Ayo Bankole
Encyclopedia
Ayo Bankole was a composer and organist from the Yoruba ethnic group in southwest Nigeria. He was born into a musical family: his father, Theophilus Abiodun Bankole was an organist and Choirmaster at St. Luke's Anglican Church in Jos. His mother was a music instructor for several years at Queen's School, Ede, Osun State, a Federal government high school.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AyoBankole2.jpg
As a young man Ayo Bankole studied in London at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
where he met the young drama student and poet Brian Edward Hurst. Ayo set one of Hurst's poems to music and this was performed as a choral composition at the Guildhall School in 1960. The poem was titled "Children of the Sun." Hurst also took a photograph of the Nigerian composer standing outside the Guildhall School. The photo has been attached to this article. Ayo also studied at Clare College, Cambridge
, but eventually returned to Lagos, Nigeria where he was murdered by a half-brother in 1976. A kind and humanitarian man he is much missed by the Nigerian musical community.
He wrote a great deal of Christian liturgical music, and his compositions show elements of both traditional Nigerian music and Western classical music.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AyoBankole2.jpg
As a young man Ayo Bankole studied in London at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama is an independent music and dramatic arts school which was founded in 1880 in London, England. Students can pursue courses in Music, Opera, Drama and Technical Theatre Arts.-History:...
where he met the young drama student and poet Brian Edward Hurst. Ayo set one of Hurst's poems to music and this was performed as a choral composition at the Guildhall School in 1960. The poem was titled "Children of the Sun." Hurst also took a photograph of the Nigerian composer standing outside the Guildhall School. The photo has been attached to this article. Ayo also studied at Clare College, Cambridge
Clare College, Cambridge
Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1326, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. Clare is famous for its chapel choir and for its gardens on "the Backs"...
, but eventually returned to Lagos, Nigeria where he was murdered by a half-brother in 1976. A kind and humanitarian man he is much missed by the Nigerian musical community.
He wrote a great deal of Christian liturgical music, and his compositions show elements of both traditional Nigerian music and Western classical music.