Fred Onovwerosuoke ("FredO")
(Last name pronounced, 'oh-noh-well-oh-suoh-keh)
Composer, Conductor, Musicologist, Cross-Cultural Educator
Works | MP3 Samples | Representation | Publisher | Public Relations| Review
 
| FredO's Works in Concert | Discography | FredO News on the Web|

Onovwerosuoke's rhythmic language would be worthy of analysis by students of the long process by which a common African-American language, musical and verbal, evolved out of the multiplicity of cultures of the enslaved. The overall effect is kinetic, colorful, and imposing — any symphonic programmer looking for music that will meet urban constituencies halfway should hear this disc. - (James Manheim AllMusic.com critic)

Fred Onovwerosuoke's brief "Fanfare for Strings and Timpani," in its world premiere, was a rousing evocation of a Nigerian war dance, complete with the clanging of machetes -- fortunately only simulated. (- Chicago Tribune music critic)

 

FredO

Born 1960 at Secondi-Takoradi in Ghana, Fred Okorefe Kwaku Onovwerosuoke's musical vocation began early as choir-boy and by 1992 he was performing with the Pieces of Eight, a St. Louis-based a cappella jazz octet in the United States. Although at 7 he and his baby brother Benjamin Otarodafirua Kofi (1962-1974) would invite their friends for weekend soirees of popular radio jingles accompanied on discarded cooking-pots and bamboo whistles, it was not evident to his parents that he had any musical promise. His late father wanted him to be a medical doctor or an engineer, a dream that FredO eventually fulfilled  by earning a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. But it was not entirely his dream, because later "I ended up acquiring a doctorate in interdisciplinary arts and sciences among other things to enable me document my work in the fields of music and multicultural education." Musical activities have been a mainstay in all his endeavors. At 11 FredO was said to sneak into the local church to practice on the organ, "because we children were bared from fooling around with the instrument." He taught himself to play piano and violin, and paid his way through university giving piano and voice lessons. He was always fascinated by the music of the Hausas, Foulas and Dagombas he encountered in northwestern Africa, and spent countless hours playing with them - comparing their kora, gonje and kontingu tunes on his violin, or balafon riffs on piano. FredO remains awed by his first encounters with the advanced vocal traditions of the Forest and Sand peoples of central and north-southern African regions of Africa, and remains a loyal student of these cultural practices. The sounds of the agogo bells and isologu thumb pianos he heard among the Urhobos, his father's people, deeply affected him like the atumpan and dundun talking drums he fell in love with among the Akans and Yorubas. By 1984 when FredO was invited to conduct the prestigious Terra Choral Group & Chamber Orchestra (then the premier musical organization at the University of Ife, Ile-Ife, Nigeria), he had already distinguished himself as accompanist, choral conductor and shown some promise as a composer. His descants and improvisations to hymn tunes were much sought and favored by his choristers. In the days when orchestra parts were not readily available, FredO would pore through scores to extract parts for his chamber ensemble at Terra. Where he could not afford to photocopy musical pieces that he adored, FredO was said to hand-copy entire works by Palestrina, Bryd, Handel, Bach, Hadyn, Mozart, to mention a few - a practice he's maintained for, as he puts it, "By hand-copying scores I'm able to invite myself into a composer's sanctum..." His favorite composers range from Bach, Beethoven, Handel, Mozart, Tallis to Korsakov, Barber, Bartok, Ives and Stravinsky. FredO gratefully acknowledges the mentoring influences of Sam Anyanele (his high school music teacher) and Jim Dowcett (his music theory and 20th Century techniques professor at Principia College). He also maintains that he is a perennial student of the musical exponents and bards with whom he's enjoyed association in over 30 African countries. "I see hidden across Africa a gold-mine of unlimited musical scales and modes, melodic and harmonic traditions, and, yes, rhythms - abundant yet largely untapped." His devotion to the works of J.H. Kwabena Nketia  is now well known. Through it all, FredO maintains that, "my compositions are informed by my travels around the world, and each piece is harnessed and nurtured by an African sensibility that is unmistakable and genuine."  His recent credits include the Lingala chant, Bolingo (Ofrenda da Amor) in Robert De Niro's film, The Good Shepherd (Universal Pictures). His recent commissions include Landscapes of Africa: A Tone Poem for solo alto flute, soprano flute, piccolo and orchestra (Commissioned by the Brannen Cooper Brothers Fund), Tribute to Great African Composers No. 1 for orchestra and SATB Choir  (Commissioned by Emeritus Professor J. H. Kwabena Nketia for the National Symphony Orchestra and the Winneba Youth Choir of Ghana), the Meditation for Darfur for string orchestra, harp, percussion and mezzo soprano (commissioned by the Ensemble du Monde of New York, from the earlier version for treble choir commissioned for the Boys Choir of Kenya and the Winneba Youth Choir of Ghana). Fred Onovwerosuoke serves on several boards and is a voting member of The Recording Academy and other professional bodies. He is editor of the Voice of African Music (a quarterly newsletter on African music), a founding trustee of  the International Consortium for Music of African & its Diaspora (ICMAD). Mr. Onovwerosuoke maintains an active schedule as conductor, lecturer, cross-cultural educator, and composer-in-residence. Email inquiries may be sent to slac@africanchorus.org.
 

