I brought Enchanted Concerts to life, against all odds. Here's the story, Part 1
The story of how Enchanted Concerts ✨ came to be and the ups and down I encountered to bring the first edition: Greatest Nigerian Classics, to life!
As I caught my tenth flight in sixteen days, I asked myself ‘Funmi, what are you doing?’ Between September 12th and 28th, I had led the team to execute on three shows in three cities on two corners of the earth. From Toronto to Calgary to Lagos, the vision had come to life. My dream to launch Enchanted Concerts as a global series that brings orchestral music and powerful storytelling to life was real. After ten flights, three successful shows and a body that was fighting not to break, I reminded myself that I can do hard things. But how did we get here?
Six months ago, my crew was shocked but energized when I told them about the idea to launch a concert series (Enchanted Concerts) and start it off with the first edition (Greatest Nigerian Classics) to celebrate Nigeria at 65. I told them of the dream of building a production that was part theatre, part music and part wonder with different themes each season and that could be in dozens of cities around the world in 10 years. For the first edition, it would be a delight to reimagine music by the likes of Osadebe and Olaiya and Uwaifo with an orchestra. Then maybe oldies like Sound of Music and then eventually, original productions. I told them that for the first edition, we would do a world tour, in multiple cities. ‘This is hard, Funmi’, they said, ‘but if anyone would do it, it would be you.’ And so, I set to work and gathered a team.
Building out the team
I had planned events and travel experiences for a decade so I was clear on what my forte was. This meant that I also knew where I needed help. I needed the best theatre professionals. To find this, I reached out to the founder of Samkook Agency. His company is quickly becoming the foremost brand for talent engagement and travel services especially for entertainment professionals, so I knew he would know exactly who to contact. He was in the midst of securing visas and accreditations for his clients for Cannes Film Festival when I reached out to him with the idea. Quickly, he asked me to contact Ifeanyi Barbara Chidi for the script and to make sure I get her at any cost. I am thankful that I did not know her credentials before calling her or else, I may have been too intimidated to call. I simply reached out to her with ‘he said you’re a good writer and acting director and I need your help.’ For your pleasure, these are her credentials. Then I called Gbenga with the idea and he said there’s only one composer you need; here is his number…his name is Kehinde Oretimehin. Kehinde the maestro would write the musical scores for all the music. Ifeanyi and I would audition acts across all our cities and end up with the absolute best on stage: Oluchi Odii in Lagos, Mojisola Kadiri in Toronto, and Omatta Udalor in Calgary. She would also serve as acting director for the talent. I would have the pleasure of connecting with Robson Maurice of Key30 Orchestra in Calgary, who will lead the charge to assemble the orchestras in the Canadian cities, conducted by Oluwaseun Soneye in Calgary and Joshua Temitope David in Toronto. With some Instagramming, I found Premier Symphony Orchestra for the Lagos show. To host, The Amazing Tomiwa Sage came on board in Lagos, Priscilla Iyari in Toronto and Kome Eto in Calgary. All three hosts brought their unique flair of audience engagement to their respective cities. Our TVP Events team held things down with the production of the shows. The show started to take shape and everyone was excited about the freshness of it all.
Clearing the music for this production
Are you required to clear music for orchestra productions or are you not required to? The answer to this question is unclear and everyone has a different response. Whatever the answer is, I decided to clear the music because I think it is important to honor our legends and their work especially for use in a commercial venture. I would quickly realize that almost no one clears music in Nigeria, there are almost no consequences to not clearing music, and since most people do not clear music, a lot of the artistes, publishers and record labels gouge their prices because you may be the only one in 10 years to offer to pay them for their work.
I was lucky to find Godwin who enthusiastically gave me the contact person for Premier Records, who own the rights to so many Nigerian classics. Michael Odiong of Premier Records was so professional and supportive of the vision, he gave me reasonable rates to clear each song and even gave interviews to the media on our behalf to help us promote the show. Between my entertainment lawyers at Olisa Agbakoba Legal (OAL) and the team at Premier Records, the clearance process was smooth and allowed me focus on producing the show. In another stroke of luck, I would discover that Premier Records had most of the songs I needed for the story that Ifeanyi had scripted. This was important because in my sojourn through clearance, I would encounter an artiste who tried to sell me the rights to his music without the knowledge of his publishers and co-composers, another one who asked me for an outrageous sum of money, another one who reneged on the contract after we announced the show because they now wanted 10x of the originally agreed amount, and another one who threatened that my show could not happen without his music. The process of clearing music outside of Premier Records was as fascinating as it was frustrating. But despite the challenges, we ended up with a pretty cool repertoire of songs from old Nigeria.
Funded by audacity
We had a story plan, a music plan, and a production plan. So, what was the plan to fund this? Well, this segment deserves its own article because this was the most difficult aspect of the entire project. I was very lucky that my friends and family believed so much in this project that they made business investments in it. I also had incredible sponsors in Future Africa who backed our vision with part sponsorship, M.O.T The Label who provided all the dresses for the female musicians in all our orchestras, Zitra Investments, Money Africa and Ladda Investments who gave us part sponsorship. I will still be ‘drinking garri’ for a while after this project, but seeing that we pulled off three incredible shows makes up for this. Anyone who has put together a show of this magnitude knows that it is a long term investment. Long term.
The shows
Our plan ended up as 3 shows in Toronto, Calgary and Lagos. I pinch myself when I remember that we sold out MUSON Centre in Lagos for the grand finale. Over the course of September, we took the reimagination of some of the Greatest Nigerian Classics on the road and each one was performed so uniquely and yet as part of a collection. As I looked back to see the audience singing along and with their phones recording every moment, my heart smiled.
Allow me remind you of what all this is about. Enchanted Concerts ✨ is a global series that brings orchestral music and powerful storytelling to life. Each show features world-class orchestras and stage actors, blending sound, emotion, and visuals into one unforgettable musical experience. We are making magical music and telling incredible stories in breathtaking spaces and on magnificent stages for the world to experience. Thank you to everyone who showed up in the first three cities. This show was a success because of you. It will be a dream to bring the experience to your stage and to create original themed performances for you. Just reach out to us at info@tvpevents.com. Please, also follow us on YouTube and watch clips from the shows in all the cities.
Next week, I will share the second part of this article with lessons I learned and some interesting opportunities I see for Enchanted Concerts and global events in general.
Till next time,
Let your senses come alive ✨
Funmi Oyatogun