15 April 2024
By Chibuike Victor
Once upon a time, in the Nigerian city of Onitsha, lived a boy called Chibuike. That is me. The year was 2016, and I was 12 years old.
I have always loved music from childhood and often saw and heard orchestras play on television when TV was available, always giving me joy. But, unfortunately, I didn’t know where to learn about music. I originally wanted to be a violinist and was asking God to please show me the way. I never saw it coming, but I just had faith.
My prayer was answered one day in my house when my close friend visited and called my name. He asked me if I wanted to join the Sacred Heart Music Academy, a program of our local parish. I never knew about the academy, which is for amateur musicians. I immediately said, “Yes. I would love to.”
We both went there the next evening, met the priest in charge, and found out about the process to join. I told him it was violin that I loved, so I went home and told my parents. They liked it but were concerned about anything that doesn’t bring in money to the family.
The day came to apply with a form, and we were both accepted, and I began my journey in learning music!
Months later, I was among those that passed theory class and was assigned to an instrument to start practical lessons. But this academy uses older amateur musicians to teach and the teachers assigned to me could not teach me well. The teacher made me feel inferior and sad causing me to cry each day, making my dream feel impossible. They kept telling me that I can’t play a string instrument because my fingers were stiff and they made a mockery of me.
However, one violinist saw when I was sitting with tears and asked me what happened. After telling him, he felt so sad and angry about the other violinist character over a new amateur, so he started teaching me violin, starting back to the basics.
Meanwhile, my friend was learning piano and was doing well. But he’s a talkative and funny guy, who, as time went by, started losing interest in the academy. As a friend to him, I thought I couldn’t stay in the academy without him. But I believe that God used my friend to show me where I can start my musical journey.
But my passion for music came back to me again and again and again. I remained driven by this passion. Before too long, I returned to the academy with greater focus. And when I went back, guess what? I was assigned to cello class, so I tried it. Watching videos of cellists playing, my love grew greater than violin. This was fate—what will be will be—so that was how, at the age of 13, I started learning cello.
Unfortunately, fate also found me with an unqualified cello teacher and not learning after a year. But one day, the same guy that consoled me before came asking me, “Chibuike, why would you allow this other teacher take advantage of your time and render you useless in the academy? Wake up Chibuike!” So after that advice, I told the guy that pretended to be teaching me cello that I was not learning from him and would stop taking lessons.
At that time, I just had use of the parish instrument, which you were not permitted to take home. I had many arguments with the teacher, but the bravest thing is that all this while, the violinist guy was there to seek justice for me no matter what it took. We became good friends after everything he had done for me.
Although he was not trained on the cello, my new friend helped teach me what he could; and he was the one that introduced me to classical music. My love for classical music was awakened and has grown rapidly and immensely.
There were times over the next couple years that I felt like giving up on this because the pressure was too much, and I had no instrument of my own. But I knew what gave me joy, so I held on. I was once again inspired, at the age of 17, when I heard Michael Kevin Jones’ recording of “The Dragon and the Phoenix.” And today, this is where I am with new mentors in Mr. Michael Jones, Grace Christus, and Hank Knerr. They have become the greatest gifts—ones that give to me in life. (How It All Started: Team Chibuike)
- Edited by Hank Knerr
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