Interview: Chi-chi Nwanoku
Photos by Eric Redmond
Chi-chi Nwanoku CBE is a double bassist and the Founder and Artistic Director of the Chineke! Orchestra, the first professional orchestra and junior orchestra in Europe made up of majority Black, Asian and Ethnically Diverse musicians. In 2018, BBC Woman’s Hour placed Nwanoku in the top 10 of the world’s most powerful women in music (Beyoncé was number 1), and she appeared on Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs. In both 2019 and 2020 she was included in the ‘Powerlist of Britain’s 100 Most Influential Black People’ alongside the Duchess of Sussex and Stormzy. A huge champion of diversity in the classical music industry, Nwanoku was awarded a CBE for her services to music to 2022.
We had a virtual conversation about the topics on everyone’s lips: what she’s up to during lockdown and the impact of Coronavirus on the music industry.
How is Chineke! coping with the lockdown at Chineke?
With such a small team as ours, it’s hard. We're supposed to be doing our debut US tour right now. It's just devastating because it was two years in the planning. At a time like this – with Brexit and Trump and all these awful negative things – it was really felt that Chineke! needed to be touring and seen in America. There was a huge amount of momentum and most of the concerts had sold out. We were also due to be performing at Saffron Hall, at Brighton Festival, in Paris, at the Queen Elizabeth Hall and also closing the Edinburgh Festival. All of that is cancelled. It’s horrible, BUT there’s no point in whinging. The whole world is stuck with this situation and however bad it is for us, there are millions who are finding it worse. And when I realised it was really happening my creative brain just went into overdrive because challenges always present many opportunities not previously thought of.
How do you think the industry as a whole is kind of coping?
I think it's been really tough for the industry. Some people are actually in shock. Some musicians have gone into a downward spiral. Some have been ejected from their accommodation by ‘live-in’ landlords; some students are desperate because they've all got enormous fees to pay but they're not receiving their full tuition. It’s pretty awful for many people, particularly those who are in the early freelance days.
What does your work look like at the moment and how will this affect you?
I'm working at a rate of knots at the moment, but not in the same format as before: I’ve had to write to all the people previously fixed for the concerts and break the cancellation news, and I’m in so many daily Zoom meetings and interviews that I’m kicking myself I hadn’t got ‘shares’ in Zoom! The other day I was around a (virtual) table with the Culture Minister and representatives from orchestras, museums and libraries from across the country. This was an opportunity to tell government how lockdown was affecting Chineke!. I was able to emphasise the need for government to support us, as we are the only organisation that's leading by example as an orchestra for diversity and inclusion. Since we've launched, the Arts Council has put diversity at the top of the agenda for all other organisations. Our actions have changed the conversation, so I feel they need to protect us.
I learned NOT to believe the popular narrative that a) Black, Asian and Ethnically Diverse people are not interested in classical music and b) they aren’t any good at classical music. Both are wrong. We’ve proved both are wrong. Who would argue with that? We’re so happy to welcome everybody to classical music but what we can’t do is take anything for granted. Black, Asian and Ethnically Diverse people historically cannot take anything for granted.
“It’s not enough to just say ‘here are some half price tickets for young people’”
What impact do you think Coronavirus will have on the industry?
When concert halls and theatres reopen, people are very unlikely to flock back into an enclosed space. What really concerns me is that many of the older organisations may struggle to survive and their diversity programmes are likely to slip right to the bottom of their list of priorities, which is the direct opposite of what they should be doing right now. For us, diversity and inclusion is always at the top of our priorities. Some organisations are concerned that their audience is mostly retirees in the high-risk category. If that is the case, then they will really need to put more effort into diversifying and developing new audiences. It’s not enough to just say ‘here are some half price tickets for young people’. That’s not going to do it.
Can we all work together to figure out a solution?
I really think we can all learn from each other at the moment. Anyone who’s come to a Chineke! concert at the Southbank Centre will see that we have about four generations of people in our audiences. It’s like going out for dinner in Spain or Italy when you see the whole family coming out at 10 o'clock at night from great grandma down to great grandchild – that’s what our concert audiences are like. We walk on the stage and we hear whoops from the audience, sometimes feeling like a rock concert. It’s great fun, and we can tell the audience intend to have a good time. So let’s talk about how we’re going to help each other.
There’s been a lot of digital activity from musicians and arts organisations. Do you think this helps with developing a new audience?
I think live streaming and living room concerts are developing audiences. Videos are an easy way for people to share with their next door neighbour or another member of their family who’s been trapped at home. I think it's an opportunity. People mustn't just sit back and think ‘woe is me’. I’m really excited because there are other things that we can develop. I'm always a cup half full person anyway, but I really think there's a lot we can do.
Are there any silver linings that can come out of this global crisis for the music industry?
One of the things that I think is going to hopefully change when we come out of all this is the culture of how audiences behave. I have written about this in The Guardian (‘We must let the people clap when they want’). Traditional audiences clapped whenever they were moved or felt excited by what they heard. Just look at Mozart’s letters: there’s one where he wrote to his dad following the premiere performance of one of the symphonies. He knew it was a success because people were shouting and cheering at the climax in the middle of the first movement, while the musicians were still playing. So come on, bring on the traditional audiences!
You can follow Chi-chi Nwanoku on Twitter @chichinwanoku or the Chineke! Orchestra @Chineke4Change.
Hannah Fiddy is a creative entrepreneur based in Bristol, developing new audiences for classical music. She is the Co-Founder of Alternative Classical and the creator of Humans of Classical Music and Concert Roulette. Hannah interviews prominent artists from around the world and writes articles about classical music.
Follow Hannah on Twitter @Hannah_Fiddy.