Campus-Concert: Nigeria
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| 20 EUR, reduced 10 EUR |
| Please book your ticket in advance online or at the box office in the Foyer. |
| 12 years and older |
| German, No language skills required |
| Hall 1, Ground Floor |
The Beethovenfest is coming to Berlin, bringing together young musicians from Nigeria and Germany. They will perform works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Olufẹlá Şowándé, Cassie Kinoshi, and Mauricio Kagel in a variety of arrangements – alongside both traditional and contemporary songs from Nigeria and Germany.
The Humboldt Forum engages with the history and present of the West African state through its collections, such as the Benin Bronzes returned to Nigeria in 2022, and its programming. The Campus Project has been a central part of the Beethovenfest in Bonn since its inception. Each year, it seeks to foster encounters and exchange between young musicians from Germany and a guest country, whether near or far. The aim is to broaden horizons, challenge techniques, listening habits, and approaches, and thus promote the artistic development of young musicians on both sides.
At the heart of each edition lies a major work by Beethoven, which is placed in dialogue with compositions connected to the guest country, illuminated, fractured, or expanded in unexpected ways. The Symphony Orchestra of the National Music Academy of Ukraine marked the beginning of the international orchestral campus in 2001, as the project was then called. Since then, countless musicians from countries such as Brazil, Vietnam, Iraq, South Africa, India, and Mexico have taken part.
Ludwig van Beethoven: Overture to Egmont (excerpts), arr. by Josef Bach
BANTU: Ten Times Backwards, Cash and Carry & We No Go Gree, arr. by Isaiah Oladele
Yoruba Traditional: Omo to moya re loju, arr. by Josef Bach
German Traditional: Die Gedanken sind frei, arr. by Isaiah Oladele
Olufęlá Şowándé: Nostalgia & Akinla from African Suite
Fela Kuti: Colonial Mentality
Mauricio Kagel: IV. Vivace, V. Moderato & X. Allegro from 10 Marches to Miss the Victory
Cassie Kinoshi: odò (world premiere)
BANTU: Yeye Theory & Disrupt The Programme, arr. by Isaiah Oladele
Musicians from the National Youth Orchestra of Germany
Musicians from the MUSON Center of Music Lagos, Nigeria
Members of the band BANTU:
Adé Bantu – concept & vocals
Isaiah Oladele Odeyale – musical direction & trombone
Meret Louisa Vogel – musical direction & flute
Sönke Lentz – musical direction
Cassie Kinoshi – saxophone & composition
Introduction moderated by Anastassia Boutsko, Deutsche Welle
Short biographies
Adé Bantu (*1971 in London as Adegoke Odukoya) is a German-Nigerian musician, producer, and activist. He became widely known in 2001 with the anti-racist project Brothers Keepers and the single Adriano (Letzte Warnung). With his band Bantu, he merges African musical traditions with hip hop and soul.
BANTU (Brotherhood Alliance Navigating Towards Unity) is a 13-piece collective based in Lagos, founded in 1996 in Cologne by Ade Bantu, Abiodun, Patrice, and Amaechi Okerenkwo. Their music fuses Afrobeat, Afrofunk, highlife, and Yoruba traditions, combining political lyrics with collaborations across continents. They are also curators of Afropolitan Vibes, one of Lagos’s most influential live music series.
Cassie Kinoshi (*1993) is a British jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. She first gained recognition with the septet Nérija; since 2016 she has led the ten-piece SEED Ensemble, whose debut album Driftglass was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2019. Alongside her work with Kokoroko and collaborations with artists such as Nubya Garcia and Sons of Kemet, she composes for film, theatre, and classical ensembles, and is regarded as one of the defining voices of the new British jazz scene.
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