As is tradition, this year's festival will feature an art exhibition, a musical brunch, drama, a MUSON Day Concert, a Jazz Night, and a Musiquest Children's Competition, among other highlights.
All is set for the 2024 edition of the Musical Society of Nigeria's John Lucien EclouFestival, a cultural event with a rich history that will run from October 13th to 27th at the MUSON Center in Onikan, Lagos.
At a media briefing on Tuesday, Louis Mbanefo, Chairman of Muson, spoke about the highlights and itinerary of the two-week festivities themed 'Revival'.
Notably, Mr Mbanefo said that since 1983, when he and a group of friends, including Akintola Williams, Ayo Rosiji, Francesca Emanuel and Rasheed Gbadamosi, all deceased, founded MUSON to promote the understanding and enjoyment of serious music, the original vision has been sustained.
To this end, Mr Mbanefo said In the past three years, the festival themes have been Resurgence (celebrating our emergence from the COVID Pandemic), Resilience (celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the founding of MUSON) and now Revival (anticipating the revitalisation of MUSON despite the adverse trends in Nigeria's economy.
As is tradition, this year's festival will feature an Art Exhibition, a Musical Brunch, Drama, a MUSON Day Concert (celebrating MUSON's birthday), a Jazz Night, My Kind of Music--a music meets technology symposium (Collabo)--and a Musiquest Children's Competition, offering a diverse range of events to cater to every music enthusiast's taste.
Additionally, there will be two different operatic productions, and the final Gala Concert will feature a complete performance of Joseph Haydn's Oratorio "The Creation" with the MUSON Choir and Orchestra conducted by Maestro Emeka Nwokedi.
Strides
In addition to holding regular concerts since 1984, Mr Mbanefo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, said MUSON has made significant contributions to the music industry by establishing two Schools of Music - the Basic School, which provides musical education in the theory and performance of musical instruments for Nigerians of all ages, and the Diploma School.
He said, "From humble beginnings, the School has become a Diploma Awarding Institution accredited by the Ministry of Education and has produced over 500 Diploma graduates. Many of our graduates have continued their musical education in Europe, America and South Africa and have attained international recognition. Most of our alumni have made and are making awe-inspiring contributions to the musical life in Nigeria and, indeed, the world. They have considerably raised the singing and musical performance standards in churches, schools, and social events. Indeed, many churches and musical societies throughout Nigeria borrow from the templates MUSON established".
He also noted that the Society is the proud owner of the MUSON Choir, which has won gold medals at international competitions and a Symphony Orchestra, conducted in regular concerts by our visiting German maestro Walter-Michael Vollhardt.
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He said, "Our opera department has programmed highly acclaimed performances of many well-known international operas under the skilled direction of John Lucien Eclou. In addition, the facilities in our beautiful and iconic Centre are regularly hired by the artistic community for classical music concerts, art exhibitions, drama productions, jazz concerts, traditional music and dance, film premiers, literary events, and social and business events. Whereas the arts are heavily subsidised by governments in other parts of the world, the MUSON project has been funded entirely through generous donations by individuals and major companies in Nigeria".
