Chineke! LIVE

Come and hear from an orchestra reshaping who classical music is for. Europe’s first majority Black, Asian and ethnically diverse ensemble, Chineke! performs works by overlooked composers in every concert, true to its motto: “championing change and celebrating diversity in classical music.” 

An hour-long concert specially curated by Berginald Rash for Wimbledon Bookfest, Chineke! presents a programme tracing the reach and resilience of the Black diaspora. Comprised of the principal players of the Chineke! Orchestra, the Chineke! Chamber Ensemble offer a friendly introduction to classical music that is sure to move, educate, and enthrall. 

It opens in the Americas with William Grant Still’s Danzas de Panamá, taking from Afro-Caribbean dance forms before charting the Great Migration of African Americans from the rural South with Carlos Simon’s Warmth from Other Suns. The programme then soars across the Atlantic with the birds through Matthew Rooke’s An a Craw can Sing an Aw and Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending on bass clarinet. Coleridge-Taylor’s clarinet quintet closes the night, inspired by Brahms yet alive with the vitality of Black and Indigenous music. 

Whether this is your first time experiencing live classical music or have loved it for years, all are welcome at this event!