Nkeiru Okoye

Nkeiru Okoye

Fellow: Awarded 2021
Field of Study: Music Composition

Competition: US & Canada

A composer with a gift for incorporating many influences and styles within her work, Nkeiru Okoye is perhaps best known for her opera Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed that Line to Freedom (2014), her orchestral work Voices Shouting Out (2002), which she composed as an artistic response to 9/11, and her piano suite, African Sketches (2004). Dr. Okoye has received numerous awards, commissions and honors from arts and civic organizations. The State of Michigan issued a proclamation acknowledging her “extraordinary contributions” to the history of Detroit for Black Bottom (2020), commissioned by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. She is the recipient of the inaugural International Florence Price Festival Award for Composition.

Her works largely combine musical storytelling, research, and historical narrative, often drawing upon African American experiences. More information can be found on her website www.nkeiruokoye.com.

Photo courtesy of the Fellow.

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