PIANIST | SCHOLAR | CULTURAL INNOVATOR
Hailed as a “classical music game changer” (Classical Music Magazine) and an “African classical music pioneer” (BBC World Service), Rebeca Omordia is an award-winning British-Nigerian concert pianist and curator, internationally recognised as a pioneer of African Pianism. She is a singular figure in classical music because she shattered traditional barriers by single-handedly creating a platform for African classical music on the global stage. She founded the world’s first ever African Concert Series launched at the October Gallery London and graduated to a historic residency at London's prestigious Wigmore Hall. Through performance, recording, and curation, she continues to reshape perceptions of the classical piano repertoire for the 21st century.
Though born in Romania and based in London, much of Rebeca’s artistic identity is rooted in Nigeria — the homeland of her father. Her Nigerian heritage deeply influences her artistic mission to bring African classical repertoire to global audiences. The Guardian has praised her interpretations as “wild and shimmering piano gems,” while The Times highlighted her “sparkling technique, rhythmic panache and deep sympathy with the music.” Pianist Rebeca Omordia’s extensive discography includes the BBC Music Magazine Award-winning recording of Errollyn Wallen’s Piano Concerto, written for her and recorded with the BBC Concert Orchestra under John Andrews, as well as her acclaimed African Pianism series, which has garnered international attention and major press coverage, BBC Radio 3 Essential Classics Album of the Week, and The Times citation as “one of the best classical albums of the year”. She successfully brought this music to major Western concert stages.
Omordia has appeared as a soloist at major venues and festivals across the UK - at the Wigmore Hall, Kings Place, and the Barbican; in Europe at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam and Juan March Foundation in Madrid; at the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., and in Africa - most recently she has performed for the Cape Town Concert Series and as a soloist with the Johannesburg Philharmonic. Her Nigerian tours are part of her broader work to promote classical music from African composers. The Nigerian newspaper The Guardian described her as "the pianist who cast a spell on Lagos". She regularly collaborates with cultural institutions, universities, and arts organisations, Omordia is an experienced lecturer and curator, frequently presenting lecture-recitals that place music within its historical and cultural frameworks.
She has worked with an array of international musicians including duo-partnerships with world renowned cellist Julian Loyd Webber and double bass virtuoso Leon Bosch.
Omordia graduated with Bachelor in Music degree from the National Music University in Bucharest where she studied with acclaimed Romanian pianist and professor Dana Borsan, then she continued her studies in the UK at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and Trinity College of Music in London with professor Mikhail Kazakevich. Rebeca holds a Doctor in Music degree from the National University of Music in Bucharest, Romania.