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By Prisca Duru

The 2009 Delius Prize winner, Rebecca Omordia is due back in Nigeria by March 16, 2019, after her March 2018 International Piano competitions encounter in Lagos.

Rebeca Omordia

Recall that during the 2018 International Piano competitions which was her first experience in Lagos since her professional career as a classical pianist hit limelight, Omordia held her spectators spellbound with her dexterous touches. At the series of events held at the MUSON Center, 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 memory.

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 warming 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.

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Abuja would be Omordia’s next port of call on March 21 where she will be performing in a recital organised by the Romanian Embassy, hosted by Ambassador Gheorghe Predescu to celebrate Romania’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 here.  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 remains a trailblazer in her mission to bringing the Nigerian classical music in the position of priority. 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” by 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.