Nkeiru Okoye

1972 -

About

Nkeiru Okoye, (b. 1972) A native New Yorker of African American and Nigerian descent, Okoye decided to pursue training as a composer at the age of 13 when her first original composition won first prize at a national competition. She went on to receive her bachelor’s degree in Music Composition and Theory from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and a Master’s and Ph.D. in Composition and Theory from Rutgers University. Hailed as “achingly beautiful,” by the Baltimore Sun, compositions by Okoye have been performed by performing organizations such as the Philadelphia, Detroit, Virginia, Indianapolis, Grand Rapids, Richmond, Mississippi, Tacoma, and New Jersey Symphony Orchestras, and numerous regional orchestras, nationwide.

In addition, her music has been presented at the International Consortium for Music of Africa and its Diaspora at (Oxford University, UK), Dialogue Between China and Africa in Music and Halim el-Dabh Symposium (Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing, People’s Republic of China), the Athena Festival of Women in Music (Murray, KY), and the Gateways Festival (Eastman School of Music, Rochester, NY); and conferences of the College Music Society, National Association of Schools of Music, The African American Art Song Alliance, and National Association of Teachers of Singing. Okoye’s best known works include Brooklyn Cinderella (2011, commissioned by American Opera Projects), Songs of Harriet Tubman (2007-08, recorded by the Dvorak Symphony Orchestra), Phillis Wheatley (2005 recorded by the Moscow Symphony), Voices Shouting Out (2002, commissioned by the Virginia Symphony); and African SKetches (2007-08, published in the Oxford University Press Anthology of Piano Music of the African Diaspora). She currently is director of Music Theory and Composition at the State University of New York at New Paltz.

Related Information

http://www.nkeiruokoye.com/

Works by Nkeiru Okoye