Landscapes of Africa: Music for Orchestra -  Click to listen to tracks!

FredO's significant compositional output:

Works for Orchestra and Chamber Groups 
Six and Half Variations for Violin and Piano  (2008)
Instrumentation: Violin and piano
Audio Rendition: (MP3/CD Audio available)
Performance Time: 10:00 minutes
Licensing: ASCAP Title Code Pending (unpublished)
Sonata for Two Pianos No. 3  (2008)
Commissioned by William C. Nyaho for the NYAHO/GARCIA DUO
Instrumentation: Two pianos
Audio Rendition: (MP3/CD Audio available)
Performance Time: 16:30 minutes
Licensing: ASCAP Title Code Pending (unpublished)
Variations on a Pende Tune for Solo Flute (2008)
Audio Rendition: (Variation 4: "Agitato," Wendy Hymes, Flute)
Performance Time: 10 minutes
Licensing: ASCAP Title Code Pending (unpublished)
Meditation for Darfur (with Mezzo-soprano 2008)
for String Orchestra, Percussion, Harp and Mezzo-Soprano
Commissioned by the Ensemble Du Monde, New York 
Audio Rendition:  (Marlon Daniel conducts Ensemble Du Monde)
Instrumentation: Strings VI to CB/ 7Timpani
Availability: Score and parts rental
Licensing: ASCAP Title Code 432460698
(Performance Time: 8 minutes)
ISBN-13: 978-1-934621-07-3
ISBN-10:        1-934621-07-2

Landscapes of Africa: A Tone Poem
for Solo Soprano Flute, Alto Flute, Piccolo and Orchestra

Commissioned by Brannen-Cooper in association with the US National Flute Association
Instrumentation: PSolo Picc, Alt, Sop/3Fl/2BbCl/2Bs/4HrnF/5Trpt/5Tbn & Tba/10Timp.(2pl)
4Perc /2Hrp/1Vib/Str. VI to CB
Audio Rendition: New Horizons Studio Orchestra
Wendy Hymes, Soloist. (MP3/CD Audio available)
Performance Time: 14 minutes
Licensing: ASCAP Title Code
Pending
ISBN-13: 978-1-934621-25-7
ISBN-10: 1-934621-25-0

TRIBUTE TO GREAT AFRICAN COMPOSERS NO. 1
for  Orchestra and SATB Choir

i. Rhapsody on Nketia's "Republic Suite"
Commissioned by Emrt. Prof. J.H. Kwabena Nketia, on the occasion of Ghana-At-50 Jubilee Celebrations.
Instrumentation: Picc/3Fl/2BbCl/2Bs/4HrnF/4BbTrpt/4Tbn/6Timp. GABbCDGA/BD/3Perc /Str. VI to CB
Audio Rendition: The New Horizons Studio Orchestra & the Winneba Youth Choir of Ghana (MP3/CD Audio available)
(MP3/CD Audio available: Excerpt of Movts I-III)
Performance Time: 6:30 minutes approx.
Licensing: ASCAP Title Code:
361827114
ISBN-13: 978-1-934621-10-3
ISBN-10:        1-934621-10-2

