African Art Music Conducting Decolonizing Western Conducting in Twenty-First Century Southern Nigeria

Abstract

Western art music conducting is Western in its origin, features; and performance practice. However, the export of the art to non-Western regions; and its use to direct non-Western music have combined to produce a mode of conducting that is not entirely Western. Thus, in twenty-first century Southern Nigeria, the use of Western conducting to direct Nigeria/African art music has enabled a transformation of the conducting through the incorporation of African and Western music idioms. Although the practice predates twenty-first century Nigeria, how African art music conducting decolonizes Western conducting has not engrossed adequate scholarly discourse. This paper engages non-participant observation of select Nigerian/African art music conductors in Southern Nigeria to discuss African art music conducting in Southern Nigeria. Findings indicate that African art music conductors in the region decolonize conducting by expanding performance objectives from singing and instrumentation to ensemble kinetics through musical cross-culturalism and performative syncretism. In view of the fore-going, it is worth noting that African art music conducting decolonizes Western conducting as an African-European cross-cultural and syncretic mode of conducting.