbreaking  Symphony No. 1, infused with Juba dance motifs and other allusions to Americana.

The (London) Times knows, “there’s nothing like a Chineke! Orchestra concert for generating that party spirit. The nights always end with whistling and whooping. It’s music played with a passion and joy that freely radiates.”