ii.  Lullaby to Ikoli Harcourt-Whyte
Instrumentation: 2Fl/2BbCl/2Bs/2HrnF/1BbTrpt/Timp. /Str. VI to CB
Audio Rendition: New Horizons Studio Orchestra conducted by Fred Onovwerosuoke
(MP3/CD Audio available: Excerpt of Movts I-III)
Performance Time: 5:30 minutes approx.
Licensing: ASCAP Title Code:
Pending


iii. Tribute to Dr. Ephraim Amu
Commissioned for the Ghana National Symphony Orchestra on the occasion of Ghana-At-50 Jubilee Celebrations.
Instrumentation: Picc/2Fl/2BbCl/2Bs/4HrnF/4BbTrpt/4Tbn/5Timp. GACDG/BD/Cymb/Xyl/Str VI to CB
Audio Rendition: The New Horizons Studio Orchestra & the Winneba Youth Choir of Ghana (MP3/CD Audio available)
(MP3/CD Audio available: Excerpt of Movts I-III)
Performance Time: 7 minutes approx.
Licensing: ASCAP Title Code
Pending
ISBN-13: 978-1-934621-06-6
ISBN-10:        1-934621-06-4

WARRIORS DANCE FOR ORCHESTRA(2007)
(Fanfare for Orchestra)
Availability: Score and parts rental
Audio Rendition: The New Horizons Studio Orchestra (MP3/CD Audio available)
Instrumentation:
Picc/3Fl/2BbCl/2Bs/4HrnF/4BbTrpt/4Tbn/6Timp. GABbCDGA/BD/3Perc /Str. VI to CB
Licensing: ASCAP Title Code
 361755335
(Performance Time: 5:10 minutes)
ISBN-13: 978-1-934621-05-9
ISBN-10: 1-934621-05-6

WARRIORS DANCE FOR STRING ORCHESTRA (2007)
(Fanfare for Strings & Percussion)
Availability: Score and parts rental
Audio Rendition: The New Horizons Studio Orchestra (MP3/CD Audio available)
Licensing: ASCAP Title Code
 361755335
Instrumentation: Strings VI to CB/ 6Timp.(2 pl) GABbCDGA/3Perc
(Performance Time: 4:10 minutes)
ISBN-13: 978-1-934621-11-0
ISBN-10: 1-934621-11-0

Suite for String Orchestra No. 1 (1987-2007)
Availability: Sheet music and parts rental
Audio Rendition: The New Horizons Studio Orchestra (MP3/CD Audio available)
Licensing: ASCAP Title Code
494292718
i.    Beethoven Returns to Africa
ii.   Yarinya (Maiden)
iii.  Dance Tribute (with piano obbligato)
(Performance Time: 12 minutes)
Instrumentation:
Strings VI to CB
ISBN-13: 978-1-934621-03-5
ISBN-10:        1-934621-03-X

Suite for String Orchestra No. 2 (2006)
Audio Rendition: The New Horizons Studio Orchestra
(MP3/CD Audio available)
Availability: Score and parts rental
Licensing: ASCAP Title Code
494292692
i.   Ogiribo (The Storm)
ii.   Domenshigbe (At the Market)
iii.  Barka (Greetings/Goodwill)
iv.  Ukere (Warriors' Dance)
 
(Performance Time: 15 minutes)
Instrumentation:
Strings VI to CB
ISBN-13: 978-1-934621-04-2
ISBN-10:        1-934621-04-8

Suite for Orchestra No. 3 (2007)
Audio Rendition: The New Horizons Studio Orchestra
(MP3/CD Audio available)
Availability: Score and parts rental
Licensing: ASCAP Title Code
Pending
i.   Fanfare
ii.  Incantation
iii. Zambezi River Dance

(Performance Time: 18 minutes)
Instrumentation:
Chamber orchestra (1Pc/2Flt/1Ob or CorA/1Bs/1CBs/
2Hn/2Tpt/3Tbn/1Pc/piano/Strings VI-CB)
ISBN-13: 978-1-934621-04-2
ISBN-10:        1-934621-04-8

