21 June, 6-10pm, V&A Museum 

Free event

It is with huge pleasure that we welcome Chineke! Junior String Quartet to Refugee Week.

The Chineke! Foundation was founded in 2015 to provide career opportunities for Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) classical musicians in the UK and Europe. Chineke!’s mission is: ‘Championing change and celebrating diversity in classical music’. 

The Foundation’s flagship ensemble, the Chineke! Orchestra, comprises exceptional musicians from across the continent, brought together several times per year. As Europe’s first majority-BME orchestra, the Chineke! Orchestra performs a mixture of standard orchestral repertoire along with the works of BME composers both past and present.

The Chineke! Orchestra works closely with its sister ensemble, the Chineke! Junior Orchestra, a youth orchestra of BME players aged 11-22, with senior players acting as mentors, teachers and role models to the young musicians. Several of the Chineke! Juniors have gained scholarships to the Junior and Senior conservatoires in the UK and some have “graduated” to play in the professional Chineke! Orchestra. 

The members of the Chineke! Junior String Quartet are all regular players in the Chineke! Junior Orchestra. The Quartet has performed at Festivals in Brighton and at venues in London, including Kensington Palace.

Part of our PRS Foundation funded ‘Music for Social Change’ project.