Vesta Orchestra set to wow Lagos

All roads lead to the Terra Kulture Arena in Victoria Island, Lagos, as the first edition of the Africlassical concert series for the year is set to hold.

The Afri-Classical concert series is dedicated to showcasing music by highlife and classical composers from Africa. It debuted, in 2019, with a 21-member orchestra, conducted by Kehinde Oretimehin, with masterful renditions of African greats including Fela Sowande and Fela Kuti’s Akinla, Bobby Benson’s Taxi Driver, Victor Uwaifo’s Joromi, among others.

The orchestra, next Sunday, will be conducted by the music maestro Fope Onalaja, and with its grand reputation as one of the leading classical music promoters in Nigeria, the Vesta Orchestra continues to shine like a fine cocktail of Nigerian highlife, opera excerpts, ballet and other forms of music.

According to the Vesta Orchestra’s founder, Rosalyn Aninyei, the platform hopes to continue to “provide a stage for young, talented musicians to perform their art and earn a living.”

She said, “The foundation wishes to see more African representation in classical music by curating and commissioning works – pieces, suites and opera – by composers of African descent, which are performed at the AfriClassical Concert Series at Terra Kulture. The ultimate goal is a Lagos Opera House where these African Classical works would be showcased, providing hundreds of jobs for performing arts graduates in the country.”