This classical musical couple launched Ensemble Obiora to showcase musicians from diverse cultures

CBC Quebec is highlighting people from the province's Black communities who are giving back, inspiring others and helping to shape our future. These are the 2023 Black Changemakers.

When Brandyn Lewis was 11, a teacher at Montreal's fine arts school F.A.C.E. asked him if he wanted to play double bass.

The young drummer, whose fascination with music emerged from hearing the gospel band at the church he attended with his family in Montreal West, had never heard of it.

"I just kind of blindly picked the double bass not knowing that I'd have to carry it," he recalls.

It was the start of Lewis's journey through the world of classical music, first through conservatory studies and onto McGill University's classical music program. And as he moved up the rungs, he noticed there were fewer and fewer Black people around him.

When he played with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montral, he was the only Black musician in the entire orchestra.

"I only realized that there was a problem once I got more into the professional world," he says.

Allison Migeon, Lewis's partner in life and in work, said she fell into the classical music world by "coincidence," through an internship at an opera festival while studying arts administration in Paris.

"It was like the stereotype of classical music is for white people. It's for old people," she says. "That's it."

But she stayed in that world, and after years in the field, she concluded that something needed to change.

'Heart of the people'

That is how the pair came to found Ensemble Obiora in 2021, naming it in honour of a concept from their shared heritage. In Igbo, a language spoken in Nigeria, Obiora means "heart of the people."

Obiora's mission, as described on its website, is to promote musicians from diverse cultural backgrounds, "to increase their representation on the classical music scene, and to program unfamiliar works by composers of colour whose contributions have gone unnoticed."

Their ranks grew as news of the project spread through word of mouth among Canadian musicians of colour. Though few of them knew each other well, Lewis recalls a kind of magic in those early rehearsals.

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Two CBC Black Changemakers, backed by members of their groups, experiment by combining their art forms: classical music and African dance.

"Even though we were kind of strangers in a way, it felt comforting to perform with them," he said.

But strong bonds quickly formed between the players, that closeness making for "spectacular performances" without the direction of a conductor, Lewis says.

"[This] makes us very vulnerable on stage because you know, it's not just one person controlling everything, but it's everyone together."

As the ensemble has grown to more than 50 musicians, the two say it feels like one big family, filled with people they stay close to outside of performances.

Ensemble Obiora gave its inaugural performance at Montreal's Centre Pierre-Pladeau in August 2021. Eighteen months later, it is starting 2023 with a full slate of concerts, as well as workshops where high school students are introduced to an instrument and where college students can work one on one with a professional musician.

Obiora is also the ensemble in residence at the Universit du Qubec Montral this year.

Shift in mentality

It is not just the players on stage who look different from the usual classical ensemble, Migeon says: the people in the audience are different, too.

For many, it's the first classical performance they've ever attended. And it leaves an impression, Lewis says, to see someone like Tanya Charles Iveniuk a native of Hamilton, Ont., whose roots are in St. Vincent and the Grenadines sitting in the place of honour, playing first violin.

"When Black people come to the concert and see that, they're like, 'Oh, what's going on here?'" says Lewis. "There's that initial shock, if you will, and then I think there's a shift in mentality."

Though he is not yet 30, with his leadership role in the ensemble, Lewis has had to get used to being seen as a role model.

Not long ago, a man brought his son to meet members of the ensemble after a concert. The young bassist was around the same age as Lewis was when he started playing double bass.

"He was shy at first but then, you know, we could see in his eyes, he was really amazed to witness so many culturally diverse musicians on one stage," says Lewis. "Maybe we didn't have the same role models when we were growing up, but we want to be that for the next generation."

"My mom always told me from when I was younger that I have to use my talents to help other people. And it's only now that I'm realizing what that means."

The Black Changemakers is a special series recognizing individuals who, regardless of background or industry, are driven to create a positive impact in their community. From tackling problems to showing small gestures of kindness on a daily basis, these changemakers are making a difference and inspiring others.Meet all the changemakers here.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community check outBeing Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of.You can read more stories here.