Errollyn Wallen, Dvorák and Ligeti: Chineke! appears for its fifth Africa Utopia with works spanning over two centuries.

Southbank Centre’s Associate Orchestra has appeared in every edition of the festival since 2015.

The ensemble performs Spohr’s charming Nonet dating from the late Classical period, Dvorák’s Serenade in D minor, abounding in bohemian melodies and rhythms, and Ligeti’s ebullient and virtuoso collection of Six Bagatelles for wind quintet.

Bringing the music right up to date, Errollyn Wallen’s NNENNA was commissioned for the Cambridge Festival in 2018. Written in memory of Mgbafor Nnenna Inyama (1963 – 1986), NNENNA is scored for seven players. It ends with an arrangement of the highlife song Sweet Mother by Prince Nico Mbarga, sometimes referred to as ‘Africa’s National Anthem’.