Rebeca Omordia, the 2009 Delius Prize winner in international piano competitions was in Lagos, Nigeria in March 2018 for the first time since her professional career as a classical pianist hit limelight will return this month.
According to The Guardian, her spectators last year “were held spellbound by her dexterous touches”. At the series of events held at the MUSON Centre, she subsequently had a masterclass with the highly talented students of the MUSON School of Music, where she left indelible imprints the students still recount with fond memories.
Omordia is due back in Nigeria between March 16 2019 through to the 21. This time around, she will be shuttling between the two principal cities of Abuja and Lagos, dazzling her audiences who, already in high expectations, are raring up for another round of terrific classical music performances.
On March 16, she is billed to have a masterclass in Lagos with the students of the MUSON School of Music. The following day, March 17, would see her replicate the electrifying performances the Lagos classical music buffs savored when Omordia held them momentarily speechless during her first spell.
Abuja would be Omordia’s next point of call on March 21 where she will be performing in a recital organised by the Romanian Embassy (Ambassador Gheorghe Predescu) to celebrate Romanian’s presidency at the European Union.
“It is very special to me performing in my fatherland,” the Nigerian-Romanian pianist said when asked about her expectations.
“Last year, the Nigerian audience made me feel like I truly belong there. I am honoured to perform at MUSON, the very centre of classical music in West Africa and happy to give a masterclass to the talented piano students of MUSON School of Music. I am very much looking forward to performing for them again,” she added.
Omordia, a trailblazer in her mission to lift Nigeria’s classical music, between now and last March when she first visited, she has done incredible works as an active promoter of the Nigerian and African classical music genre.
Her CD EKELE released last year on Heritage Records, featuring works by three Nigerian composers (Ayo Bankole, Christian Onyeji and Fred Onovwerosuoke) was a huge success in the UK and Europe. It was also featured by a newspaper in Italy and was described as an “appealing album” (BBC Music Magazine), “fascinating programme” (Gramophone Magazine) and “beautifully delivered recital” (The Sunday Times).
In February 2019, she launched as an artistic director, the first ever African Concert Series at the October Gallery in London, in partnership with the Institute of Music & Art AM15, series described by the BBC as the “African Art Music makes a comeback”.
AMI5 appointed Rebeca Omordia, the prize-winning classical pianist, especially to curate a music programme that reflects the depth and diversity of African art music, the richly diverse genre of music that originated in Ghana and Nigeria, which forms a bridge between Western classical music and traditional African music.
