Radio 3

Donald Macleod brings the week into focus through the music of Samuel Akpabot and Nkeiru Okoye, linking the early pioneers to the present day. With Alexander Douglas, he explores how a generation of Nigerian composers trained abroad returned to reshape musical life at home, building institutions, ensembles and a lasting repertoire. Akpabot’s orchestral writing offers one perspective on this developing tradition, while Okoye’s music reflects a more recent, transatlantic voice. Questions of lineage, identity and continuity run through their work, alongside the practical challenges of preserving archives and performance traditions. Nigerian Dance No. 1 Joshua Uzoigwe William Chapman Nyaho, piano Scenes from Nigeria: I Pastorale (arrangement for clarinet and piano) Samuel Akpabot Marcus Eley, clarinet Lucerne DeSa, piano Three Nigerian Dances Samuel Akpabot South African Broadcasting Corporation National Symphony Orchestra Richard Cock, conductor African Sketches: I–IV Nkeiru Okoye Rochelle Sennet, piano Inside Is What Remains Nkeiru Okoye Sequina DuBose, soprano Gregory Thompson, piano Breaking Bread Nkeiru Okoye Matt Haimovitz, cello When Young Spring Comes Nkeiru Okoye Lara Downes, piano Voices Shouting Out Nkeiru Okoye Central Washington University Symphony Orchestra Wesley Hunter, conductor Songs of Harriet Tubman: I Am Harriet Tubman, Free Woman Nkeiru Okoye Louise Toppin, soprano (Harriet Tubman) Dvořák Symphony Orchestra Julius P. Williams, conductor Produced by Ellie Ajao for BBC Audio Wales & West.