Nkeiru Okoye is an American-born composer of African American and Nigerian ancestry. After studying composition, music theory, piano, conducting, and Africana Studies at Oberlin Conservatory, she pursued graduate studies at Rutgers University and became one of the leading African American women composers. An activist through the arts, Okoye creates a body of work that welcomes and affirms both traditional and new audiences.

Nkeiru Okoye’s new commission When the Caged Bird Sings is a collaboration between UMS and the U‑M School of Music, Theatre & Dance. When the Caged Bird Sings fuses elements of oratorio, theater, and opera in a multi-movement musical ceremony, which Okoye describes as ​“a gathering” that invokes the ritual of the concert experience as a ritual of community. Drawing inspiration from the Black church, it celebrates the spirit of rising above expectations and transforming adversity into triumph. Partly in tribute to the activist and poet laureate Maya Angelou, the work celebrates the transformative ability of Black women, commemorating those who have paved a path for future generations in many fields of human endeavor.

To discuss this new work and her overarching career, Okoye will be interviewed for this series event by Terrance McKnight, a commentator, curator, writer, author, pianist and weekday evening host for WQXR, New York’s only all-classical music station.

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