Meditation for Darfur (2006)
for String Orchestra and Percussion
with Harp Obbligato
Audio Rendition: (MP3/CD Audio available)
Instrumentation: Strings VI to CB/ 7Timp.(2 pl)
Availability: Score and parts rental
Licensing:
ASCAP Title Code
432460698
(Performance Time: 7 minutes)
ISBN-13: 978-1-934621-07-3
ISBN-10:        1-934621-07-2

Dance Tribute for Orchestra (1988, ed. 2007)
with Piano Obbligato
Availability:
Score and parts rental
Audio Rendition:  Fred Onovwerosuoke (Piano reduction)
(MP3/CD Audio available)
Licensing: ASCAP Title Code
494292718
(Performance Time: 4.10minutes)
Instrumentation: Picc/2Fl/2BbCl/2Bs/2HrnF/2BbTrpt/4Tbn/5Timp. GABbCDGA/BD/3Perc /Str. VI to CB
ISBN-13: 978-1-934621-02-8
ISBN-10:        1-934621-02-1

Three Pieces for Flute and Piano (1988-1991)
Availability: Sheet music and parts
Audio Rendition: Wendy Hymes (Flute), Darryl Hollister (piano),
David Kosutic (piano), Gerald Cozart (Narrator) MP3/CD Audio available
Also recorded on the CD
African Art Music for Flute by flutist Wendy Hymes and pianist Darry Hollister
Licensing: ASCAP Title Code
503608037
i.    Ayevwiomo (Mother begets)
ii.    Iroro (Reminiscences) with alto flute
iii.    Just Before Dawn with narrator

(Performance Time: 12 minutes)
ISBN-13: 978-1-934621-09-7
ISBN-10:        1-934621-09-9

Five Sketches for Flute, Violin and Piano (2006)
Availability: Score and parts rental
Audio Rendition: Not yet available
(MP3/CD Audio available)
Licensing: ASCAP Title Code
361698175
(Performance Time: 15 minutes)
ISBN-13: 978-1-934621-08-0
ISBN-10:        1-934621-08-0

Twenty-Four Studies in African Rhythms - Vol. 1 (1987-2007)
Audio Rendition: Available by order only
(MP3/CD Audio available)
Licensing: ASCAP Title Code
361755337
ISBN 978-1-934621-22-6
(MOST REQUESTED TITLE!)
i. Okoye (Edo / Baganda idioms) ii.   Edo (Edo / Mandinka idioms)
iii. Udje (Urhobo / Dagomba idioms) iv. Tunis (Tuareg / Bambera idioms)
v.  Jali (Mandinka / Malinke/Tigre idioms) vi. Iroro (Urhobo / Igbo / Yoruba idioms)
vii. Herero Wedding Dance (Herero / Tigre idioms) viii. Ayevwiomo Dance 1 (Urhobo / Ewe idioms)
ix. Ayevwiomo Dance 2 (Urhobo / Grebo idioms) x. Barka (Burkinabe / Pular idioms)
xi.  Ayevwiomo Dance 3 (Urhobo / Akan idioms) xii. Agbadza (Ewe / Fon idioms)

African Highlife Mass
for SATB Choir, Soloist and Pop-Band (2006)
Availability: Vocal score with piano accompaniment through Earthsongs.
Band parts and practice CD through the St. Louis African Chorus
Audio Rendition:  Choir of Trinity Presbyterian Church,
City-Wide University Chorale and St. Louis African Chorus
conducted by Paul Vasile and Christopher Taylor
Kyrie | Gloria | Acclamation | Credo | Sanctus | Agnus Dei
(MP3/CD Audio available)
Licensing: ASCAP Title Code
312285499
(Performance Time: 28 minutes)
ISBN-13: 978-1-934621-23-3
ISBN-10: 1-934621-23-4

THREE AFRICAN SONGS FOR SATB CHOIR (2006)

i.   Oluwa L'Oluso Agutan Mi (Psalm 23) with piano or organ accompaniment
ii.  Barka (Blessings/Goodwill) with piano accompaniment
iii. Chant for Peace with piano, Double Bass and Conga Drums

