Omordia live in concert at MUSON

As part of its commitment to promoting classical music in the country, the Musical Society of Nigeria (MUSON) will hold a Masterclass by Rebeca Omordia on Saturday, March 16.

The class is scheduled for the AGIP Recital Hall, from 9:00am. Thereafter, Omordia will be live in concert at the same venue on Sunday, March 17 at 6:00pm.

MUSON was founded in 1983 as a result of the commitment and dedication of some distinguished Nigerians and expatriates to stimulate the love and awareness of the richness of classical music in Nigerians.

It was founded to promote the understanding and enjoyment of classical music in Nigeria, the performance of serious music (with emphasis on classical music) and the education of children in the performance and theory of music.

The London-based award-winning pianist Omordia was born in Romania to a Romanian mother and a Nigerian father. She graduated from the National

Music University in Bucharest in 2006 when she was awarded full scholarships to study in England at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and later at the Trinity College of Music in London.

Rebeca’s father, a Delta Ibo, moved from Nigeria to Romania in the 1980s to study medicine, where he met and married her Romanian mother. Omordia was introduced to the piano at an early age, with the idea that she might be able to play the instrument in church.

The plan was that she would follow her father into the medical profession, but it soon became clear that the piano could occupy her for hours on end, and that she tended to lose patience with almost anything else.

A teacher spotted Omordia’s talent and began to enter her in competitions, which led during her teen years to appearances on Romanian national television.

Prize winner in international piano competitions including, Beethoven Prize, Romania 2007 and Béla Bartók International Piano Competition, Hungary 2010, Rebeca was awarded the Delius Prize in 2009, which led to an extensive duo-partnership with the British cellist Julian Lloyd Webber.

They toured the UK, performing in renowned venues including, the Wigmore Hall and Kings Place in London, at Highgrove for the Prince’s Trust and they made several broadcasts for BBC Radio 3.

Rebeca has made a name for herself as a vibrant and exciting virtuoso who is in demand throughout the UK and abroad. She has performed as a soloist with all the major Romanian orchestras including, the Romanian National Radio Orchestra and MUSON Symphony Orchestra in Nigeria.

In 2016, she received the Honorary Membership Award (HonBC) from Birmingham City University for her contribution to the music industry as an alumna of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. She is currently writing her PhD thesis.

Rebeca’s 2018 Nigeria debut with MUSON Symphony Orchestra was described by The Guardian as the “virtuoso pianist who cast spell on Lagos”.

She has collaborated with artists like, Raphael Wallfisch, Amy Dickson and Elizabeth Llewellyn.

Rebeca’s recording with Mark Bebbington; “The Piano Music of Ralph Vaughan Williams” reached No. 3 in the UK’s Classical Music Chart.

Rebeca is a great advocate of African classical music. Her CD, Ekele: Piano Works by African Composers, released in March 2018 on Heritage label, was described as an “appealing album” (BBC Music Magazine), “fascinating programme “(Gramophone Magazine) and “beautifully delivered recital” (The Sunday Times)”.

In February 2019, Rebeca 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 AMI5, series described by the BBC as the “African Art Music makes a comeback”.

She is also a talented arranger, her arrangement of “The Seal Lullaby” by Grammy-winning composer Eric Whitacre, for cello and harp, was released on Deutsche Gramophon.

She has also championed the little-explored field of classical music by Nigerian composers, forming a partnership with the Nigerian High Commissioner in London to promote the effort.

She has performed works such as the Piano Sonata No. 2 of Ayo Bankole that incorporates influences from traditional Nigerian music.

Omordia has also traveled to the U.S. to attend and perform at the African and Afro-American Music Festival in St. Louis, where she commissioned a work, 5 Kaleidoscopes, from Nigerian-American composer Fred Onovwerosuoke.