Edusei, Murray, Kanneh-Mason & Chineke! Orchestra

International Brucknerfest Linz 2025. Pioneers.  The Chineke! Orchestra is making music history together with Tai Murray and the siblings Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason under the direction of Kevin John Edusei.

Which works will go down in music history? Which will be forgotten again? These are the questions addressed by the Chineke! Orchestra - the world's first professional symphony orchestra made up of a majority of people of colour and whose debut at the BBC Proms was described by the Guardian as "arguably one of the most important concerts the Proms have ever staged".

In addition to Beethoven's 'Triple Concerto', played by Tai Murray and the shooting stars with Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's Ballad and William Levi Dawson's Negro Folk Symphony, the programme included works by two black composers. Dawson's symphony was celebrated with standing ovations at its premiere in 1934 by the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra; Coleridge-Taylor was so successful at the turn of the century that he was even invited to the White House by Theodore Roosevelt. Despite their success, both fell into oblivion - high time to bring them back on stage!