Availability: Vocal score with piano accompaniment
Audio Rendition:  (MP3/CD Audio available)
(Performance Time: 15 minutes)
ISBN-13: 978-1-934621-24-0
ISBN-10: 1-934621-24-0

Selected (most requested) Choral titles

African Highlife Mass for SATB Choir, Soloist and Piano (sung in English)
Awa Eshelele Akan Chant for SATB or TTBB Choir 
Chechere! Akan Vocalize for SSAA Choir and Percussion

Chedo Kanamayo
Madinka  Chant for SSAA Choir and Percussion
Efuo,
  Urhobo "Igbe" Chant for Mixed Voices  and Percussion
Ibaje
, Yoruba Meditation for A Cappella Female or Mixed voices
Matshitshi Quomani
, 6 Zulu/Xhosa Playsongs for SATB Choir
Mayingo,
Fang Chant for Mixed Voices
Oluwa l’Oluso Aguntan Mi,
 Yoruba Meditation on Psalm 23 for SATB Choir
      and Organ (Ayodele Arr. Onovwerosuoke)

Om"Oba Ni,
Yoruba Royal Processional for Mixed Voices
     (Ayodele Arr. Onovwerosuoke)
Omome Chiy’o Dedede, Urhobo Initiation Chant for Female/Mixed Voices and Maracas
Otu B’Oma, Igbo Folk Tune for SATB Choir and Percussion
Pata-Pata, Zulu/Xhosa Folk Song for SATB Choir and Percussion
Une R’Emakashe, Urhobo Carol for SATB or TTBB Choir, Percussion and Dancers
Wazobia, Nigerian (multi-lingual) Satire for SATB Choir and Percussion
Yamoriji, Meditation Chant of the Fang "Forest" People, for Female or Mixed Voices
Yesu Sore Akan/Fante Spiritual for SATB Choir and Percussion
Yoyoma O! Ijaw/Itsekiri Funereal Chant for Mixed Voices and percussion

Representation


Conductor:

FOR NORTH AMERICA, CARIBBEAN, SOUTH AMERICA 

Ablawa Reine

Artistic Assistant & Cultural Exchange Consultant

African Chorus Inc

2405 Belmont Place, Metairie, LA 70001

Tel: +1 314 431 5225

e-mail: info@africanchorus.org

http://africanchorus.org/Voam/amp.html

 

FOR EUROPE, ASIA AND AUSTRALIA
Mike S. Wright

International Society - African to American Music

Tel: +44 1483 536689
mike@isaamnet.org
 

FOR AFRICA (Anglophone)

(Francophone Countries)

Edusei Derkyi

Tel: +233 242 222156
email: ederkyi@gmail.com

Ablawa Reine

email: phreine@yahoo.fr


 

Publisher:

African Music Publishers

3547 Olive Street, Suite 110

St. Louis, MO 63103
Tel:
+1 314 652 6800

Email: amp@africanchorus.org

 

Artist Representative:
New Horizons Studio Orchestra
3547 Olive Street, Suite 110
St. Louis, MO 63103

nhso@africanchorus.org

 

Publicist:
Elzena Johnson

3547 Olive Street, Suite 110
St. Louis, MO 63103

voam@africanchorus.org

 

 

FredO's Works in Concert 2007/2008
(updated regularly)

 

Remember Darfur...
See the YouTube Video

 

Date: September 25-26, 2008
Work: Twenty-Four Studies in African Rhythms
Performer: Silvia Belfiore (piano). Alessandria, Italy.
 

Date: April 19, 2008
Work: Selections from the OUP Collection, "Songs of Africa"
and the Ancestral Spirits of the Congo concert
West Plains, Missouri

 

Date: April 5, 2008
Work: Twenty-Four Studies in African Rhythms (selected Studies)
Performer: Silvia Belfiore (piano). Arezzo, Italy. "In Concert: The Music of Cage, Berio, Onovwerosuoke, Scelsi, Sollima and Stockhausen"

 

Date: March 28-April 10, 2008
Work: Selections from the OUP Collection, "Songs of Africa,"
selections from the African Highlife Mass as well as Ithe new

commission, "Ev'ry Time I Feel the Spirit" for SATB Choir and Piano
Performer: Singapore American Schools Choir, Singapore.
 http://www.sas.edu.sg/whatshappening/2008/pdf/20080320_MusicFestival.pdf

 

Date: March 14, 2008
Work: Meditation for Darfur for Mezzo-Soprano and Piano
Performer: Dawn Padmore (soprano), NHSO CD track
Princeton University, Princeton, PA.


