The first orchestral concerts I attended as a young teenager were led by an African-American conductor, the excellent and charismatic James DePriest, musical director of the Quebec Symphony Orchestra from 1976 to 1983.
In my eyes, it was not exceptional that a black conductor led my town’s orchestra; it was simply reality. And we loved Mr. DePriest.
It was later that I understood with amazement to what extent his presence was the exception to the rule and to what extent there was still a long way to go for concert music to be less white.1.
Forty years later, it seems that this path still needs to be consolidated.
This is the observation from which double bassist Brandyn Lewis and her lover, cultural manager Allison Migeon, started. The pandemic gave them time to dream… and to act by creating Ensemble Obiora, the first Canadian ensemble made up primarily of musicians from diverse backgrounds, now in residence at UQAM.
Extra bassist with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Brandyn Lewis quickly obtained the support of Rafael Payare; two years in a row, Obiora performed under the direction of the Venezuelan conductor as part of the Classical Spree. The concert of the most recent edition was sold out. “It was amazing, and the orchestra administrators were impressed to see an audience from all backgrounds,” says Brandyn Lewis. “Rafael Payare immediately became attached to Obiora, because he himself comes from El Sistema”, this social program which offers music as a mobilizing project to children from vulnerable backgrounds. Opening the door to young people who do not identify at all with concert music: this is what El Sistema and Obiora have in common.
In many neighborhoods of Montreal, concert music does not exist, Brandyn Lewis is aware of this. “Young people don’t feel concerned, simply because they don’t have access to it. Obiora did workshops in Montreal North, we presented a concert at the Maison d’Haïti: it worked very well, many families showed up, we saw children directing in the air! »
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
Brandyn Lewis
Brandyn Lewis readily acknowledges that the Canadian musical environment is increasingly open to diversity, but he speaks of the prejudices that remain to be deconstructed among the population. “We are associated with world music, we are taken for granted that we are recent immigrants or amateur musicians. »
All this was partially true in his family… a generation earlier! Brandyn grew up in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, in a Jamaican family: the father is a guitarist, plays gospel as much as reggae, the women sing.
“I wasn’t very interested in church,” admits Brandyn, “but in music, yes!” At first, I played a little drums, I was far from classical music. But at the FACE school, I played cello, then moved on to double bass in 5e primary year. » He continued his training at the Montreal Conservatory and at McGill University. In 2021, CBC placed him on its annual list of 30 hot Canadian classical musicians under 30among other things to highlight the creation of Obiora.
The opening concert of the ensemble’s first official season, this Saturday, will be conducted by the young French conductor Samy Rachid, appointed assistant conductor to the Boston Symphony Orchestra in February. He replaces the young Venezuelan chef Glass Marcano who withdrew on Tuesday for personal reasons. Marcano, like her compatriot Rafael Payare, comes from El Sistema and we awaited with interest her debut in Canada.
The Chineke! orchestra, which she conducts in this excerpt, means a lot to Brandyn Lewis: “The founder of Chineke!, Chi-Chi Nwanoku, was a huge inspiration for the creation of the Obiora Ensemble, explains- he. When I look at his work on cultural diversity, since 2015 in England, I am amazed to see all these musicians playing at such a high level. Plus, they feature works by black composers that I had never heard of. To be honest, I would have loved to be part of this orchestra, so I wondered why such a project didn’t exist in Canada. »
It’s now done! The Obiora Ensemble is based on the principle of 3D: Diversity, Discovery (music by unknown composers), Diffusion (sharing in various contexts).
I have one question left for Brandyn: Obiora’s mission is to bring together “diversity” musicians. But what are the criteria? The musician begins his response with a sigh: “That’s a good question… I would say that above all we want to bring together musicians of non-European origin, who we associate less directly with classical music. But it is not at all exclusive: white musicians from here come to supplement our numbers, if necessary. »
For the members of the ensemble, professionals, several of whom occupy chairs in major Canadian orchestras, Obiora is not a freelancer like the others: “There is a different energy: we are all aware of the importance of mission, everyone gives generously, plays with soul, is involved from A to Z,” concludes Brandyn Lewis.