Music Director of Project Fame Africa/Dean of Hymnodia, Benneth Ogbeiwi (a.k.a. Uncle Ben); Music Director of J-Clef Chorale/Lecturer at University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Jude Nwankwo; Danlami Baba-Angelo, another UNN tutor; and the Music Director, Green Chamber Chorale, Benafa David Zitu will be in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on December 5, 2021 to re-enact the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ in an Opera entitled A Night In Bethlehem.
The Grand Coordinator and Music Director (GCMD) of Chorale De la Magnifique (CDM) Nigeria, Ikechukwu Eseka, will direct the work composed by Nigeria’s first Professor of Music, HRH Igwe Laz Ekwueme.
Other artistes taking part in the concert include Chidi Maduabuchi of La Reve Chorale and Deputy Coordinator and Music Director (DCMD) of CDM, Port Harcourt/Choirmistress of the Lumen Christi Choir of the Catholic Institute of West Africa (CIWA), Stella-Maris Orih.
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Also participating in the show, taking place at the Dome Event Centre, Peter Odili Road, Port Harcourt, are the Lagos, Abuja, Asaba, Uyo and Port Harcourt branches of CDM Nigeria.
According to the GCMD, there will be two shows same day: a matinee and the command performance.
Eseka, Ogbeiwi, Nwankwo, Baba-Angelo and Orih were groomed by Prof. Ekwueme in the Lagos-based Laz Ekwueme Chorale.
A Night In Bethlehem, aside its musical, religious and historical content, touches on some family issues. It depicts the character of women, who take advantage of their husbands’ weaknesses. Simon, a forgetful husband of a money-conscious hotelier, is dealt with by his domineering wife, who goes to the extent of giving out his (Simon) room to customers.
Though the opera had been staged in Lagos and other places, years back, by the Laz Ekwueme Chorale, it always comes out evergreen, humorous, entertaining and captivating.
The Director
Eseka, who schooled at the famous King’s College Lagos, is an Entertainment Lawyer, choral musician, composer, orchestra conductor and publisher among others.
One of Nigeria’s finest choral music directors with over 30 years’ experience, he was trained by the best (Steve Rhodes, Prof. Laz Ekwueme, Oludaisi David Aina, Emeka Nwokedi of City Chorale etc) Nigeria has to offer.
He brings to the fore his core competencies in all genres of music – classical, jazz, hip hop, highlife, hymns, traditional etc.
Music, to Eseka, is a very serious hobby and part of his life.