Tunde Jegede & NOK Orchestra

The Nok Orchestra is a Nigerian performing group formed in 2015 by the Nigerian-Irish born British composer and multi-instrumentalist, Tunde Jegede (b.1972). The group, which was founded in Lagos, comprises of up to 30 Western classical as well as traditional instrumentalists, vocalists, and dancers from many different Nigerian regions and ethnic groups (including Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa-Fulani, Fulfulde, Kanuri and Tiv). It is the first ensemble of its type, as these diverse instruments and ethnic groups previously have never played together. Jegede’s role as artistic director of the Muson Centre has enabled him to home grow a new generation of young music enthusiasts and the Orchestra are in residence at the Musical Society of Nigeria, Lagos.

The Nok Orchestra is founded on the principle of learning two traditions seamlessly, that of Western and African Classical Music and taking the best of both worlds. Each player infuses this unique experience into the fabric of the Nok Orchestra’s sound scape. The duality of language and heritage within the orchestra is important to Jegede in maintaining a true representation of Nigeria, the continent and more broadly the world.

Tunde Jegede (Music Director)
Tunde Jegede is an international contemporary classical composer steeped in the worlds of European and African Classical Music. He is a global renaissance man whose music transcends genres and he has created a musical language that is distinctly his own. As a composer he has worked with many of the worldʼs leading orchestras and chamber ensembles including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, The Philharmonia, Brodsky Quartet, National Symphony Orchestra of Belgium, Britten Sinfonia, the Smith Quartet, London Mozart Players and The London Sinfonietta. As a solo artist he has released four albums, ʻLamentationʼ, ʻStill Momentʼ, ‘Heritage’, ‘Testimony’ and his music has also been recorded by both the Smith and Brodsky String Quartets.