At the heart of the Swansea Talent Exhibition held on August 24, 2024, at the historic Swansea Grand Theatre in the UK, Nigerian rising star Elvira Chioma Onyemegbulem delivered more than a performance – she orchestrated a cultural awakening.
Commanding the stage with quiet strength and expressive clarity, Onyemegbulem led her choral group in a breathtaking rendition of her original composition, “We Are Bound by Love and Called to Duty.” The piece, sung in English, Yoruba, and Igbo, explored the intertwined themes of unity, responsibility, and shared heritage in a way that felt both timely and timeless.
The evening began with a brief yet emotionally charged stage play—a narrative prologue that introduced the moral and cultural questions at the heart of the music. This theatrical touch proved more than a warm-up: it anchored the performance in context and created an anticipatory hush across the auditorium.
Then the music began:
“Though tribes divide, our spirits rise – one anthem, one cry…”
For me, this opening line, sung in three-part harmony, was less a lyric and more a declaration. It set the tone for a composition that navigated effortlessly between languages and registers – spiritual, political, and deeply personal. The refrain “called to duty” echoed throughout, not merely as poetic motif, but as a choral summons to collective action and civic identity.
What made Onyemegbulem’s piece so compelling was not just its message, but its musical
architecture; this was clear and loud as each segment was meticulously arranged yet emotionally fluid. At times soaring and symphonic, at others soft and prayerful, the music traversed traditional African rhythms and classical choral techniques with a fluency that speaks to the composer’s artistic maturity.
The lines “Let hands once idle now build and bind… In duty’s name, in peace aligned” were delivered with such lyrical poignancy that silence followed each stanza – a rare and powerful response in any live performance.
I deem Onyemegbulem’s leadership was nothing short of masterful. With subtle cues and sweeping gestures, she shaped the ensemble’s energy, drawing out dynamics that felt both rehearsed and alive. Her presence – at once grounded and galvanizing – commanded full attention, from their graceful entry to their resounding final chord.
The ovation that followed was immediate and prolonged. This was no routine applause – it was an acknowledgment of something sacred having just transpired.
In “We Are Bound by Love and Called to Duty,” Elvira Chioma Onyemegbulem has given the world more than a choral piece – she has offered a musical manifesto for our times. In a landscape often hungry for novelty but starved of substance, Onyemegbulem reminds us that the most powerful performances are those rooted in purpose.