Date: March 1, 2008
Work: Three Pieces for Flute and Piano
Performer: Wendy Hymes (flute), Jure Rozeman (piano)
College Music Society conference, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
 

Date: February 28, 2008
Work: Meditation for Darfur for Mezzo-Soprano and Orchestra
Performer: Dawn Padmore (soprano), NHSO CD track
Black History Concert, University of Missouri-St. Louis

 

Date: February 27, 2008

CD Release, African Art Music for Flute (AGCD 2081)
Works: Three Pieces for Flute and Piano
Performers: Wendy Hymes (flute), Darryl Hollister (piano)

 

Date: February 27, 2008
Work: Five Sketches for Flute, Violin and Piano and other pieces
Performer: LSU Faculty Concert - Wendy Hymes (flute), Borislava Itcheva (violin), Willis Delony (piano). Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Cancelled)
 

Date: January 26, 2008
Work: Meditation for Darfur for Orchestra and Mezzo-Soprano
Performer: Ensemble du Monde, New York, conducted by Maestro Marlon Daniel. Lori-Kaye Miller, mezzo-soprano
 http://www.kaufman-center.org/tc/0708/edm_012608.php

 

Date: December 3-7, 2007
Africa Sings...at Cedar Rapids, Iowa!

Work: selected choral pieces, including choir favorites "Abanije," "Pata-Pata," "Diba Dia Mshila," "Anigye Aba"

http://www.kirkwood.cc.ia.us/site/index.php?d=633&news_id=1094

Date: October 29, 2007

Work: Fanfare for Strings and Timpani

Performer: Chicago Sinfonietta, Chicago, conducted by Maestro Paul Freeman. http://www.chicagosinfonietta.org/concerts/0708/07oct.html

 

Date September 1, 2007
Work: Landscapes of Africa: Music for Orchestra (a demo CD)
New CD Release: New Horizons Studio Orchestra (combined live musicians and digitized audio). http://cdbaby.com/cd/nhso1 / Review

Date: August 15-22, 2007

Works: Five Sketches for Flute, Violin and Piano

Performers: Wendy Hymes (flute), Rachel Barton Pine (violin), George Francois (piano).
Venues: La Palm Royal Foyer, Accra Ghana (Aug 16); British Council Auditorium, Accra, Ghana (Aug 17); National Theatre, Accra, Ghana (Aug 19); Command Performance for Ghana's President John Kufuor (Aug 21)

 

Date: August 15-22, 2007
Works: Tribute to Great African Composers, No. 1 for Orchestra and SATB Choir (Movt I - Nketia's Rhapsody and Movt II - Amu's Tribute); Dance Tribute for Orchestra with Piano Obbligato
Performers: Ghana National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Isaac Annoh and Ato Quayson. George Francois, piano

 

Date: July 15, 2007

African Art Music Series
Works: Five Sketches for Flute, Violin and Piano

Performers: Wendy Hymes (flute), Lindsay Garritson (violin), Marie Jureit (piano). Jureit Concert Series, Stewart, FL.

 

Date: July 5, 2007

CD Release, Landscapes of Africa: Music for Orchestra (AGCD 2071)
Works: Suites No. 1 & 2 for Orchestra and other works

Performers: New Horizons Studio Orchestra (Live musicians and audio engineers) directed by Fred Onovwerosuoke

Date: May 11, 2007

African Art Music Series

Works: Five Sketches for Flute, Violin and Piano

Performers: Wendy Hymes (flute), Lindsay Garritson (violin), Marie Jureit (piano). Music-at-Davis Concerts, Principia College, Elsah, IL

 

Date: February 25-26, 2007

African Art Music Series
Works: Three Pieces for Flute and Piano

Performers: Wendy Hymes (flute), Darryl Hollister (piano)
New Orleans, Louisiana. (A recording session)

 

Remember Darfur...
The YouTube Video

 AfricanChorus

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