Thomas King Ekundayo Phillips, composer, organist, conductor and teacher, was known as the Father of Nigerian church music, and a foundation set up in his name (the TKE Phillips Foundation) is helping fund the training of the current generation of organists and choral singers in the churches and cathedrals of Lagos. ‘We have the students, but getting them taught properly is more difficult,’ says Damola Aboaba, who over the years has been organising summer visits to Lagos by RCO-accredited teachers to provide tuition in choral singing, choir training, and organ playing.
Damola’s family worshipped at the Anglican Cathedral in Lagos when he was growing up there. A probationer in the Cathedral Choir by the age of 7, he became Head Chorister at 10. He then moved to the UK – picking up music again by singing with the Royal Choral Society in London for many years. ‘Attending services at the Cathedral back in Nigeria when I visited my parents, I realised what a massive gap there was between what I was hearing in London and what I was hearing in Lagos,’ he said. ‘There is the goodwill and enthusiasm in Nigeria for providing more training for our church musicians, and what we need is more people willing to come to Nigeria to teach for extended periods, not just a few days.’
It’s not easy for Nigerian students to obtain visas to visit the UK. However in the past the Choir of St Paul’s Cathedral in London has invited several of the choristers from Lagos to join them for a week, and for two weeks this coming May they have invited two Nigerian organists, from two of the Lagos Cathedrals, to come and see how a choir is organised and trained during the celebrations for the King’s Coronation.
Contact me morwenna@theladyorganist.com in the first instance if you’d like to help or know more.
feature image of a service at the Cathedral Church of Christ Marina, Lagos, by Yellowcrunchy
